Allentown Jail

About Allentown Jail

"Allentown Jail" is a folk-style song. Written by Irving Gordon, it tells the story of a man who is caught stealing a diamond for his girlfriend and ends up in the Allentown jail. In 1951, Jo Stafford recorded this song. It was released as a single on Columbia Records. In 1960, Kathy Linden recorded it as her first single on Monument Records. The song became popular in the folk scene. The Kingston Trio recorded a version in 1962 with plans of releasing it as a single, but the single never came to fruition. Their version has since been released on various CD compilations of their works. In 1963, a more harmonic arrangement was performed by The Lettermen and released as a single. This version incurred some success, but only to a minor degree. Other artists who recorded this song include The Seekers, The Springfields (folk group of which Dusty Springfield was a member), Billy Strange and British singers Lita Roza and Karen Young. There is also a French adaptation of the song, "Les prisons du roy", by Edith Piaf, which was later covered by  more »

Year:

2000

2:28

149 Views

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#2

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Irving Gordon

They locked up her darlin' in Allentown jail, oh, oh, oh,
And no one has come to put up his bail, oh, oh, oh.
They say at the courthouse, he'll never go free, never go free,
'Cause he stole a diamond, a beautiful diamond to give, to give to she.
Somewhere in Allentown jail, her heart waits in Allentown jail.

Oh, well, she'll dance for you, mister, she'll sing you a song, oh, oh, oh,
But more than that, mister, would surely be wrong, oh, oh, oh.
But more than that, mister, would surely be wrong for can't you see?
Her love stole a diamond, a beautiful diamond to give, to give to she.

You'll find none like him though you search the world 'round, oh, oh, oh,
And that's why you'll need the best lawyer in town, oh, oh, oh.
You must find a lawyer, the best one in town for can't you see?
Her love stole a diamond, a beautiful diamond to prove his love to she.
Somewhere in Allentown jail, her heart waits in Allentown jail.
Yeah, somewhere in Allentown jail. Somewhere in Allentown jail. Somewhere in Allentown jail.

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The Kingston Trio

The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds. It rose to international popularity, fueled by unprecedented sales of 33⅓ rpm long-playing record albums (LPs), and helped to alter the direction of popular music in the U.S. more »

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