verse 1 

Am                                                     G         Am 
Well, Johnny be fair and Johnny be fine and wants me for to wed 
                              Em                    G          Em 
And I would marry Johnny, but my father up and said 
      Am                  Em                          G     Em 
I'm sad to tell you daughter what your mother never knew 
       Am             G                       C          Em    Am 
But Johnny is a son of mine and so he's kin to you 


verse 2 

Am                                                         G        Am 
Well, Jimmy be fair and Jimmy be fine and wants me for to wed 
                              Em                  G    Em 
And I would marry Jimmy, but my father up and said 
      Am                  Em                          G       Em 
I'm sad to tell you daughter what your mother never knew 
       Am                    G                       C      Em    Am 
But Jimmy, too, is a son of mine and so he's kin to you 


verse 3 

Am                                                       G        Am 
Well, Billy be fair and Billy be fine and wants me for to wed 
                              Em               G    Em 
And I would marry Billy, but my father up and said 
      Am                  Em                    G    Em 
I'm sad to tell you daughter what your mother never knew 
      Am                 G                       C     Em    Am 
But Billy, too, is a son of mine and so he's kin to you 


verse 4 

Am                                                G    Am 
You never seen a girl    so sad and sorry as I was 
                                  Em                   G     Em 
The boys in town are all my kin and my father is the pa 
   Am          Em                    G         Em 
If this does continue I shall die a single miss 
   Am             G                       C       Em     Am 
I will go    to mother and complain to her of this 

Verse 5 

Am                                                      G   Am 
Oh daughter, haven't I taught you to forgive and to forget 
                 Em          G                       Em 
Even if all    this is true still you needn't fret 
        Am                  Em        G           Em 
Your father may be father to all the boys in town,  
        Am                           G       N.C.        Am 
He's not the one     who sired you, so marry who you will