Tom Dooley

Tom Dooley is an American folk song about the 1866 murder of Laura Foster in North Carolina and the hanging of her lover Tom Dula for the crime.

The Kingston Trio's 1958 recording became a major hit and helped spark the folk music revival.

The refrain—Hang down your head, Tom Dooley—is widely recognized even by those unfamiliar with the full song.

Related

gallows · old time music · Appalachian · North Carolina · true love · condemned · noose · guilty · guilty verdict · innocent · lover · betrayal · mountain · fiddle · banjo · tragedy · execution · sheriff

Opposites
folk song archetype

Tom DooleyCamptown Races

Antebellum horse-racing song

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah · Amazing Grace

narrative protagonist type

Tom DooleyJohn Henry

Legendary steel-driving laborer

Casey Jones · Johnny Appleseed · Davy Crockett · Jesse James · Pretty Boy Floyd

Family

Tom

Familiarity
Top 1,000,000
Profile
Mostly American · Timeless · Concrete · Negative · Rated PG