Evans Kyle - Old Red lyrics

Old Red was one of the ornriest yet

I've seen at the big rodeos,

He'd bite you and kick you and stomp out your life,

Old Red had never been rode.

Meaner than sin, wild as the wind

That blew on the Montana plains

Old Red was one of the last of his breed

And wasn't about to be tamed.

From Idaho a young cowboy came

To ride in the big rodeo,

The young cowboy's name was Billy McClain

And Billy had never been throwed.

The greatest desire filled young Billy's heart

To ride this old outlaw called Red,

He drew him one day and I heard Billy say,

"I'll ride him, or drop over dead."

Old Red was wicked down there in the chutes

He was kickin' and stompin' about

Billy swung into the saddle with ease,

And yelled, "Turn 'im loose, let us out."

Old Red came out with his head on the ground,

His back hooves were touchin' his nose

Tryin' to get rid of the man on his back,

But the man went wherever he'd go.

Old Red was buckin' straight for the fence

Suddenly stoppin' and then

He rared on his hind legs and fell on his back,

Takin' poor Billy with him.

There was a hush in the crowd for they knew

This would be Billy's last ride,

The saddlehorn crushed Billy's chest as they fell,

And under Old Red, Billy died.

Old Red lay still, no more would he move

The cowboys that seen it could tell

In trying to throw Billy off of his back,

Old Red broke his neck when he fell.

Out in the West is a place where they rest,

This cowboy that never was throwed,

And one foot away, restin' there 'neath the clay,

Is the outlaw that never was rode.

[Thanks to Connie for lyrics]