He was up near the snowline at sunrise, and did not feel the change on the wind For he had a few strays still out wandering that he thought he might like to bring in. So he saddled old Dunny and he rode out never thinking he'd seen his last dawn But the weather plays tricks in the mountains and like a whisper the cowboy was gone.
Then a blizzard blew in without warning and left him with noplace to go And high in the passes the cowboy lay down in cold, bitter snow And as he lay dying he looked up at a young bird beginning to fly And the wings that the eagle was spreading took it high over mountainous skies
Chorus: To ride on the wings of an eagle, and to sail with the sun at his side. To ride on the wings of an eagle was the cowboy's last wish as he died.
Then the angels all looked down and saw him, for they knew what his last wish had been So they brought him the wings he had prayed for, and lifted his soul to the wind He soared over mountains and valleys, he crossed the great western divide He rose on the wings of an eagle, and he sailed with the sun at his side.
Chorus: For to ride on the wings of an eagle, and to sail with the sun at his side. To ride on the wings of an eagle was the Cowboy's Last Wish as he died.