Bad Day in Red Deer
The sun was beating down, 'bout a hundred & ten degrees.
Even the dogs were sweating, passed out in the streets.
You could smell trouble in the air.
You could feel it everywhere.
It was a bad day in red deer. It was worse than the heat.
I was sippin’ whiskey down, at the Red Dog Saloon,
tryin' to quench a powerful thirst like all the rest were doin'.
The boys were playin’ pay cards,
the stakes were high and hard.
When we heard the first shots, it was just about high noon.
We heard the women screamin’, and we hit them swingin' doors.
The sheriff, he'd been hit hard and was crawlin' on all fours.
Our guns were drawn and ready.
Our hands were sure and steady
and then I saw Jess Carter's face. He was settlin' old scores.
Now Jesse he'd once saved my life so I couldn't gun him down.
Then Jesse's eyes met mine as his gun hand spun around.
In that one split second,
before either of us reckoned
a bullet from another gun drove Jesse to the ground.
I dropped my gun in the dust and ran where Jesse lay.
Old memories came rushing back of kid's play yesterday.
Jesse'd fenced with death
and death took his last breath.
I bit my lip to stop the tears as Jesse slipped away.
I turned and walked away, shaky in the knees,
thinkin' 'bout the carnage layin' back there in the street.
I wiped the sweat from my head
and said a prayer for the dead.
It was a bad day in red deer. It was worse than the heat