Interpret:

David Crosby

Album:

If I Could Only Remember My Name...

Me and my good partners
We were riding back to our camp
We were feeling very fine
The air was clear and slightly damp.


We were riding back to have ourselves a party
To celebrate the robbing of the train
We were talking kind of low and lazy
'bout not having to go out soon again.


You know we hadn't been back at home two hours
We heard a hawk cry out in the night
And you know that's a signal from young Billy who's our sentry
Saying something here ain't exactly right, oh.


We quick grabbed some of our hardware
Stumbled out of our home
Two minutes flat we had found her
An Indian girl all alone.


And Eli said let's take her back to the cabin
I said you don't know she might be the law, yeah
He said smiling kind of nasty it ain't too damn likely
She'll beat me to the draw, oh no.


As we were walking back through the darkness
I heard the Duke he's our dynamiter say
He said what's your name sweet little Indian girl
She said Raven and she looked away.


Right then I didn't trust her no no I said so, oh no.


Now Eli he's our fastest gunner
He's kind of mean and young from the South
He said Fat Albert you're getting kind of old and weird now
You'd better get your 12 gauge shotgun right out and I did oh you know I did.


Now Eli and the Duke they got down to it
They each wanted that Indian girl for their own
When they finally got around to asking her
You know she said she'd come to take young Billy home, oh no, no, no.


Eli said he'd kill young Billy
He'd kill the Duke and probably me too, yeah
That Indian girl said go ahead now do it
I said stop and she bit my thumb nearly clean through, oh.


And when they finally started to break down the door, yeah
I smeared my face up with blood from my thumb, yeah
I laid down on the floor and played real good possum
You know I'm crazy but I ain't real dumb, oh no.


Now I'm dying here in Albuquerque
I must be the sorriest sight you ever saw
You know the reason I'm the only one here to tell it
You know that Indian girl she wasn't an Indian she was the law