Dave Stamey - The ballad of bart mcgee

^CCome hear the story of ^FBart Mc^CGee, Inyo County deputy 187^G3 ^FChavez gang was running wild, ^Craising ^Amhell ^CBart tracked 'em but ^Gthings did not go ^Cwell ^AmThem bandits circled 'round and they ^Ccaught him unaware ^AmTook him to their hideout, ^Gtied him to a chair They ^Amspent the night talking 'bout the ^Cthings they could do To ^GBart McGee before they got ^Cthrough ^AmMaybe they would skin him or ^Cdrag him from a horse ^AmMaybe they would hang him, they might ^Gshoot him of course ^AmBart just sat there as ^Cif he hadn't heard, ^GThrough it all he never said a ^Cword

^CYeah this was desert country, all ^Fsagebrush and ^Cwind Beyond the Saline Valley, where ^Ghopes run mighty thin Them ^Fbandits drank their whiskey and ^Cjust outside the ^Amdoor Was a ^Cbronco mule they'd ^Gstole the day be^Cfore. ^AmThem bandits roped that mule and they ^Ctied to the shack ^AmStripped ol' Bart naked and they ^Gstuck him on its back And they ^Amturned him around 'til ^Che was pointed East And they ^Gtied his legs together under^Cneath ^AmThey untied that mule and they ^Cslapped it on the rear ^AmIt went crackin' through the sagebrush ^Glike a wild deer ^AmThey kept Bart's horse, his ^Csaddle and his guns ^GAnd they figure Bart McGee's days were ^Cdone.

Well that ^Cmule tried to buck him off, and ^Fthrough the choya ^Cdanced Bart knew that stayin' with him, ^Gwas his only chance Ol' ^FBart had fought the Paiute and he'd ^Ckilled a grizzly ^Ambear And ^Che could ride ^Ganything with ^Chair ^AmWell the sun burnt his naked butt and the ^Cwind chapped him dry ^AmAnd he broiled like bacon, under^Gneath that desert sky He'd ^Amslap that mule upside the head to ^Cturn him left or right It was ^Ghandlin' good when the moon come up that ^Cnight ^AmHe made fifty miles, it ^Cended none too soon ^AmHe topped the hill at Cerro Gordo ^Gthat next afternoon ^AmThe drunks outside the Gem Saloon could ^Cnot believe their eyes ^GWhen a naked man on a mule trotted ^Cby.

^CWe all asked what happened, Bart ^Fnever said a ^Cword He yanked out the cactus thorns, put ^Gointment on his burns. And he ^Fbought a horse and rifle and ^Cset out on his ^Amway But ^Cwhat he meant to ^Gdo he wouldn't ^Csay ^AmA week went by without a word and ^Cwe all feared the worst ^AmHad them bandits got him, ^Ghad he died of thirst? ^AmFinally he come ridin' back ^Cleadin' his old horse And he ^Galso had his hat and guns of ^Ccourse ^AmAnd the robbin' and killin' all ^Ccame to an end. ^AmNot one of that Chavez gang was ^Gever seen again. ^AmWe asked Bart about it, and ^Cwhen we'd asked enough He ^Gsaid "I just went back and got my ^Cstuff"

^CCome hear the story of ^FBart Mc^CGee Inyo County deputy 187^G3 And you ^Fknow he kept that mule for the ^Crest of its ^Amlife And he ^Ctreated it better than ^Gsome men treat their ^Cwives ^AmUh huh, uh huh, uh^C huh, a^Am a huh, uh huh,^G ohh ho o^Amh oh, oh oh^Cho o^Gh ^Coh