He was barely a man in his grandfather's coat Sewn into the lining, a ten-shilling note Goodbye to the family, goodbye to the shore Till I taste good fortune, you'll see me no more
The boat on the ocean tossed like a cork Then one fine morning they sighted New York And he stood on the gangplank and breathed in the air "Hello land of plenty, I've come for my share"
{Refrain} And he did like the ladies, the rise and the fall Of their ankles and dresses, down on the dance floor And rolling the dice and spinning the wheels But he took most delight in the slip jigs and reels
There's talk a pistol and some say a knife But all are agreed there was somebody's wife Some kind of commotion, a terrible fight He left a man dead and ran into the night
A train to St. Louis, just one jump ahead He slept one eye open, a six-gun in bed And he dreamt of the mountains and green fields of home While crossing the plains where the buffalo roam
{Refrain}
Oh, bad reputation's a hard thing to bear Mothers pour scorn and young children they stare But he found consolation in flash company Your life ain't so bad with a girl on your knee
Oh, they called him the Kid, and by twenty-one All that he knew was the power of the gun And by twenty-three, he'd shot five men down Who got in his way as he rambled around
{Refrain}
There's bones in the desert and buzzards that fly In the highest of circles, just wishing he'd die But in matters of cruelty, it must be said A landlord will pick your bones before you're dead
It was wild mescaleros, I heard people say In the deadliest ambush near old Santa Fe And a young buck was taken dressed in a coat And inside the lining, a ten-shilling note