Recordings
 Single (Ellen Smith / Travelling Man), Henry Whitter, 1924
Single (Poor Ellen Smith / Frankie), Dykes' Magic City Trio, 1927
Single (The Fate Of Ellen Smith / Santa Barbara Earthquake), Green Bailey, 1928
Molly O'Day, 194?
 North Carolina Ballads, Artus Moser, 1955
Bowling Green, Kossoy Sisters with Erik Darling, 1956
Bloody Ballads, Paul Clayton, 1956
Banjo Songs of the Southern Mountain, Various Artists (Obray Ramsey), 1955
Banjo Tunes and Songs, Pete Steele, 1958
Folk Music USA, Vol. 1, Various Artists (Pete Steele), 1958
Single (Poor Ellen Smith / The Devil And The Farmer), Cecil Surratt & Smitty Smith, 1959
Single (Poor Ellen Smith / Helen), Country Gentlemen, 1960
Country Songs Old & New, The Country Gentlemen, 1960
Roamin' the Blue Ridge with Jeanie West, Harry & Jeanie West, 1960?
Blue Ridge Mountain Music, Various Artists (Hobart Smith), 1960
Five String Banjo Jamboree Spectacular, Various Artists (Country Gentlemen), 1961
Bluegrass Gentlemen, Bluegrass Gentlemen, 1962
Frank Proffitt Sings Folk Songs, Frank Proffitt, 1962
Folk Songs of Our Land, Flatt & Scruggs, 1962
Fleming Brown, Fleming Brown, 1962
Ballads and Bluegrass, Walter Forbes, 1962
Traditional Music from Grayson and Carroll Counties, Virginia, Various Artists (Vester Jones), 1962
Bluegrass Recordings By All Star Artists Featuring The 5 String Banjo EP, Various Artists (Country Gentlemen), 1962
On The Road, The Country Gentlemen, 1963
New Frontier, The Kingston Trio, 1963
Way Back In the Hills of Kentucky, Stringbean, 1964
Sunny Side of the Mountain, Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys, 1965
Traditional Music Of Beech Mountain, NC, Vol II, Captain Hicks and Viola, 1965
Doc Hopkins, Doc Hopkins, 1965
Don Reno and Bill Harrell with the Tennesse Cutups, Don Reno and Bill Harrell with the Tennesse Cutups, 1967
Old Time Music, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, 1968
Blue Ridge Mountain Music, Hobart Smith, 196?
Pickin And Singin, Jim McCall, 1972
The Bluegrass Touch, Earl Taylor & the Stoney Mountain Boys, 1973
Outback, Pine River Boys With Maybelle, 1974
Country Bluegrass from Southwest Virginia, Glen Neaves and the Virginia Mountain Boys, 1974
Come and Go With Me, Tommy Jarrell, 1974
Springtime In The Mountains, Various Artists (Ted Lundy & The Southern Mountain Boys), 1975
Wilma Lee And Stoney Cooper, Wilma Lee And Stoney Cooper, 1976
Music From South Turkey Creek, Various Artists (Bascom Lamar Lunsford), 1976
Not A Word From Home, Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys, 1977
Bluegrass Fiddle Jam, Virgil Shouse, 1977
20 Years: Concert Performances, The New Lost City Ramblers, 1978
Directions, Norman Blake, 1978
Fiddle Band Music from Kentucky, Vol.2: Wish I Had My Time Again, Various Artists (Green Bailey), 1980
Someday We'll Meet Again, Iron Mountain String Band, 1981
Stanley Series. Vol. 1 #3, Stanley Brothers, 1982
Country & Western Classics: The Women, Various Artists (Molly O'Day), 1982
Old Time North Carolina Mountain Music, David and Billie Ray Johnson, 1985
Rainbow Sign, Tommy Jarrell, 1986
John Hardy, Frank Proffit, 1986
Grassroots to Bluegrass, Mac Wiseman, 1990
In Memory, Molly O'Day, 1990
Columbia Country Classics, Vol. 1: Golden Age, Various Artists (Molly O'Day), 1990
1959-1963, Flatt and Scruggs, 1992
Molly O'Day and the Cumberland Mountain Folks, Molly O'Day and the Cumberland Mountain Folks, 1992
Sounds of the South, Various Artists (Hobart Smith), 1993
Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys, Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys, 1994
Rhythm of the Mountains, Various Artists (Molly O'Day), 1994
Mountain Music Collection, Vol. 2: Fair and Tender Ladies, Various Artists (Molly O'Day), 1994
Diamond Joe, Joe Val, 1995
Another Side of the Fraleys, J. P. and Annadeene Fraley, 1995
Old-Time Mountain Ballads, Various Artists (Green Bailey), 1995
Live in Europe, Gary Brewer & The Kentucky Ramblers, 1996
Riverside Folklore Series, Vol. 2: Singing the American Roots, Various Artists (Obray Ramsay), 1996
20 Bluegrass Favorites, Don Reno and Bill Harrell, 1997
Southern Journey, Vol. 2: Ballads and Breakdown, Various Artists (Estil C Ball), 1997
Country Roots, Vol. 1: 21 Old-Time Favorites, Various Artists (Reno & Harrell), 1997
The Bottom Line, The McPeak Brothers, 1998
Bound to Ride, Jim Mills, 1998
Murder, Misery and Then Goodnight, Kristin Hersh, 1998
Legacy of Tommy Jarrell, Vol. 2: Rainbow Sign, Tommy Jarrell, 1999
Legacy of Tommy Jarrell, Vol. 3: Come and Go with Me, Tommy Jarrell, 1999
Sounds Like Bluegrass to Me, Tony Ellis, 1999
Redbird Country & High Ground, David Essig, 1999
Blue Ridge Ballads, Texas Gladden and Hobart Smith, 19??
Country Bluegrass, Harry & Jeanie West, 2000
Holly Ding, Tom, Brad & Alice, 2000
New Frontier/Time to Think, The Kingston Trio, 2000
The Stewart Years, The Kingston Trio, 2000
The Warner Collection, Vol. 1: Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still, Various Artists (Homer Cornett), 2000
40 Years of Concert Performances, New Lost City Ramblers, 2001
Blue Ridge Legacy: The Alan Lomax Portait Series, Hobart Smith, 2001
On the Road (And More), The Country Gentlemen, 2001
Ballad Legacy: The Alan Lomax Portait Series, Texas Gladden, 2001
Canadian Amp, Neko Case, 2001
Bluegrass Bonanza: Classic Bluegrass 1946-50, Various Artists (Molly O'Day), 2001
Bluegrass Bonanza, Various Artists (Molly O'Day), 2001
Home Brew, Gary Brewer & The Kentucky Ramblers, 2002
In Concert at Cypress Gardens, Larry Stephenson, 2002
Toolshed, Kevin Maul, 2002
Old As Dirt, Bluegrass Intentions, 2002
O Sister 2: The Women's Bluegrass Collection, Various Artists (Wilma Lee Cooper), 2002
25 Bluegrass Classics: Vintage 60's: Songs of Rural America, Various Artists (Reno & Harrell), 2002
The Best of the Bluegrass Tradition, Various Artists (Kossoy Sisters), 2002
Bluegrass Jamboree, Various Artists (Kossoy Sisters), 2002
The Executioner's Last Songs, The Pine Valley Cosmonauts w/ Neko Case, 2002
Cool Blue Outlaws: Songs of Rogues Rascals and Rapscallions, Various Artists (Jim Mills), 2002
25 Bluegrass Classics: Vintage 60's: Songs of Rural America, Various Artists (Don Reno & Bill Harrell), 2002
A Stringband from Chattanooga, Citico, 2003
Bluegrass Festival, Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys, 2003
Ballads and Bluegrass / Folksong Festival, Walter Forbes, 2003
Country Mountain Favorites, Pine Tree String Band, 2003
American Gothic: Bluegrass Songs of Death and Sorrow, Various Artists (Mac Wiseman), 2003
Kentucky Mountain Music, Various Artists (Theophilus Hoskins), 2003
Don't Cry to Me, Jimmy Martin, 2004
An Evening Long Ago: Live 1956, The Stanley Brothers, 2004
Second Generation Bluegrass, Various Artists (Country Gentlemen), 2004
Wildwood Flower: Classic Country Performances, Various Artists (Molly O'Day and the Cumberland Mountain Folks), 2004
Outlaws, Renegades & Rogues: Songs of the Badman, Various Artists (Reno & Harrell), 2004
Can't You Hear Me Callin': Bluegrass: 80 Years of American Music, Various Artists (Molly O'Day and the Cumberland Mountain Folks), 2004
The Best Of Can't You Hear Me Callin', Various Artists (Molly O'Day and the Cumberland Mountain Folks), 2004
The Ballads, Sweetwater, 2005
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, 2005
Love Call Me Home, Peggy Seeger, 2005
Humming by the Flowered Vine, Laura Cantrell, 2005
Hard Times, Fernando Goin, 2005
Intended Play 2005: Wrongs of Spring, Various Artists (Laura Cantrell), 2005
San Francisco: 1968, Vern & Ray, 2006
Clawhammer and Dobro, Ivan Rosenberg, 2006
Blockbuster Bluegrass, Various Artists (McPeak Brothers), 2006
People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938, Various Artists (Dykes Magic City Trio), 2007
The Essential Guide To Bluegrass, Various Artists (Molly O'Day & The Cumberland Mountain Folks), 2007
Appalachian Mountain Bluegrass: 30 Vintage Classics, Various Artists (Reno & Harrell), 2007
The Best of Bluegrass, Various Artists (Molly O'Day & The Cumberland Mountain Folks), 2008
Essential Bluegrass Anthology, Various Artists (Molly O'Day & The Cumberland Mountain Folks), 2008
Best Loved Bluegrass: 20 All-Time Favorites, Various Artists (Ted Lundy and the Southern Mountain Boys), 2008
Oh Brother, Here Art Thou Bluegrass, Various Artists (Molly O'Day & The Cumberland Mountain Folks), 2008
Folk Songs of Our Land/Fabulous Sounds of..., Flatt & Scruggs, 2009
Vintage Bluegrass Essentials: 40 Bluegrass Classics, Various Artists (Reno & Harrell), 2009
Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions, Robert Earl Keen, 2015
Epilogue: A Tribute to John Duffey, Various Artists, 2018
Lyrics
The lyrics of the version on the San Carlos tape are;
Poor little Ellen, sweet as a rose
How I love my Ellen, there ain't nobody knows
Ain't nobody knows
How I love my Ellen, there ain't nobody knows.
Poor little Ellen, how was she found
Shot in the heart, lying cold on the ground
Lying cold on the ground
Shot in the heart, lying cold on the ground.
(Not drinking and gambling,) just (loafing) around
A (bullet) from my pistol knocked sweet Ellen down
Knocked sweet Ellen down
A (bullet) from my pistol knocked sweet Ellen down.
On Monday I was arrested, on Tuesday I was tried
By the laws of my country I had to abide
I had to abide
By the laws of my country I had to abide.
I got a letter yesterday, I read it today
The flowers on her grave have withered away
Have withered away
The flowers on her grave have withered away.
The warden told me yesterday that soon I'll be free
To visit Ellen's grave 'neath that lonely willow tree
'Neath that lonely willow tree
To visit Ellen's grave 'neath that lonely willow tree
Poor little Ellen, how was she found
Shot in the heart, lying cold on the ground
Lying cold on the ground
Shot in the heart, lying cold on the ground.
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