I grew up in Wyoming In and around Jackson's hole In the shadows of the Tetons Where summers are hot And winters unbearably cold But the Spring and the Fall Are always as good as it gets For over 70 years now I'd watch the sun rise and set
I've been a cowboy Working the round-ups in spring I've lived in the mountains Hunted the grizzly Trapping the rivers and streams Always the loner I've treasured my freedom the most And though i never married As a young man I might have come close
From somewhere back east She came to the valley With a man who did her no good He was fast with the ladies A tin horn gambler And a cheat whenever he could She had no friends or family Most of the time he was gone He died in a card game And she found herself all alone
Alone and afraid and left unprotected 'Cause he was all that she had Maybe I should have But Inever told her So she never knew he was bad But I'll always remember Standing and watching her cry There was no one to help her But I was determined to try
I mended her fences and Fixed up her cabin I had everything looking good I laid by her food And wood for the winter Helping wherever I could The more I was around her The more I wanted to be There was something about her That brought out a good side of me
I went into town, I brought a new outfit I got me a haircut and shave I'd trek through the snow For no good reason Just to go by her cabin each day I don't know about love But Iwas quite taken in by it all Till her brother came in the Spring And he took her back to St. Paul
I don't go down to Jackson Ain't nothing there but motels and bars Too damn many tourists No place to hide They'll find you wherever you are They like to call me old timer I am getting older I guess But i don't like the changes 'Cause I've seen it all at its best
When my life is over I don't want to be left in town But up in the mountains There is a place I've marked off my own piece of ground High in the Tetons Above and away from it all From the top of old Grand I bet on a clear day - you can see All the way to St. Paul