Pierce

Rode down Wolf Creek pass

In the white autumn lightnin'

October twenty-third

Nineteen thirty-five

I was one mounted rider

I was ridin' alone

On a gray line-back dun

He was the color of stone

On a company saddle

On a company horse

I give him the name

For Chief Joseph Nez Perce

And down Davenport Canyon

Pushin' seventeen head

I swore to the foreman

They'd come back alive

That night in the canyon

Was windy and black

Except for the lightnin'

That cursed through the sky

The cattle wild and restless

I fought at my fear

Swore to finish the job

Only Pierce could hear

We came to the rocks

And it was too dark to see

The storm flashed around me

Through the cold, pourin' rain

And the cattle got scattered

Where the cedars hung low

I prayed they would gather

In the canyon below

So I just closed my eyes

And waited to die

In a white flash of light

Down the wet canyon wall

I gave Pierce the reins

And he found us a trail

When we came to the bottom

I took rein once again

Gathered the cattle

And trailed them to town

Now I'm 91 years

And ol' Pierce is long gone

I've seen my last winter

I've sung my last song

Still remember the ranges

Still remember the sky

Still remember the darkness

Still see Pierce's eye

And he'll come for me

This dark rainy night

Through the white autumn lightnin'

We'll ride once again