Mister Shorty

Nobody knew where he came from

They only knew he came in

Slowly he walked to the end of the bar

And he ordered up one slug of gin

I could see that he wasn't a large man

I could tell that he wasn't too tall

I judged him to be 'bout 5 foot 3

And his voice was a soft Texas drawl

Said he was needin' some wages

'Fore he could ride for the west

Said he could do most all kind of work

Said he could ride with the best

There in his blue eyes was sadness

That comes from the need of a friend

And though he tried he still couldn't hide

The loneliness there deep within

Said he would work through the winter

For 30 a month and his board

I started to say where he might land a job

When a fella came in through the door

And I could tell he was lookin' for trouble

By the way that he came stompin' in

He told me to leave Shorty there by himself

And come down and wait on a man

The eyes of the little man narrowed

The smile disappeared from his face

Gone was the friendliness that I had seen

And a wild look of hate took its place

But the big one continued to mock him

And he told me that I'd better go

Find him a couple of glasses of milk

And then maybe Shorty would grow

When the little man spoke there was stillness

He made sure that everyone heard

Slowly he stepped away from the bar

And I still remember these words

"Oh it's plain that you're lookin' for trouble.

Trouble's what I try to shun.

If that's what you want, then that's what you'll get,

'Cause Cowboy we're both packin' guns."

His hand was already positioned

His feet wide apart on the floor

I hadn't noticed but there on his hip

Was a short-barreled Bass .44

It was plain he was ready and waitin'

He leaned a bit forward and said

"When you call me Shorty, say Mister, my friend.

Maybe you'd rather be dead."

In the room was a terrible silence

As the big one stepped out on the floor

All drinkin' stopped and the tick of the clock

Said death would wait ten seconds more

He cursed once or twice in a whisper

And he said with a snarl on his lips

"Nobody's mister to me little man."

And he grabbed for the gun on his hip

But the little man was like lightening

The Bass .44 was the same

.44 spoke and it sent lead and smoke

17 inches of flame

Oh the big one had never cleared leather

Beaten before he could start

A little round hole appeared on his shirt

The bullet went clear through his heart

The little man stood there a moment

Then holstered the Bass .44

"It's always this way, so I never stay."

Slowly he walked out the door

Nobody knew where he came from

They won't forget he came by

They won't forget how a .44 gun

One night made the difference in size

As for me I'll remember the sadness

Shown in the eyes of the man

"If we meet someday, you can bet I will say,

'It's me, Mister Shorty, your friend."