There were no cuckoos no sycamores We played above the forest floor Underneath the silver maples the balsams and the sky We popped the heads off dandelions Assuming roles from nursery rhymes Rested on a river bank And grew up by and by And grew up by and by Frail my heart apart and play me little shady grove Ring the bells of Rhymney Till they ring inside my head for ever Bounce the bow rock the gallows for the hangman's reel And wake the devil from his dream I'm going back to Harlan I'm going back to Harlan Going back to Harlan And if you were Willie Moore Then I was Barbry Allen Or fair Ellen all sad at the cabin door A weeping and a pining for love A weeping and a pining for love Frail my heart apart and play me little shady grove Ring the bells of Rhymney Till they ring inside my head for ever Bounce the bow rock the gallows for the hangman's reel And wake the devil from his dream Frail, frail my heart apart and play me little shady grove Ring the bells if Rhymney Till they ring inside my head for ever Bounce the bow rock the gallows for the hangman's reel And wake the devil from his dream. I'm going back to Harlan I'm going back to Harlan (Going back) I'm Going back to Harlan Back to Harlan (Going back) I'm going back to Harlan Going back to Harlan (Going back) Back to Harlan I'm going back to Harlan (Going back)