[NorthMountain]

My Dad had an LP with that song ... Kingston Trio or some such ... I listened to it over and over ...

I never agreed with the last verse. Of the four characters (Frankie, Johnny, Nellie Blye, and The Warden) only the Warden didn't cheat or murder anybody. And he's a man. So what the heck?

I have observed since then, that "cheating" always involves two cheaters, one of whom is usually a woman. I have also observed that women sometimes cheat with other women ...

[SaraJohnson]

Some women who cheat get wacked, too.

[JoeFromSidney]

Of the four characters (Frankie, Johnny, Nellie Blye, and The Warden) only the Warden didn't cheat or murder anybody. And he's a man. So what the heck?

Good point. However, the lyrics are what they are.

I have several Kingston Trio LPs, but I don't seem to have that one. I got the lyrics from a book of American folk songs.