G 320033 C x32010

D x00232

We shall miss your bright eyes and sweet smile.
For you take with you all of the sunshine,
That has brighten our pathway awhile.

Chorus:

Then come sit by my side if you love me,
Do not hasten to bid me a due.
Just remember the red river valley,
And the cowboy thats loved you so true.

For a long time my darling I’ve waited,
For the sweet word you never would say.
Now at last all my fond hopes have vanished,
For they say that your going away.

Sing Chorus

CAPO: 3rd Fret

INTRO: PLAY LINE BELOW INSTRUMENTALLY
As I walked out in Lar-edo one day.

VERSE ONE

As I walked out in the streets of Lar-edo,
as I walked out in Lar-edo one day.
I spied a young cowboy wrapped all in white linen.
Wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay.

CHORUS

Oh beat the drums slowly..and play the pipe lowly
Sing the dead march..as you carry me along
Take me to the valley there lay the sod o’re me
I’m a young cowboy and know I’ve done wrong

.
VERSE TWO

I see by your outfit..that you are a cowboy.
These words he did say as I boldly walked by
Come sit down be-side me and hear my sad story
Got shot in the breast and I know I must die.

VERSE THREE

Go fetch me some water…a cool cup of water
To cool my parched lips then the poor cowboy said
before I re-turned his sprit had left him
had gone to his maker, the cowboy was dead.

CHORUS REPEAT

Oh beat the drums slowly..and play the pipe lowly
Sing the dead march..as you carry me along
Take me to the valley there lay the sod o’re me
I’m a young cowboy and know I’ve done wrong

CAPO: 3RD FRET/KEY: F/PLAY: D
Little Joe, The Wrangler, will wrangle nevermore
His days with the roundup, they are o’er
Was a year ago last April, when he rode into our camp
Just a little Texas stray and nothin’ more.

Was late in the ev’nin’, when he rode into our camp
On a little Texas pony, he called Chaw
With his brogan shoes and overalls, a tougher lookin’ kid
You never in your life before, had saw.

His saddle was a Texas ‘kack’ built many years ago
An O.K. spur on one foot, lightly swung
With his pack rolled in a cotton sack, so loosely tied behind
And a canteen from his saddle horn, was slung.

He said he had to leave his home, his pa had married twice
His new ma whipped him every day or two
So he saddled up old Chaw one night and “lit a shuck” this way
He said he’d try to paddle his own can- oe.

He’d said if we would give him work, he’d do the best he could
Tho’ he didn’t know straight up, about a cow
So the Boss, he cut him out a mount and kindly put him on
He sorta liked this little kid, some- how.

He learned to wrangle horses and learned to know them all
And get them in at daybreak, if he could
And to trail the old chuck wagon and always hitch the team
And help the “cookie” ev’nin’s – rustle wood.

We had hardly reached the Pecos, the weather it was fine
We were camped down on the south side, in a draw
When a ‘Norther’ commenced blowin’ and we doubled up our guard
It took ev’ryone of us, to hold them in.

Little Joe, The Wrangler, was called out with the rest
Scarcely had the little fellow reached the herd
When the cattle, they stampeded, like a hail storm on, they fled
And ev’ryone was ridin’ for the lead.

A- mid the streaks of lightnin’, there was one horse up ahead
He was tryin’ to catch the leader in their speed
It was Little Joe, The Wrangler, with a slicker o’er his head
He was ridin’ old Blue Rocket in the lead.

At last, we got them millin’ and kinda quieted down
And the extra guards, back to the wagon, went
But there was one a-missin’, you could see it, at a glance
Was our little Texas stray, poor wrangler Joe.

Next mornin’, just at daybreak, we found where Rocket fell
Down in a washout, twenty feet be- low
Be- neath his horse, his life was gone, his spur had rung its knell
Was our little Texas stray, poor wrangler Joe.

SOURCE: Marty Robbins-More Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs/Columbia
CS-8272

Hands that are strong but wrinkled
Doing work that never gets done
Hair that’s lost some of the beauty
By too many hours in the sun
Eyes that show some disappointment
And there’s been quite a lot in her life
She’s the foundation I lean on
My woman, my woman, my wife

Every day has been uphill
Though we climb, but we can’t reach the top
I’m weak, and I’m easily discouraged
She just smiles when I want to stop
Lips that are weary but tender
With love that strengthens my life
A saint in a dress made of gingham
My woman, my woman, my wife

Two little babies were born in the spring
But died when the winter was new
I lost control of my mind and my soul
But my woman’s faith carried us through

When she reaches that river
Lord, you know what she’s worth
Give her that mansion up yonder
‘Cause she’s been through hell here on earth
Lord, give her my share of heaven
If I’ve earned any here in this life
‘Cause God I believe she deserves it
My woman, my woman, my wife

And now my friends you’ve asked me
What makes me sad and still

And why my brow is darkened
Like the clouds upon the hill
Run in your ponies closer
And I’ll tell to you my tale

Of Utah Carol my partner
And his last ride on the trail

We rode the range together
And rode it side by side
I loved him like a brother,
And I wept when Utah died
We were rounding up one morning
When work was almost done
When on his side the cattle
Started on a frightened run

Underneath the saddle
That the boss’s daughter rode
Utah that very morning
Had placed a bright red robe
So the saddle might ride easy
For Lenore his little friend
And it was this red blanket
That brought him to his end

The blanket was now dragging
Behind her on the ground
The frightened cattle saw it
And charged it with a bound
Lenore then saw her danger
And turned her pony’s face
And leaning in the saddle
Tied the blanket to its place

But in leaning lost her balance,
Fell in front of that wild tide
“Lay still Lenore I’m coming”
Were the words that Utah cried
His faithful pony saw her
And reached her in a bound
I thought he’d been successful,
And raised her from the ground

But the weight upon the saddle
Had not been felt before
His backcinch snapped like thunder
And he fell by Lenore
Picking up the blanket
He swung it over his head
And started cross the prairie,
“Lay still Lenore” he said

When he got the stampede turned
And saved Lenore his friend
He turned to face the cattle
And meet his fatal end
His six gun flashed like lightning,
The report rang loud and clear
As the cattle rushed and killed him
He dropped the leading steer

On his funeral morning
I heard the preacher say
I hope we’ll all meet Utah
At the roundup far away
Then they wrapped him in a blanket
That saved his little friend
And it was this red blanket
That brought him to his end

2)Meaner than sin - wild as the wind
That blew on the Montana plains
Old Red was one of the last of his breed
Was-n’t about to be tamed.

3)From Idaho a young cowboy came
To ride in the big rode- o
The young cowboy’s name was Billy McLane
And Billy had never been throwed.

4)The greatest de-sire filled young Billy’s heart
To ride this old outlaw called Red
He drew him one day and I heard Billy say
“I’ll ride ‘im or drop over dead.”

5)Old Red was wicked down there in the chute
He was kickin’ and stompin’ a-bout
Billy climbed into the saddle with ease
Then yelled: “Turn ‘im loose – let us out.”

6)Old Red came out with his head on the ground
His back hooves were touchin’ his nose
Tryin’ to get rid of the man on his back
But the man went wherever he’d go.

7)Billy was rakin’ Old Red with his spurs
From his tail – to the tip of his chin
He was doin’ right well – but Billy could tell
This outlaw would never give in.
8)Old Red was runnin’ straight for the fence
Suddenly stoppin’ and then
He reared on his hind legs and fell on his back
Takin’ poor Billy with him.
9)There was a hush in the crowd and they knew
This would be Billy’s last ride
The saddle horn crushed Billy’s chest when they fell
And under Old Red Billy died.
10)Old Red lay still – no more would he move
The cowboys that seen it – could tell
In tryin’ to throw Billy off of his back
Old Red broke his neck when he fell.
11)Out in the west – is the place where they rest
This cowboy that never was throwed
And one foot away – resting there ‘neath the clay

Is the – outlaw — that — never — was — rode.

Out in New Mexico, many long years ago
There in a shack on the desert, one night in a storm

Amid streaks of lightnin’ and loud desert thunder
To a young Mexican couple, a baby was born

Just as the baby cried, thunder and lightnin’ died
Moon gave it’s light to the world and the stars did the same
Mother and Father, both proud of the daughter
That heaven had sent them, Feleena was this baby’s name.

When she was seventeen, bothered by crazy dreams
She ran away from the shack and left them to roam
Father and Mother, both asked one another
What made her run away, what made Feleena leave home;
Tired of the desert nights, fartherly grieved to strife
She ran away late one night in the moon’s golden gleam
She didn’t know where she’d go, but she’d get there
And she would find happiness, if she would follow her dream.

After she ran away, she went to Sante Fe
And in the year that she stayed there she learned about life
In just a little while, she learned that with a smile
She could have pretty clothes, she could be any man’s wife;
Rich men romanced her, they dined and they danced her
She understood men and she treated them all just the same
A form that was fine and rare, dark shining glossy hair
Lovely to look at Feleena was this woman’s name.

Restless in Sante Fe, she had to get away
To any town where the lights had a much brighter glow
One cowboy mentioned the town of El Paso
They never stopped dancin’ and money like whiskey did flow;
She bought a one-way, a ticket from Sante Fe
Three days and nights on a stage with a rest now and then
She didn’t mind that, she knew she would find that
Her new life would be more exciting than where she had been.

The stage made it’s last stop, up there on the mountain top
To let her see all of the lights at the foot of the hill
Her world was brighter and deep down inside her
An uncontrolled beating her young heart wouldn’t be still
She got a hotel, a room at the Lily Belle
Quickly she changed to a form-fitting black satin dress
Ev’ry man stopped to stare, at this form fine and rare
Even the women remarked of the charm she possessed.

Dancin’ and laughter, was what she was after
And Rosa’s Cantina had lights, with love in the gleam
That’s what she hunted and that’s what she wanted
Rosa’s was one place, a nice girl would never be seen;
It was the same way, it was back in Sante Fe
Men would make fools of themselves at the thought of romance
Rosa took heed of, the place was in need of
This kind of excitement, so she paid Feleena to dance.

A year passed and maybe more then through the swingin’ doors
Came a young cowboy so tall and so handsomely dressed
This one was new in town, hadn’t been seen around
He was so different, he wasn’t like all of the rest;
Feleena danced close to him, then threw a rose to him
Quickly he walked to her table and there he sat down
And in a day or so, wherever folks would go
They’d see this young cowboy, showin’ Feelena the town.

Six weeks he went with her, each minute spent with her
But he was insanely jealous of glances she’d give
Inside he was a-hurtin’, from all of her flirtin’
That was her nature and that was the way that she lived;
She flirted one night, it started a gun-fight
And after the smoke cleared away, on the floor lay a man
Feleena’s young lover, had shot down another
He had to leave there so out through the back door he ran

The next day at five o’clock, she heard a rifle shot
Quickly she ran to the door, that was facin’ the pass
She saw her cowboy, her wild-ridin’ cowboy
Low in the saddle, her cowboy was ridin’ in fast;
She ran to meet him, to kiss and to greet him
He saw her and motioned her back, with a wave of his hand
Bullets were flyin’, Feleena was cryin’
As she saw him fall from the saddle and into the sand.

Feleena knelt near him, to hold and to hear him
When she felt the warm blood
That flowed from the wound in his side
He raised to kiss her and she heard him whisper
“Never forget me – Faleena it’s over, goodbye.”
Quickly she grabbed for, the six-gun that he wore
And screamin’ in anger and placin’ the gun to her breast
Bury us both deep and maybe we’ll find peace
And pullin’ the trigger
She fell across the dead cowboy’s chest

Out in El Paso, whenever the wind blows
If you listen closely at night, you’ll hear in the wind
A woman is cryin’, it’s not the wind sighin’
Old timer’s tell you, Feleena is callin’ for him;
You’ll hear them talkin’ and you’ll hear them walkin’
You’ll hear them laugh and you’ll look
But there’s no one around
Don’t be alarmed there is really no harm there
It’s only the young cowboy, showin’ Feleena the town

Ride, cowboy, ride
Don’t ride too slow
Tucson’s a mighty long way yet to go

He started his long ride in Prescott
The sun was a hundred or more
On down he rode at full gallop
Into the flat desert floor

Driving the big herd to Flagstaff
In Prescott the letter was there
Happiness soon would be sorrow
Sad news the letter did bear

Ride, cowboy, ride
Don’t go too slow
Ride, cowboy, ride
You’ve a long way to go

Your darlin’ now lies on her deathbed
Racked by fever and pain
Reaching for you at her bedside
At each breath she’s callin’ your name

Forward he leaned in the saddle
Pushing through mesquite and sage
His head never raised for a greeting
As he passed the Wickenburg stage

Ride, cowboy, ride
Don’t ride too slow
Tucson’s a mighty long way yet to go

In Phoenix he traded horses
Now on the back of this roan
He could see visions of Tucson
His darlin’ and their lovely home

Ride, cowboy, ride
Don’t ride too slow
There’s still a hundred and twenty to go

In through the ranch gate he galloped
And without breaking his stride
He bounded out of the saddle
And rushed to his sweet darlin’s side

Then as the dyin’ girl saw him
A smile came over her face
Holding her hand as it tightened
Barely had he won the race

Ride, cowboy, ride
On through the blue
Ride, cowboy, ride
She’ll be waiting for you

Ride, cowboy, ride
On through the blue
Ride, cowboy, ride
She’ll be waiting for you

(Thanks to Joe Q. for tabs)