I had a true love from Hannibal
Where the Mississippi turns flat and wide
We d lay out on the sandbars
And fall asleep to the barges and the fireflies
And I killed my true love from Hannibal
She was nineteen and I was twenty-two
Summer was ending and she was leaving soon
To study writing on the east coast
And I worked in my father s shop
Fixing air conditioners and heating pumps
Going to college never made much sense to me
I wanted to keep my true love close to me

The summers are hot in Hannibal
The summers there are unbearable
So we d steal down to the water s edge
And cool off in the river s ebb
One night we decided what we would do
Swim to the middle til our strength gave out
Where the current was strong and deep
Together we d be pulled down to sleep
So we swam til our bodies were weak
I watched my true love get washed out to sea
I felt a terrible grip from beneath
The river took her but it didn t take me

In St. Louis there s a prison cell
It ll be twelve more years til I get out
When I do her father says he ll shoot me down
If I don t do it myself

Most days I just try and sleep
I dream of Hannibal when it was in between
It s not quite day and it s not yet night
We fall asleep to the barges and the fireflies