Tomorrow I'll Be Home

Tomorrow I'll Be Home I rode out to the mesa, just to take a look around, And there a few miles South of here, I saw the lights of town... Why, I remember, pilgrim, I guess 'twas sixty-eight- Weren't no one for a hundred miles, but me, an' Pete, an' Kate. 'Paches caught old Pete alone, down near the Creosote well- By looks of what was left of him, his death was purely Hell. An' Kate, she bore me three strong boys, 'fore she give up the ghost- Of all the things the years have took, I miss my family most. Comanches scalped my Billy, he had just turned seventeen- An' Bob? He met a faster gun, one night in Abilene. They wrote and told of Johnny's death, and, oh, the grief I felt... He died there on that San Juan Hill, with Teddy Roosevelt. The years have left me old and gray, a little stooped and bowed- I stood my ground when I was young, I'll not go crawlin' now... They say they're gonna take my land, I have no title right- I bled for every acre, and I'm game for one more fight! Some slick big-city lawyers say they're bound to bring me down. I'll take the vultures with me, 'fore they put me in the ground- One time they called us pioneers, when we were in our primes- But now we're "cattle baron's" and we've far outlived our times. They'll be here with the daylight, with a briefcase, badge, and gun... I thought I'd make my peace tonight, I'm way too old to run- So, Lord, I'm sayin' thank you for the years that I have known- And won't you tell my loved ones that tomorrow I'll be home. © Copyright 2001 John R. Yaws - All Rights Reserved Written January 22nd, 2002 © on Jan 22 2002 05:00 AM PST, John R. Yaws   0 • 10