THE BALLAD OF FRANKIE SILVER

Snowwolfs Woodland Nook

4 hrs · 

THE BALLAD OF FRANKIE SILVER

This awful dark and dismal day
Has swept my glory all away;
My sun goes down, my days are past
And I must leave this world at last

Oh! Lord, what will become of me?
I am condemned you all now see
To heaven or hell my soul must fly
All in a moment when I die

Judge Daniel has my sentence pass'd
Those prison walls I leave at last
Nothing to cheer my drooping head
Until I'm numbered with the dead

But oh! that Dreadful Judge I fear
Shall I that awful sentence hear:
"Depart ye cursed down to hell
And forever there to dwell"?

I know that frightful ghosts I'll see
Gnawing their flesh in misery
And then and there attended be
For murder in the first degree

There shall I meet that mournful face
Whose blood I spilled upon this place
With flaming eyes to me he'll say
"Why did you take my life away?"

His feeble hands fell gently down
His chattering tongue soon lost its sound
To see his soul and body part
It strikes with terror to my heart

I took his blooming days away
Left him no time to God to pray
And if his sins fall on his head
Must I not bear them in his stead?

The jealous thought that first gave strife
To make me take my husband's life
For months and days I spent my time
Thinking how to commit the crime

And on a dark and doleful night
I put his body out of sight
With flames I tried him to consume
But time would not admit it done

You all see me and on me gaze
Be careful how you spend your days
And never commit this awful crime
But try to serve your God in time

My mind on solemn subjects roll
My little child, God bless its soul
All you that are of Adam's race
Let not my faults this child disgrace

Farewell good people you all now see
What my bad conduct's brought on me
To die of shame and disgrace
Before this world of human race

Awful indeed to think on my death
In perfect health to lose my breath
Farewell, my friend, I bid adieu
Vengeance on me must now pursue

Great God, how shall I be forgiven?
Not fit for earth, not fit for heaven
But little time to pray to God
For now I try that awful road

Frances Stewart Silver (born 1814 or 1815; died July 12, 1833) was hanged in Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina, for the axe murder of her husband Charles Silver. Frankie Silver, as Frances was known, is believed to have been the first white woman put to death in Burke County.

Frankie was the daughter of Isaiah and Barbara (née Howell) Stewart.

The motive for the murder is still not clear. It was claimed during the trial that Frankie was a jealous wife seeking revenge. Later theories asserted that she was an abused wife. There is no definitive evidence for either theory. Despite claims made by journalists at the time, Frankie never confessed, nor did she discuss her motive.

Photography Lee Avison