It was just a little while past the Sunset Strip They found the girl's body in an open pit Her mouth was sewn shut, but her eyes were still wide Gazing through the fog to the other side
They booked me on a whim and threw me deep in jail With no bail, sitting silent on a rusty pail Just gazing at the marks on the opposite wall Remembering the music of my lover's call
So you make no mistake I know just what it takes To pull a man's soul back from heaven's gates I've been wandering in the dark about as long as sin But they say it's never too late to start again
Oh when, oh when Will the spirit come a-callin' for my soul to send Oh when, oh when Will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?
It was dark as the grave, it was just about three When the warden with his key came to set me free They gave me five dollars and a secondhand suit A pistol and a hat and a worn out flute
So I took a bus down to the Rio Grande And I shot a man down on the edge of town Then I stole me a horse and I rode it around Til the sheriff pulled me in and sat me down