There ain't no one here but me
I put a home made blade to that golden throat
I'm sure you already know
By the time that he was ten
Just like a cannon shot
And he realized prayin' was the only thing
Just a little bit of luck will do"
How they nearly hung me for stealin' a horse
Yeah, but who in the hell am I talkin' to
Fell in with a crowd in some border town
I don't take no charity"
Well, he wasn't sure he knew quite how
But it always seemed to me
Well, outside the law your luck will run out fast
And one day his daddy took a ten dollar bill
And he left without a word of thanks
When you hit the end of Parker's rope"
"And You know I ain't never prayed before
But he turned his back on me
Well, it ain't the first close call I ever had
Can't help but recall
He's the only friend that you gonna have
He said, "The Lord is your only hope
Took to robbin' banks
That he hadn't ever tried
Yeah, but right now Lord with my back to the wall
With all but four shells spent
Lord, don't owe nothin' to You
And a few years came and went
And I went away quietly
I had some help from you Lord and the Devil himself
And I ain't askin' for a miracle, Lord
And I began to file and plot
Well, I guess he could have kept on preachin' till Christmas
If prayin' is the same as beggin', Lord
In Fort Smith, Arkansas
He said, "I can tell you're headed for trouble, son
And he tucked it in his hand
Well they sent the preacher down to my cell
But he looked up to the sky
And asked the deputy for the key
So he took that money and his brothers old bay
Well the Sheriff had caught him stealin' chickens and such
Said, "You don't owe me nothin' and as far as I know
It's been strictly touch and go
And your momma wouldn't understand"
And then he cocked both his pistols and he spit in the dirt
Judge Parker said, “Guilty,” and the gavel came down
Till he's trapped in an alley in Abilene
