Billy the Kid's Ghost Ballad
I talked to Billy’s ghost this morning
at an all-night diner in Fort Sumner,
after he finished his chile
he turned to me for a light
I asked him if he lived here
he said a long time, long time ago,
and we both of us ordered a beer.
He told me:
there’s some people think they know me
others think they own my story
they think they got my grave
and it’s filled with me
but my spirit left this town
I’m here to tell you now
long before they threw my body down.
All’s I was looking for
all’s I ever wanted
was a house on a ridge
outside Ruidosa
and one kind word from Margarita.
Me an’ Texas, we never got a long,
nothin’ but big trouble over there.
They woulda stole my heart and soul
an’ traded ‘em for a whiskey, for a song.
Women in Muleshoe was nice and kind,
but the gamblers over there in Cut ‘n Shoot
meant to drink me under the table blind.
And the freedom that I had
that run along the edge was nothing
compared to the look on the face
of that black haired woman
when I swore to her on a July night,
on the banks of the Soco River,
that her skin was made of light
Feel that prairie fire spreading
through the corners of your room,
feel the north wind howling
inside your afternoon.
After my career got started,
after I shot that first loudmouth down,
my white hat got trampled in the dust
it turned into one long sunset
with no trace of oncoming moon
an’ sittin’ around the midnight fire,
I could not carry a cowboy tune.
After that first messed-up shootout
there was nothin’ to do to stop it,
that’s not a reason or an excuse,
it’s just an observation.
There was nothin’ to do under the sun
but turn around for the face-off
gun straight toward another gun.
Feel that prairie fire in your room
the north wind inside your afternoon.
All’s I ever wanted,
all’s I ever hoped for,
all’s I ever wanted.
Comments
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Tracked deleted by owner0
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I posted it before I realized the audio got swallowed up at Soundcloud - I'm about to do a new take.
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I did a new take but didn't have the editing time to post the link.and the site is calling it garbage now - they need to update the editing possibilities.
This track should work:
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The final audio link is working, or should be.
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Beautiful song, enjoyed it very much. Lovely guitar and harmonica.
Lyrics very descriptive and created good visuals.
Well done, highly recommended.
Thank you
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He's whole story we wrapped up in the Civil War
Sounds good man
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I lost this audio link - will try again tomorrow
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