On the banks of a leper white desert
 The cattlemen claimed Tularosa 
The farmer then fought with the herder 
In the distance I stood with my father

 He said, "Son I must bid you go hither,
 For we've betrayed by our brothers
 They have placed us between Tularosa
 And a band of the dreaded Comanches" "No father, I will not be parted
 Like you I would walk as a warrior
 I will take up the bow and the arrow
 Side by side we will fight the Comanches" "Son you must lay down your weapons
 And walk down this pass with hands open 
For there in the town Tularosa
 We are known as the wicked Apaches When you come to the gates of Tularosa
 You must pray to the sky, desert, eagle
 Then look into each eye with your kindness
 And walk straight to eyes that reflect you I will stay and watch on from this distance
 Til I see you have reached Tularosa
 Then I will turn my face to the Comanches
 And I know they will not show me mercy" So I walked down the hill and a farewell
 Saved my tears til I faced Tularosa
 And I held my head high like my father 
A hard wind dried my face at the outskirts As I walked down the road to Tularosa
 The eagle I felt on my shoulder
 I offered my prayer to the desert
 As I stared through the fog of their hatred There they stood in the sunset's warm halo
 A woman holding hands with her daughter
 And they called me from something inside them
 So I answered and walked to their side I made my home there with this family
 And I worked with glad heart to repay them
 For to walk alone never would they let me
 To the angry crowds never betrayed me And I came to be ready for marriage
 With joy took the hand of the daughter
 And we made our home there in Tularosa
 And the sky blessed our house and our children But I knew all but one had forgotten
 The first day that I walked in Tularosa 
For whenever the times that he passed me
 He would still call out "wicked Apache!" The day I was killed in the desert
 I was gathering the fruit of a yucca
 As they faced me they saw a man smiling 
Left my body in white sands of gypsum As my breath floated over the canyons
 And o'er the mountains of Sierra Blanca
 I remembered the pink desert flower 
I remembered the cheeks of my sweetheart I have seen a man shed blood for water
 Offer gold to the sky for the rain
 My people too prayed for three rivers
 To visit our desert again   To my people they call the Apache
 The desert is old holy dust
 To the cattleman, Mexican, Yankee The desert will do what it must To my son I did not leave a rifle
 Nor my daughter the dry Tularosa
 To my killers I leave only wisdom
 To the desert my blood and my bones My blood and my bones
 To the desert my blood and my bones

Oh gallows, oh gallows
 My Lord knows what you do
 Your carrion crows so tender, so tender My darling son I wonder
 How did you end this way 
What fault of me, thy mother, thy mother
 Did not my teachings teach you
 To walk straight in your way
 My words of faith not reach you, not reach you Oh gallows, oh gallows
 My Lord knows what you do
 Your carrion crows so tender, so tender What did possess you brother
 We'd made our fair escape
 To render your confession, confession
 This wicked town doth judge us
 Unworthy to forgive
 Would rather see us hungry and beggars Oh gallows, oh gallows
 My Lord knows what you do
 Your carrion crows so tender, so tender All eyes fall on you father
 Oh carrier of disdain
 Your shame our only fetter, our fetter
 For though we walk with honor
 You taint our family name
 And cause us now to wander Oh gallows, oh gallows…

Your principles fly on the cold northern wind
 High hungry Sierra come a-hunting again Swallow the silence, try your last chances on
 She'll blow and she'll tarry till you're all dead and done You're rolling away In a mane of black satin and a wife in black silk
 Oh rich man you suffer alongside poor bellies to fill Your gold-heavy pockets no they can't find a till
 Lay coins on eye sockets, pay the reaper and he’ll Help you roll away You're rolling away You’re rolling away I don’t want to die here on this mountain
 Tell me Lord, did you bring me this far just to fall
 I don’t wanna die under the Sky 
 Don’t want to roll…

Last ride 
Last ride to Las Cruces 
Last ride
 Last ride to Las Cruces 
Out here nobody gets the last laugh
 They only die by a beginner's hand
 Like Patty Garret did to Billy the Kid
 Just like the killers Billy's bullets did in  
Last ride
 Last ride to Las Cruces 
Last ride
 Last ride to Las Cruces 
There ain't no business is your business
 Unless your making it your business 
And if your business is to get paid
 You may be doing business in your grave 
Last ride
 Last ride to Las Cruces
 Last ride
...

I found no peace at Appomattox
 And only ghosts to ride the field
 Take my soul and plow me under
 Before the devil takes hold of me No peace... I gave it all for my Virginia
 My youth, my children, oh lonely wife
 And now a scarecrow I stand before you 
Behold my heart of straw, my hollowed eyes No peace... For love of country I wooed the pistol
 Dragoon revolver and bayonet
 And witnessed dread foe and brave companion
 Romance the black soil with blood and breath No peace... no peace... no peace...
 At Appomattox And thoughts lay heavy upon a memory
 The words of old hag Magdalene
 Her cough and cackle "My boy be careful now
I see your demon, he wants his way I see him perched there upon your shoulder
 The angry wolf say the Cherokee
 I see your gentle wolf goes hungry now
 The wolf that wins will be the one you feed You feed... you feed... You listen now... to old Magdalene… I found no peace at Appomattox
 And only ghosts to ride the field
 Take my soul and plow me under
 Before the devil takes hold of me No peace at Appomattox

On the flows of the sea did the Trojans meet
 Their foes from Sparta come
 And when betrayed by a horse, as a matter of course
 Fought brave for their kingdom
 So a cowboy lives by the sword of his word
 Though the sword be of guns and smoke
 And he's a noble man, for adored by the pen
 of Eugene Manlove Rhodes Eugene Manlove Rhodes! To the new world's shores conquistadors
 Brought hopes for treasures untold 
When they landed there the chiefs knelt in prayer
 Then were killed for glory and gold
 So a cowboy takes what he knows is his right
 Be it steer, water, life or steed
 And it's a well known fact, indeed an honorable act
 As written in Gene Rhodes' creed Eugene Manlove Rhodes! To the promised land Joshua led by the hand
 The sons of Israel
 And by the mighty song of that mighty throng
 The walls of Jericho fell
 So a cowboy rides by the force of his will
 Over land that no mercy doest show
 For it's a cold blue gaze tames the desert's blaze
 Sayeth Eugene Manlove Rhodes Eugene Manlove Rhodes! With iron fists did the soldiers lift
 That glorious empire of Rome
 But on the by and by far foreign tribes
 Came a'conquerin' it for their own
 So a cowboy learns every empire falls
 And was held by no great height
 But if you're looking for fight, you’re looking for a fight So raise a long slow gin to the black and bloody with sin
 To the white hot sun, to the barrel of a gun
 To the palomino horse and to warm bordello doors 
To the scorpions and snakes, to the regals and rakes
 Both the jaded and the just writ large in the dust
 Of the gambler and the card, ol' Tularosa's bard
 Eugene Manlove Rhodes Eugene Manlove Rhodes!
 Eugene Manlove Rhodes!