Jerry Lee Lewis

Songwriter: Charlie Rich

I'm the man they're gonna hang for killin' Billy Joe
But there's a whole lot more to the story than they know
Listen to my side of it and I think that you will see
The reason that I killed the boy that made a fool of me

There was a girl named Mary Anne
And Mary Anne was all the world to me
We planned to get married
And we set the date the wedding was to be

But I walked up to her house one night
And out there on the front porch they sat
And I swore they'd never get away with that

Billy Joe took Mary Anne and went up to the dance hall one night
They didn't know that I was standin' back there in the shadows out of sight
They sat down at a table and she smiled as he gave her hand the pat
And I swore they'd never get away with that

I swore they would never get away with breakin' my heart
I knew that that was just one way to keep them apart

Everybody says his mother begged him not to take his guns to town
He should have listened to her because she knew that I was gonna shoot him down
I'll be hung tomorrow just because I had to kill that little rat
But I swore that he'd never get away with that
And Billy Joe didn't get away with that

Jerry Lee Lewis was a leading figure in the popularization of rock & roll during the 1950s. He was first signed to Sun Records in 1956 where he was labelmates with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, and other early rock artists. Of those musicians, however, he was the only piano player and combined with his heavy-handed playing style, sexually suggestive lyrics, and provocative stage antics he came to epitomize the rebelliousness of the genre.

He rose to international fame for his 1957 versions of the songs “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On.”

Lewis' popularity rapidly tumbled, however, when in 1958, when at the age of 22, he married his 13-year-old cousin. Though this scandal continued to tarnish his image, Lewis never retired from music. As of October 2015, he continues to perform live.

more tracks from the album

Nuggets: 16 Rare Tracks by Jerry Lee Lewis

From the album

Nuggets: 16 Rare Tracks by Jerry Lee Lewis (1977)

Jerry Lee Lewis popular songs

The Ballad of Billy JoeJerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis

Nuggets: 16 Rare Tracks by Jerry Lee Lewis