Johnny Cash

The Ballad Of Boot Hill

Johnny Cash


Tom: Ab

G
Here lies Les Moore,
D
four slugs from a forty-four,
                         G
no Les no more.

                Em                               G
Out in Arizona, just south of Tucson,
                                Em               D
where tumbleweeds tumble in search of a home,

there's a town they call Tombstone
                                    G
where the brave never cry.
                        Em       D                  G
They live by a six-gun, by a six-gun they die.

                         Em                            G
It's been a long time now since the town was a boon.
                         Em                            D
The jailhouse is empty, so's the Palace Saloon.
                                                       G
Just one look will tell you that this town was real.
                         Em       D                   G
A secluded old dirt road leads up to Boot Hill.

                         Em                        G
Walk up to the fence there and look at the view
                                     Em               D
That's where they were hangin', eighteen-eighty-two.
                                                      G
It's easy to see where the brave men died
                              Em      D              G
Rope marks on the old tree are now petrified.

                              Em                  G
At night, when the moon shines so far away,
                       Em                              D
It gets mighty lonesome, lookin' down on their graves.
                                                        G
There lies Billy Klen; never wanted to kill,
                                   Em      D           G
but he's there with the guilty, way up on Boot Hill.