Intro :
O n October T wenty-T hird Nineteen S eventy-E ight
I l ost a l oved one and I confess I c ried
In the j oyous c ele-b ration of the l ady and her music
There were t ears in the H olston R iver
When M aybelle Carter d ied
Then w alking down that river road
I saw c rystal tear-shaped droplets
Silver beads of love sparklin' on the river s ide
And I'll j ust bet they turn to diamonds
For the l ove that was behind 'em
There were t ears in the H olston R iver
When M other Maybelle d ied
Then on J anu-a ry Eighth Nineteen-S eventy-Nine
We lost S ara C arter
And the pain was multi-p lied
Down be-l ow that o ld Clinch M ountain
We l aid her at Mount Vernon
There were t ears in the H olston R iver
When S ara Carter d ied
Then w alking down that river road
I s aw crystal tear-shaped droplets
Silver beads of love sparklin' on the river-s ide
And I'll just b et they turn to diamonds
For the l ove that was behind 'em
There were t ears in the H olston R iver
When M aybelle & Sa ra died
There were t ears in the H olston R iver
When Mother M aybelle and S ara C arter d ied