Molly b'Damn smote Jimmy the Harp
With a horrid little pistol and a lariat
She's goin' to the bottom
And she's goin' down the drain
Said she wasn't big enough to carry it

She got to get behind the mule, yeah, in the morning and plow
Got to get behind the mule, yeah, in the morning and plow
She got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow

Choppity-chop goes the axe in the woods
You gotta meet me by the fall down tree
Shovel full of dirt upon a coffee lid
And I know they'll come lookin' for me, boys
I know they'll come a-lookin' for me

Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow

Big Jack Earle was 8'1'
And he stood in the road and he cried
He couldn't make her love him, couldn't make her stay
But tell the good Lord that he tried

Got to get behind the mule, yeah, in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow
You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow

Dusty trail from Atchison to Placerville
On the wreck of the Weaverville stage
Beulah fired on Beatty for a lemonade
I was stirring my brandy with a nail, boys
Stirring my brandy with a nail

Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow
You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow

Well the rampaging sons of the widow James
Jack the Cutter and the pock-marked kid
Had to stand naked at the bottom of the cross
And tell the good Lord what they did
Tell the good Lord what they did

You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow
You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow

Punctuated birds on the power line
In a Studebaker with Birdie Joe Hoaks
I'm diggin' all the way to China with a silver spoon
While the hangman fumbles with the noose, boys
The hangman fumbles with the noose

You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow
You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Get behind the mule in the morning and plow

Pin your ear to the wisdom post
Pin your eye to the line
Never let the weeds get higher than the garden
Always keep a sapphire in your mind
Always keep a diamond in your mind

You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow
Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow