Boy From Lawrence County

(One, two, three)

All these pills and powder could not make me stay
Oh, I'm on my merry way in the morning light
Cold New England winters have got me coughing
As the Lincoln turns the corner down Memory Street

Tell me, Judge, what's the bounty?
On that boy from Lawrence County?
He's a friend of mine
If I had a way to trap him
Would you swear to pay up, captain?
He's a friend of mine

The door swang slowly open
The committee room was dark
The bailiff marked the charts in red
Recalled a boy in orange as he slowly passed
Awkward as a calf with its legs wobbling

Be so kind, tell me warden
Who's in line to die this morning?
Could I see the show?
If he bore his teeth to scare us
Would we see our likeness, sheriff?
In the pearly glow?

Roll on old, silver river through the iron range
Past the sleeping trains that wait
Gold and amber peddles in your water wade
Like the band of Jesse James in wait

Rain, it beats the window, makes it hard to see
Who's on a drunken spree in the city lights
Silent are the dying, silent are the young
It's silent where I'm from

Tell me, love, of your husband
Will we see his headlights coming?
Will he know it's us?
When his tired eyes have lifted
Will he see your bed has shifted?
Is he bad at love?

I got the money that I owe you
Something else to show you
Could you meet me there?
Take the road out, past the station
To the river basin
I'll be waiting there for you

All these pills and powder could not make me stay
Oh, I'm on my merry way in the morning light
And all these dying matadors in dusty rings
Have killed my will to sing, and I'm gone

Tell me, judge, what's the bounty?
On that boy from Lawrence County?
He's a friend of mine
If I had a way to trap him
Would you swear to pay up, captain?
He's a friend of mine