Tom: Am
Am G Dm F
Am G
1. In a land the Spanish once had called the Northern Mystery
Dm F
Where rivers run and disappear And the Mustang still lives free
Am G
By the Devil's wash and the coyote hole In the wild Owyee Range
Dm F Am
Somewhere in the sage tonight The wind calls out his name Aye Aye Aye
Am G
2. Come gather round me buckaroos And a story I will tell
Dm F
Bout the fugitive Claude Dallas Who just broke out of jail
Am G
You might think this tale is history From before the West was won
Dm F Am
But the events that I'll describe took place in 1981
Am G
3. He was born out in Virginia Left home when school was through
Dm F
In the deserts of Nevada He became a buckaroo
Am G
He learned the ways of cattle He learned to sit a horse
Dm F Am
And he always packed a pistol And he practiced deadly force
[Chorus 1]
C G
Then Claude he became a trapper He dreamed of the bygone days
Dm F
He studied bobcat logic In the wild and silent ways
C G
In the bloody runs near paradise In the monitors down south
Dm F Am
Trapping cats and coyotes Living hand and mouth Aye Aye Aye
4.
Am G
Then Claude took to living all alone Out many miles from town
Dm F
A friend Jim Stevens brought supplies And he stayed to hang around
Am G
That day two wardens Pogue and Elms Drove in to check Claude out
Dm F Am
They were seeking violations And to see what Claude's about
5.
Am G
Now Claude he had hung some venison He had a bobcat pelt or two
Dm F
Pogue claimed they were out of season He said "Dallas you're all thru."
Am G
But Dallas would not leave his camp He refused to go to town
Dm F Am
As the wind howled through the bull camp They stared each other down
6.
Am G
It's hard to say what happened next Perhaps we'll never know
Dm F
They were going to take Claude into jail And he vowed he'd never go
Am G
Jim Stevens heard the gunfire And when he turned around
Dm F Am
Bill Pogue was fallin' backwards, Conley Elms he fell face down Aye Aye Aye
[Chorus 2]
C G
Jim Stevens walked on over There was a gun near Bill Pogue's hand
Dm F
It?s hard to say who?d drawn his first But Claude had made his stand
C G
Claude said, ?I?m justified Jim? They were gonna gun me down,
Dm
And a man's got a right to hang some meat.
F Am
When he?s livin? this far from town.
7.
Am G
It took 18 men and 15 months To finally run Claude down
Dm F
In the sage outside paradise They drove him to the ground
Am G
Convicted up in Idaho Manslaughter by decree
Dm F Am
Thirty years at maximum But soon Claude would break free
[Chorus 3]
C G
There's two sides to this story There may be no right or wrong
Dm
There may be no right or wrong The lawmen and the renegade
F C
Have graced a thousand songs The story is an old one
G Dm
Conclusion's hard to draw But Claude's out in the sage tonight
F Am
He may be the last outlaw Aye Aye Aye
[Repeat 1st verse] (2/3 speed)
Am G
1.In a land the Spanish once had called the Northern Mystery
Dm F
Where rivers run and disappear And the Mustang still lives free
Am G
By the Devil's wash and the coyote hole In the wild Owyee Range
Dm F Am
Somewhere in the sage tonight The wind calls out his name Aye Aye Aye
