The following quote comes directly from the album, "We Shall Overcome, The Pete Seeger Sessions" (Pete, not Bob. No relation, as far as I know. Pete Seeger is (was?) a well-know folksinger), by Bruce Springsteen (copyright 2006 by Bruce Springsteen):

"This historical ballad originated in the immediate aftermath of james's murder. . . . Written by mistrel Billy gashade, and rewritten as a social protest by Woody Guthrie in 1939. This version is derived form the original."


Jesse James was a lad
That killed many a man
He robbed the Glendale train
He stole from the rich
And he gave to the poor
He'd a hand and a heart and a brain

Well it was Robert Ford
That dirty little coward
I wonder now how he feels
For he ate of Jesse's bread
And he slept on Jesse's bed
And he laid poor Jesse in his grave

Well Jesse had a wife
To mourn for his life
Three children now
They were brave
Well that dirty little coward
That shot Mr. Howard
He laid poor Jesse in his grave

Well Jesse was a man
A friend to the poor
He'd never rob a mother or a child
There never was a man with
The law in his hand
That could take Jesse James when alive

Well Jesse had a wife
To mourn for his life
Three children now
They were brave
Well that dirty little coward
That shot Mr. Howard
He laid poor Jesse in his grave

It was on a Saturday night
When the moon was shining bright
They robbed the Glendale train
And people they did say
O'er many miles away
It was those outlaws Frank and Jesse James

Well Jesse had a wife
To mourn for his life
Three children now
They were brave
But that dirty little coward
That shot Mr. Howard
He laid poor Jesse in his grave

Now the people held their breath
When they heard of Jesse's death
They wondered how he'd ever
Come to fall
Robert Ford it's a fact
He shot Jesse in the back
While Jesse hung a picture on the wall

Jesse went to rest
With his head on his breast
The devil upon his knee
He was born one day
In the County Clay
And he came from a
Solitary race

Well Jesse had a wife
To mourn for his life
Three children now
They were brave
Well that dirty little coward
That shot Mr. Howard
He laid poor Jesse in his grave