Sagebrush Serenade
by John H Thomas Jr

I hung up my guns in Tucson
And headed down to Mexico
I got so sick and tired
Of being on the go

With dead eyed men and devils
Always dogging down my trail
I made love to the devil’s daughter
Just to go my bail

I had to sell my horse and saddle
for the price of bed and beans
and the only hopes I’ll have today
are as ragged as my jeans

Tomorrows round the corner
and yesterdays down the street
a man’s got to watch for strangers
and any one he meets

On a grave yard night to August
a cool breeze on my back
Crickets were singing dirges
in the moon lit, outlined black

A shot rang in the distance
a sharp pain in my side
someone had got my number
and there ain’t no place to hide

In a heartbeat I had fallen
in the arroyo’s sun baked sand
a threatening shadow over me
A Bowie in its hand

The words I heard I won’t forget
like the sun they burned my mind
a debt repaid by anyone
was enough for my kind

What did I do to deserve such a fate
Could it be that my lesson
had been taught way too late
But fortune was smiling
My life would be spared
Rest assured I’d be changing
To this I will so swear

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