Crooked Road and The Briar

One, two, one, two, three, fourDown the crooked road a ways
A child's shadow hiding in the briar
Tending to a twisted heart that's bent and broken
Wounded and abandoned, left amongst the rotted root to rotMoon, crimson moon
Rose Marie's walking down the crooked road a ways
All aglow, her fair white skin
Portrait of beauty, angel to manyHears the hush crying from the briar
Reaches in her hand to see what's the matter
Is dragged through the darkness
Beneath the lonely cypressThe town's beloved daughter
Carried to her death in the turbid waters
Set afloat downstreamWhole town erupts, bursts into flame
Parties go a searching down the crooked road a ways
Find Old Rufus there, drunk and asleep
Fishing by the water must have killed our beloved daughterCan't hold back these waves of anger
Tie a rope around his neck, see if he still hollers
Another innocent soul hangs over the briar