He was on his way home from Candletop
He was two weeks gone, and he'd thought he'd stop
At Web's and have a drink 'fore he went home to her
Andy Wo-Lo said hello
He said "How you doin'?"
Wo said "Sit down, I got some bad news and it's gonna hurt."
He said, "I'm your best friend, and you know that's right,
But your young bride ain't home tonight
Since you been gone,
She's been seeing that Amos boy, Seth."
He got mad, and he saw red
Andy said, "Boy, don't lose your head,
Cuz to tell you the truth,I been with her myself"
That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
Don't trust your soul to no backward Southern lawyer
Cuz the judge in town has got blood stains on his hands
Well Andy got scared, and left the bar
Walkin' on home, cuz he didn't live far
You see, Andy didn't have many friends,
And he just lost his one
Brother thought his wife must've left town
So he went home and finally found
The only thing Daddy had left him, and that was a gun
He went off to Andy's house
Slippin' through the back woods quiet as a mouse
And came upon some tracks too small for Andy to make
He looked through the screen at the back porch door
Saw old Andy there lyin' on the floor
In a puddle of blood, and he started to shake
Georgia patrol was making their rounds
So he fired a shot just to flag them down
A big-bellied sherriff grabbed his gun
And said "Why'd you do it?"
Judge said guilty at a make-believe trial
Slapped the sherriff on the back with a smile
And said "Supper's waitin' at home,
And I gotta get to it."
That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
Don't trust your soul with a backward Southern lawyer
Cuz the judge in town has got blood stains on his hands
Well they hung my brother before I could say
The tracks he saw while on his way
To Andy's house and back that night were mine
And his cheatin' wife had never left town
That's one body that'll never be found
You see, little sister don't miss when she aims her gun
That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
Don't trust your soul with a backward Southern lawyer
Cuz the judge in town has got blood stains on his hands