Artist: Tom Russell
[INTRO]
[Dm] [Am]
[VERSE 1]
In a land the Spanish once had called the [G]Northern Mystery
Where [D]rivers run and disappear and the [F]mustang still lives free
By the [C]Devil’s wash and the coyote hole in the [G]wild Owyhee Range
[D]Somewhere in the sage tonight, the [F]wind calls out his name
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
[VERSE 2]
Come gather round me buckaroos, a [G]story I will tell
Of the [Em7]fugitive Claude Dallas, who [Am]just broke out of jail
You may think this tale is a history, from [G]before the West was won
But the [Em7]events that I’ll describe took place in [Am]nineteen eighty-one
[VERSE 3]
He was born out in Virginia, left [G]home when school was through
In the [Em7]deserts of Nevada, he became[Am] a buckaroo
He learned the ways of cattle, he [G]learned to sit a horse
He [Em7]always packed a pistol and he [Am]practiced deadly force
[VERSE 4]
And then [C]Claude became a trapper and he [G]dreamt of the bygone days
And he [D]studied bobcat logic and the [F]wild and silent ways
In the [C]bloody runs near Paradise and the [G]monitors down south
[D]Trapping cats and coytes and [F]living hand to mouth
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
[VERSE 5]
Then Claude took to living all alone, out [G]many miles from town
A [Em7]friend, Jim Stevens, brought supplies and he [Am]stayed to hang around
That day two wardens, Pogue and Elms, drove [G]in to check Claude out
They were [Em7]seeking violations and to [Am]see what Claude's about
[VERSE 6]
Now Claude had hung some venison, he had a [G]bobcat pelt or two
Pogue [Em7]claimed they were out of season, he said, "[Am]Dallas, you're all through"
But Dallas would not leave his camp, he re[G]fused to go to town
As the [Em7]wind howled through the bull-camp they [Am]stared each other down
[VERSE 7]
It's [C]hard to say what happened next, per[G]haps we'll never know
They were [D]gonna take Claude in to jail, and he [F]vowed he'd never go
Jim [C]Stevens heard the gunshot and [G]when he turned around
Bill [D]Pogue was falling backwards, Conley [F]Elms, he fell face down
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
[INSTRUMENTAL]
[Am] [G] [Em7] [Am] [G] [Am] [G] [Em7] [Am] [Em7] [Am]
[VERSE 8]
Jim Stevens walked on over, there was a [G]gun near Bill Pogue's hand
It's [Em7]hard to say who'd drawn his first, but [Am]Claude had made his stand
Claude said, "I'm justified Jim, they were [G]gonna gun me down
And a [Em7]man's got a right to hang some meat when he's [Am]living this far from town"
[VERSE 9]
It took eighteen men and fifteen months to [G]finally hunt Claude down
In the [Em7]sage outside of Paradise, they [Am]ran him to the ground
Convicted up in Idaho, man[G]slaughter by decree [Em]
Twenty years in maximum, but [Am]soon Claude would break free
[VERSE 10]
There's [C]two sides two the story, there may [G]be no right or wrong
The [D]lawman and the renegade have [F]graced a thousand songs
The [C]story is an old one, a con[G]clusion's hard to draw
But [D]Claude's out in the sage tonight, he may [F]be the last outlaw
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
[VERSE 11]
In a land the Spanish once had called the [G]Northern Mystery
Where [D]rivers run and disappear and the [F]mustang still lives free
By the [C]Devil’s wash and the coyote hole in the [G]wild Owyhee Range
[D]Somewhere in the sage tonight, the [F]wind calls out his name
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
[Dm] [Am]
[VERSE 1]
In a land the Spanish once had called the [G]Northern Mystery
Where [D]rivers run and disappear and the [F]mustang still lives free
By the [C]Devil’s wash and the coyote hole in the [G]wild Owyhee Range
[D]Somewhere in the sage tonight, the [F]wind calls out his name
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
[VERSE 2]
Come gather round me buckaroos, a [G]story I will tell
Of the [Em7]fugitive Claude Dallas, who [Am]just broke out of jail
You may think this tale is a history, from [G]before the West was won
But the [Em7]events that I’ll describe took place in [Am]nineteen eighty-one
[VERSE 3]
He was born out in Virginia, left [G]home when school was through
In the [Em7]deserts of Nevada, he became[Am] a buckaroo
He learned the ways of cattle, he [G]learned to sit a horse
He [Em7]always packed a pistol and he [Am]practiced deadly force
[VERSE 4]
And then [C]Claude became a trapper and he [G]dreamt of the bygone days
And he [D]studied bobcat logic and the [F]wild and silent ways
In the [C]bloody runs near Paradise and the [G]monitors down south
[D]Trapping cats and coytes and [F]living hand to mouth
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
[VERSE 5]
Then Claude took to living all alone, out [G]many miles from town
A [Em7]friend, Jim Stevens, brought supplies and he [Am]stayed to hang around
That day two wardens, Pogue and Elms, drove [G]in to check Claude out
They were [Em7]seeking violations and to [Am]see what Claude's about
[VERSE 6]
Now Claude had hung some venison, he had a [G]bobcat pelt or two
Pogue [Em7]claimed they were out of season, he said, "[Am]Dallas, you're all through"
But Dallas would not leave his camp, he re[G]fused to go to town
As the [Em7]wind howled through the bull-camp they [Am]stared each other down
[VERSE 7]
It's [C]hard to say what happened next, per[G]haps we'll never know
They were [D]gonna take Claude in to jail, and he [F]vowed he'd never go
Jim [C]Stevens heard the gunshot and [G]when he turned around
Bill [D]Pogue was falling backwards, Conley [F]Elms, he fell face down
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
[INSTRUMENTAL]
[Am] [G] [Em7] [Am] [G] [Am] [G] [Em7] [Am] [Em7] [Am]
[VERSE 8]
Jim Stevens walked on over, there was a [G]gun near Bill Pogue's hand
It's [Em7]hard to say who'd drawn his first, but [Am]Claude had made his stand
Claude said, "I'm justified Jim, they were [G]gonna gun me down
And a [Em7]man's got a right to hang some meat when he's [Am]living this far from town"
[VERSE 9]
It took eighteen men and fifteen months to [G]finally hunt Claude down
In the [Em7]sage outside of Paradise, they [Am]ran him to the ground
Convicted up in Idaho, man[G]slaughter by decree [Em]
Twenty years in maximum, but [Am]soon Claude would break free
[VERSE 10]
There's [C]two sides two the story, there may [G]be no right or wrong
The [D]lawman and the renegade have [F]graced a thousand songs
The [C]story is an old one, a con[G]clusion's hard to draw
But [D]Claude's out in the sage tonight, he may [F]be the last outlaw
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
[VERSE 11]
In a land the Spanish once had called the [G]Northern Mystery
Where [D]rivers run and disappear and the [F]mustang still lives free
By the [C]Devil’s wash and the coyote hole in the [G]wild Owyhee Range
[D]Somewhere in the sage tonight, the [F]wind calls out his name
Ay-yi-[Am]yi
Used chords
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