Out by where we used to go trout fishing
Beyond the valley, we hiked to get there
As soon as the scent of pine hit our noses
we thought we had no reason to despair
We set up camp and get a small fire going
’cause it would be freezing out by sundown
And we looked up at all the stars in the sky
None of us said we wanted to go back to town
Until we heard something in those woods
that frightened us to death
We couldn’t tell if it was the trees
Making sounds because of the breeze
We laid in our sleeping bags holding our breath
We heard a mountain man whistling Dixie in the dark
It was a mountain man whistling Dixie in the dark
One of us campers mustered up the courage
to yell out to the person by that calm creek
“Stay away from us or we’ll call the Sheriff
you small miner town hillbilly freak”
There was no reply so we’d fall back asleep
Then we were awakened by a piercing shriek
Our fear turned into deep concern for her
So, foolish us, we got up to take a little peek
We ran to where we thought we heard the sound
Not a single person was to be quickly found
Then we heard something in the woods
That scared us right out of our wits
We knew it wasn’t the breeze
causing sounds in the trees
We thought we’d be sliced into little bits
We heard a mountain man whistling Dixie in the dark
An old mountain man was whistling Dixie in the dark
We never went to that campsite to go fishing again
After that none of us cared for camping outside
We heard later another group went there to those woods
and it was discovered they had been attacked & died
But it wasn’t some hillbilly who killed them
A pack of rabid wolves needed to eat
That man we heard whistling in the dark
was likely a ghost who was warning us to retreat
I still hear that mountain man whistling Dixie in the dark
In my dreams, I still hear him whistling Dixie in the dark.
2017