Dead Redemption

I met this cowboy once

   He was a real revolver 

Let me tell you

    He was that pistol

Smoke 

   There was always smoke coming out of his guns

   And there was always smoke going into his lungs

    He was a brave sonofabitch

Bravest man I ever met, I bet 

    He could really bluff, though 

In poker, I mean

    He loved hold em

I reckon he took a couple hundred off of me

    A pale white horse with a baby blue saddle

Followed him around for years 

    Until she passed

I never seen a man like that get so upset about a horse dying

    I reckon he really liked that horse

Sometimes that black bandanna of his would cover his face

    And he'd do a bit of crime

Nothing crazy

    Just a robbery or two 

He might've collected a bounty or three

   But between you and me

He was a good guy

   He really was

There are folk around those parts that he helped

   There are folk that'll remember him . . .

Tuberculosis 

    He didn't win that stand off

No

    Death out drew him

Got him in his blackened lungs 

    And he was still pretty young

When that pale horse rode away

   For one last fight

   He was dying for awhile

And dying men often seek redemption 

  But usually it's too late for that

We take life granted while we have it 

   It's only when we are dying that we think about who we are

   What we've become

And what we'll leave behind . . .

The man behind the mask

    He taught me a few things 

But maybe

   The most important thing he taught me 

Was this,

“If you're capable of evil, you are also capable of good.”

He told me that one night at the saloon before he passed.

And I know for a fact that he really hoped it was true.

CH 1/1/25