The Martins and the Coys (song)

"The Martins and the Coys" was a novelty song written in 1936, and introduced by Ted Seems and His Orchestra. It tells the story of a hillbilly feud that was finally broken when the last surviving members of each family fell in love.

In 1946, the song was adapted into the first segment of Walt Disney's animated feature Make Mine Music, where it was performed by the vocal group The King's Men.

Lyrics
Gather 'round me, children, and I'll tell a story Of the mountains in the days when guns was law When two families got disputin', It was bound to end in shootin' So just listen and I'll tell you what I saw

Oh, the Martins and the Coys, they was reckless mountain boys And they took up family-feudin' when they'd meet They would shoot each other quicker Than it took your eye to flicker They could knock a squirrel's eye out at ninety feet

All their fightin' started one bright Sunday mornin' When old Grandpa Coy was full of mountain dew Just as quiet as a church mouse, He stole in the Martins' henhouse 'Cause the Coys, they needed eggs for breakfast, too

Oh, the Martins and the Coys, they was reckless mountain boys But old Grandpa Coy has gone where angels live When they found him on the mountain, He was bleedin' like a fountain 'Cause they punctured him 'til he looked like a sieve

After that, they started out to fight in earnest And they scarred the mountains up with shot and shell There was uncles, brothers, cousins Why, they bumped 'em off in dozens Just how many bit the dust, it's hard to tell

Oh, the Martins and the Coys, they was reckless mountain boys At the art of killin', they became quite deft They all know'd they shouldn't do it But before they hardly knew it, On each side, they only had one person left

Now, the sole remainin' Martin was a maiden And as pretty as a picture was this Grace While the one survivin' boy Was the handsome Henry Coy And the folks all knew they'd soon meet face to face

Oh, the Martins and the Coys, they was reckless mountain boys But their shootin' and their killin' sure played hob And it didn't bring no joy To know that Grace and Henry Coy Both had sworn that they would finish up the job

So, they finally met upon a mountain pathway And Henry Coy, he aimed his gun at Grace He was set to pull the trigger When he saw her pretty fig'ure, You could see that love had kicked him in the face

Oh, the Martins and the Coys, they was reckless mountain boys But they say their ghostly cussin' gives ya chills 'Cause the hatchet sure was buried When sweet Grace and Henry married It broke up the best durn feud in these here hills

You may think that this is where the story ended But I'm tellin' you, them ghosts don't cuss no more 'Cause since Grace and Henry wedded, They'd fight worse than all the rest did And they'd carry on the feud just like before