Folk and Traditional Song Lyrics:
Twice Tried Twice Hung Twice Buried

Twice Tried, Twice Hung, Twice Buried

Twice Tried, Twice Hung, Twice Buried
(J. Raven)

At West Brom's Hare and Hounds, they say,
William Booth his men did meet,
In counterfeit and forgery pay,
To the Walsall bank's defeat, me lads,
To the Walsall bank's defeat.

Cho:    Twice tried, twice hung, twice buried, was Booth of Perry Barr. (2x)

His brother's life and a peddler's too
Some swore he took away,
Then tried he was for a murder new,
But the evidence held no sway, me lads,
But the evidence held no sway.

Dragoons full seven and specials ten,
Rode to the Hare and Hounds,
Where Booth with forgeries was ta'en,
And carried from the grounds, me lads,
And carried from the grounds.

At Stafford court he was arraigned
And there condemned on high,
The noose around his neck was ranged,
But Booth refused to die, me lads,
But Booth refused to die.

Revived and hung just two hours gone,
Booth to his grave was ta'en.
Oh! There to lie but for a while,
Till the boundary line was changed, me lads,
Till the boundary line was changed.

The material for this song was obtained from Mr. Derek Cherrington, of Great Wyr
ley, Cannock. Booth, an infamous forger, lived on Squire Gough's Farm at Perry H
all (now known as Booth's Farm). A tunnel was supposed to lead from the farm to
the Hare and Hounds at West Bromwich where he transacted his business. Suspected
 of two murders and tried for a third he was finally caught while attempting to
burn the evidence of forgery and was tried and sentenced to death at Stafford As
size in 1812. The executioner bungled and Booth had to be revived and was hung a
gain two hours later. After burial, the Staffordshire/Warwickshire boundary was
altered and Booth's remains dug up and re-buried in the right county. Twice trie
d, twice hung, twice buried was the reputation he earned for himself.
Tune for verse, "The Greenland Whale Fishery."
Tune for chorus, "Macpherson's Lament."
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