Rider on the Rim
Red Steagall
[Verse 1]
A D A
On the wagon last october was a kid of seven-teen
A E
A city kid from Dallas, wet behind the ears and green
A D A
He stepped out of the pages of a western catalog
A E A
and not the kind you'd pick to ride the rivers and boggs
D
The boss had throwed this kid and me together for the drive
A E
We took the outside circle, I was mad and full of fight
D
For it ain't no place for tender feet, cause where we had to go
A E
Up in the hills and badlands where the twisted cedars grow
[Verse 2]
A D A
The kid had drawed a snaky bronc, plum full of dirty tricks
A E
and I'll give the kid the credit boys he stayed and took his licks
A D A
Cause everytime he got throwed off, he'd step back on again
A E A
And we all were wondered how much practicin this city boy could stand
D
At the head of an arroyo where the tamarac grow tall
A E
I sent the kid a driftin north, to ride out Deadmans draw
D
The country's pretty open and the draw ain't very deep
A E
So I took Blackhole canyon, where the bluffs are high and steep
[Chorus]
A A7
It was misty in the canyon, the light was sorta dim
D
Thru the mist I saw a ghostly rider on the rim
E
He waved his hat and motioned to go back the way I come
D A
and when the mist had cleared away the ghostly form was gone
[Verse 3]
A D A
I turned my horse around, headed back to Deadmans draw
A E
I knowed the kids in trouble I could feel it in my crawl
A D A
From the trail of broken cedars and the deep tracks in the sand
A E A
The gray was usin all his tricks the kid had made a hand
D
But up beneath a cutbank where the trail is slick and steep
A E
The gray lay thrashin on his side the kid lay underneath
D
His foot run thru the stirrup, holdin to the horses head
A E
He knew that if the gray got up he'd soon be drug to death
[Verse 4]
A D A
The kid was tired and gettin weak, the horse was gainin ground
A E
I slipped my gutline round his neck, the kid got turned around
A D A
So's he was in the saddle when the horse got to his feet
A E A
Then we rode out together but we didn't hardly speak
D
A dozen times I've ridden out along the canyon rim
A E
There ain't no tracks and I ain't seen that ghostly form again
D
and I don't really care if you believe a word I say
A E
A cowboy guardian angel helped me save the kid that day
[Final Chorus]
A A7
It was misty in the canyon, the light was kinda dim
D
Thru the mist I saw a ghostly rider on the rim
E
If I live to be a hundred I will not forget the day
D A
when a cowboy guardian angel taught two punchers how to pray..............
A E A
(Slowing) How to pray......... How to pray...............