The sun cracks gold on the rim of the day
A lone coyote calls then slips away
He pulls his hat low feels the leather creak
Saddles the bay mare barely speaks a speak
Dust on the trail a long long ride ahead
Memories of warmth and a soft warm bed
But the open range whispers wild and free
That's the only life calling out to me
Oh I'm just a cowboy riding through the dawn
Where the wind tells stories on the prairie lawn
Got my trusty iron and a faithful steed
Bound by the law that a man must heed
Through the canyons deep and the mountains high
Underneath the endless watchful sky
Living by the gun dying by the sun
'Til the final ride is done and won
He spots the buzzards circling slow and low
Knows that trouble's brewing down below
A rustler's camp by the dry creek bed
Moving stolen cattle filled with dread
He could ride on by let the lawless be
But the brand he sees belongs to the Lazy B
A promise made to an old friend gone
To protect what's right 'til the break of dawn
Oh I'm just a cowboy facing down the foe
Where the only justice that the West might know
Comes from steady nerve and a steady aim
Playing a deadly dangerous game
Through the canyons deep and the mountains high
Underneath the endless watchful sky
Living by the gun dying by the sun
'Til the final ride is done and won
A shout rings out a challenge sharp and clear
Lead starts flying whistling past his ear
He finds his cover heart like a drum
Draws his Colt so fast the air goes numb
Two shots ring true the rustlers hit the ground
Silence falls the only sound
Is the wind again and the bay mare's sigh
Another day lived where brave men die
Oh I'm just a cowboy marked by dust and lead
Living with the ghosts of the on forgiven dead
Got the scars to show and the tales to tell
Of a heaven near and a closer hell
Through the canyons deep and the mountains high
Underneath the endless watchful sky
Living by the gun dying by the sun
'Til the final ride is done and won
He rides on west as the sunset bleeds
Leaving silent deeds among the weeds
Just a shadow now against the fading light
A cowboy swallowed by the coming night
Bound forever to the wild and free
That's the only life the only destiny
Living by the gun dying by the sun
'Til the final ride is done
