Zachariah Thomas Mackey Hargis
Photos of Zachariah Thomas Mackey Hargis. Written in September 1934
transcribed from his handwritten original
by Kelly Sullivan, [contact link]
“The Ballad of Zack Hargis”
My name is Zack Hargis
I was born in Eighty Four
In the wilds of the Ozark mountains
Where many varmints roar
In eighteen hundred and eighty eight
when I was only four
My folks they got all mixed up
in that terrible Kentucky war
Chorus:
But I'm going back to the Ozarks
I'm going back where I belong
When I get back to the Ozarks
I'll sing a different song
Come friends, I'll tell you a story
A story that I know well
Now you folks a living in the West
will say that sure is H*LL
T'was early in the nineties
perhaps t'was ninety four
there came a band of enemies
a pounding at our door
I'd hate to tell you what I think
that happened there that day
but I escaped through the back door
and quickly ran away
I roamed them Ozark hills alone
T'was for eighteen years or more
that I never knew the way of a home
I never entered a door
While I was roaming them mossy hills
my feet were always bare
I wore no clothes upon my back
so, nature gave me a coat of hair.
Now there was some Movie folks
that came in the hills
they told me a lot of funny jokes
and finally got my will.
I played in many pictures
and sort of liked it too
but, I'm going back to the Ozarks
I know that is really what I should do
Yes, the movies they did lure me
to come away out West
for many years in Hollywood
I did my very best
The West's all right for you that like
the Western life you see
But, I'm going back to the Ozarks
it's the only place for me.
We never need any money
down in the Ozark hills
nature has given us plenty
and nature always will.
When I get back to the Ozarks
my shoes and shirt I'll throw away
to get back too them wonderful hills
I'm longing every day.
transcribed from his handwritten original
by Kelly Sullivan, [contact link]
“The Ballad of Zack Hargis”
My name is Zack Hargis
I was born in Eighty Four
In the wilds of the Ozark mountains
Where many varmints roar
In eighteen hundred and eighty eight
when I was only four
My folks they got all mixed up
in that terrible Kentucky war
Chorus:
But I'm going back to the Ozarks
I'm going back where I belong
When I get back to the Ozarks
I'll sing a different song
Come friends, I'll tell you a story
A story that I know well
Now you folks a living in the West
will say that sure is H*LL
T'was early in the nineties
perhaps t'was ninety four
there came a band of enemies
a pounding at our door
I'd hate to tell you what I think
that happened there that day
but I escaped through the back door
and quickly ran away
I roamed them Ozark hills alone
T'was for eighteen years or more
that I never knew the way of a home
I never entered a door
While I was roaming them mossy hills
my feet were always bare
I wore no clothes upon my back
so, nature gave me a coat of hair.
Now there was some Movie folks
that came in the hills
they told me a lot of funny jokes
and finally got my will.
I played in many pictures
and sort of liked it too
but, I'm going back to the Ozarks
I know that is really what I should do
Yes, the movies they did lure me
to come away out West
for many years in Hollywood
I did my very best
The West's all right for you that like
the Western life you see
But, I'm going back to the Ozarks
it's the only place for me.
We never need any money
down in the Ozark hills
nature has given us plenty
and nature always will.
When I get back to the Ozarks
my shoes and shirt I'll throw away
to get back too them wonderful hills
I'm longing every day.
Date & Place:
in California United States
