A man came from Spain across the sea,
and a terribly mean old man was he.
He saw a beautiful Indian maid,
and decided he wanted to get her in trade.

The Indian maid listened to him bargain all day.
A cake of soap and a yard of braid,
was all the old man was willing to pay,
for a perfectly beautiful Indian maid.

When the bargain was said and done,
the Indian maid did turn and run.
Her lovely face looked like death,
the old man chased her till out of breath.

The Indian maid jumped in a Banyan tree.
The old man followed thinking she can't beat me.
His long beard got tangled up in the branches,
He pulled and struggled to get free.

Each time he pulled he lost a piece of his beard.
This gave the Indian maid time to flee.
He gave chase and got tangled again.
I know this tall sounds weird,
the maid is free and that's how Spanish Moss began.