Rode down Wolf Creek pass
In the white autumn lightnin'
October twenty-third
Nineteen thirty-five
I was one mounted rider
I was ridin' alone
On a gray line-back dun
He was the color of stone

On a company saddle
On a company horse
I give him the name
For Chief Joseph Nez Perce
And down Davenport Canyon
Pushin' seventeen head
I swore to the foreman
They'd come back alive

That night in the canyon
Was windy and black
Except for the lightnin'
That cursed through the sky
The cattle wild and restless
I fought at my fear
Swore to finish the job
Only Pierce could hear

We came to the rocks
And it was too dark to see
The storm flashed around me
Through the cold, pourin' rain
And the cattle got scattered
Where the cedars hung low
I prayed they would gather
In the canyon below

So I just closed my eyes
And waited to die
In a white flash of light
Down the wet canyon wall
I gave Pierce the reins
And he found us a trail
When we came to the bottom
I took rein once again

Gathered the cattle
And trailed them to town


Now I'm 91 years
And ol' Pierce is long gone
I've seen my last winter
I've sung my last song
Still remember the ranges
Still remember the sky
Still remember the darkness
Still see Pierce's eye

And he'll come for me
This dark rainy night
Through the white autumn lightnin'
We'll ride once again


© 2004 Red Cliffs Press Music (BMI) / Silversongs West (BMI).
All rights reserved. Used by permission.