The Georgia courtoom was crowded
As Ellie May took the stand
She was accusing Reverend Joe Henry
Of being a no good preaching man
She said, the Reverend
Partook of my lovely body
The Reverend said, she lies
The jury said, now listen
I'll do the talking and
The courts will justify
The prosecuting attorney
Started pacing the floor
Sweating and making threats
The judge's wife, sitting
Back there in the back row
Said, hey, Judge, I'll check
Cause Reverend Joe Henry
Is a good man
He preached all over
The bottom land
He spoke so a
Child could understand
And there oughta be a
Whole lot more good folks
Like Reverend Joe Henry
Preaching in the bottom land
The jury said, shut up, Sally
Will the defense take it's case
Defense walked to the jury box
With a stern look on his face
One by one
He pointed to the jurors
And said, the Reverend
Picked cotton by your side
Blessed your child
When it was born
And he cried
When your mama died
Then he turned his back on the jury
And his face was getting awful red
He pounded his fists so hard
He shook the room and he
Whirled around and he said
Lookie here, Reverend
Joe Henry is a good man
He preached all over
The bottom land
He spoke so a
Child could understand
And there oughta be a
Whole lot more good folks
Like Reverend Joe Henry
Preaching in the bottom land
Somebody cussed and said
Hang him, he guilty
The judge said, now listen here
If there's one more outburst
Of emotion like that
I'll have this courtroom cleared
Yes, I will
Then the foreman
Addressed the court
And said, I've known the
Reverend all his life
He got shot up so bad
Back there in the war
That he couldn't even
Take him a wife
You know what I'm talking about
Now I swore I'd never tell a soul
But the Reverend's life is on the line
And there ain't no way
On God's green Earth that
The Reverend could commit this crime
Cause Reverend Joe Henry
Is a good man
He preached all over
The bottom land
He spoke so a
Child could understand
And there oughta be a
Whole lot more good folks
Like Reverend Joe Henry
Preaching in the bottom land