My name it is Joe Bowers, I've got a brother Ike
I'm just here from Missouri, and all the way from Pike
I'll tell you why I left there and why I came to roam
And leave my aged parents so far away from home

I used to court a girl there, her name was Sally Black
I asked her if she'd marry, she said it was a whack
She says to me, "Joe Bowers, before we've hitched for life
You ought to get a little home to keep your little wife"

Says I, "My dearest Sally, oh Sally, for your sak?
I"ll go to California and try and raise a stake"
Says she to me, "Joe Bowers, you're just the one to win"
She gave me a kiss to seal the bargain and throwed a dozen in

I'll never forget my feelings when I bid adieu to all
Sal she cotched me around the neck, and I began to bawl
When I began they all commenced, you never heard the like
How they took on and cried and cried the day I left old Pike

When I got to this country, I had nary a red
I had such wolfish feelings, I wished myself most dead
But the thoughts of my dear Sally soon made this feeling git
And whispered hope to Bowers Lord, I wish I had 'em yet

At last I went to mining, put in my biggest licks
Come down upon the boulders just like a thousand bricks
I worked both late and early, in rain, in sun and snow
I was working for my Sally, 'twas all the same to Joe

One day I got a letter from my dear brother Ike
It came from old Missouri all the way from Pike
It taught me the darnedest news that ever you did hear
My heart it is a-breaking, so please excuse this tear

It said my Sal was false to me, that her love for me had fled
That she had gotten married to a butcher whose hair was red
It told me more than that, it's enough to make me swear
That Sal had had a baby and the baby had red hair

Now I told you everything about this sad sad affair
About Sally's marrying the butcher and the baby had red hair
But whether it was a boy or girl the letter never said
It only said the baby's hair was inclined to be red