I played the red river valley
heand'd sit in the kitchen and cry
run his fingers through seventy years of livinand'
and wonder, andquot;lord, why has every well iand've drilled gone dry?andquot;
We were friends, me and this old man
weand's like desperados waitinand' for a train
desperados waitinand' for a train
Heand's a drifter, a driller of oil wells
heand's an old school man of the world
he taught me how to drive his car when he was too drunk to
and heand'd wink and give me money for the girls
and our lives was like, some old western movie
like desperados waitinand' for a train
like desperados waitinand' for a train
From the time that i could walk heand'd take me with him
to a bar called the green frog cafe
there was old men with beer guts and dominos
lying and'bout their lives while they played
i was just a kid, they all called me andquot;sidekickandquot;
like desperados waitinand' for a train
like desperados waitinand' for a train
One day i looked up and heand's pushinand' eighty
heand's got brown tobacco stains all down his chin
well to me he was a hero of this country
so whyand's he all dressed up like them old men
drinkinand' beer and playinand' moon and forty-two
jusand' like desperados waitinand' for a train
like a desperado waitinand' for a train
The day and'fore he died i went to see him
i was grown and he was almost gone.
so we just closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen
and sang one more verse to that old song
(spoken) come on, jack, that son-of-a-bitch is cominand'
(you can hear andquot;son-of-a-gunandquot; in willy nelsonand's version :])
Weand're desperados waitinand' for a train
was like desperados waitinand' for a train. (x4)