Bury Me Not

These words came slow and mournfully
From the bleedin' lips of the youth who lay
On his dyin' bed at the close of day

He moaned in pain while over his head
The shadows of death grew thick like lead
He thought of his home and family that night
As the cowboys gathered to watch him die

"Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie
Where the wild coyotes howl over me
In a narrow grave, just six by three
Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie"

"In dreams I've listened to the well-known words
Of the wild prairie winds and the songs of birds
I think of the table where my mama put flowers
And the scenes I loved in those long lost hours"

"It matters not I've often been told
Where the body lies when the heart grows cold
Oh grant, oh grant this wish to me
And bury me not on the lone prairie"

"I've always wished to be laid when I died
In a little churchyard on the green hillside
By my mama's grave please let mine be
And bury me not on the lone prairie"

"Oh, bury me not", and his voice stopped there
But we took no heed of his dyin' prayer
In a narrow grave, just six by three
We buried him there on the lone prairie