The Reverend Mr. Black (Live Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, WV)

The Reverend Mr. Black
artist Billy Edd Wheeler

He rode easy in the saddle. He was tall and lean. First you thought nothing but
a streak of mean could make a man look so down right strong, but one look in his eyes and
you knew you was wrong. He was a mountain man, I want you to know. He could
preach hot hell or freezin' snow. Carried a bible in a canvas sack and folks just
called him The Reverend Mr. Black. Now he was poor as a beggar, but he rode like a king.
And sometimes in the evening, I'd hear him sing:
I got to walk that lonesome valley
I got to walk it by myself
Oh nobody else can walk it for me
I got to walk it by myself.
Now if ever I coulda thought that this man in black was was weak and and had any yellow up
his back,
I gave that notion up the day a lumberjack came in and it wasn't to pray.
He kicked open the meeting house door and cussed everybody up and down the floor.
And then when things got quiet in the place, he walked up and cussed in the preacher's face.
He hit that Reverend like the kick of a mule and to my way of thinkin' it took a pure fool
to turn the other cheek to that lumber jack, but that's what he did, The Reverend Mr. Black.
He stood like a rock, a man among men. He let that timber giant hit him again, and then
with a voice as kind as could be, he cut him down like a big oak tree when he said:
You got to walk that lonesome valley
You got to walk - you got to walk it by yourself
Oh nobody else - nobody else can walk it for you
You got to walk it by yourself
It's been many a years since we had to part and I guess I learned his ways by heart.
And I can still hear him sing, down in the valley where he used to sing.
I follered him, yes sir, and I don't regret it and I hope that I'll always be a credit
to his memory 'cause I want you to understand, The Reverend Mr. Black was my old man!
And - I got to walk - I got to walk that lonesome valley - that lonesome valley
I got to walk - I got to walk it by myself
Oh nobody else - nobody else can walk it for me
I got to walk - I got to walk it by myself.
And you got to walk - You got to walk that lonesome valley - that lonesome valley
You got to walk - You got to walk it by yourself
Oh nobody else - nobody else can walk it for you
You got to walk - You got to walk it by yourself.

"Everybody sing it one more time."
You got to walk - "C'mon sing it." - that lonesome valley - "Everybody"
You got to walk - you got to walk it by yourself
Oh-Oh nobody else - nobody else can walk it for you
You got to walk - you got to walk it by yourself
"One more time. Everybody sing it. C'mon."

You got to walk - you got to walk that lonesome valley
You got to walk - you got to walk it by yourself
Oh nobody else - nobody else can walk it for you
You got to walk it by yourself
"Let's give a big hand for Billy Edd Wheeler ladies and gentlemen."
"Billy Edd Wheeler."
"1-2-3"
"Well I'll see, uh-maybe see a few up-up yonder."

by Billy Edd Wheeler / Jerry Leiber /Mike Stoller / Bexhill Music Corp / ASCAP