I've never known
the good feelin' of money
I work like a dog for my father's farm
Always told me beware the city
But how could a Saturday
dance do me harm?
I wanted her so, but she soon let me know
That a penny to Sodbuster
hadn't the chance
And I swore that I wouldn't
be poor anymore
So I took Popper's pistol,
walked into Will's Closet
And I faced Dover Flint in the General Store
I pulled him to reach him
in the drawer full of money
But he reached and I pulled
out a pistol instead
In a flash of a wink
and before I could think
I pulled my own trigger
and I watched him fall
In the darkness behind me
The men from Wells Crossing,
off the road to my left,
there's a shrill siren's call.
The bushes reach out
an d my pants try to hold me.
The rocks on the ground
tear my hands when I fall.
When we're clearing our way,
the men from Wells Crossing,
the posse surrounded me,
no use to run.
Then just to my right
there's the crack of a rifle
And I see Poppa's face
in the flesh of the gun
I open my eyes and
they're gathered round me
And Poppa's down on
his knees by my side
The bullet he fired
has settled deep in my body
But I could tell that it was Papa,
really, they'd died
In the dim afternoon's light
Papa closed his eyes tight
And the last I remembered
was my Papa cried you