The Last Gunfighter Ballad lyrics - Guy Clark

Now the burn of a bullet is only a scar
And he's back in his chair in front of the bar
And the streets are empty and the blood's all dried
And the dead are dust and the whiskey's inside
So buy him a drink and lend him an ear
He's nobody's fool and the only one here

That remembers the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
Oh remember the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

He said I stood in that street before it was paved
I learned shoot or be shot before I could shave
And I did it all for the money and fame
And noble was nothing but feeling no shame
And nothing was sacred 'cept stayin' alive
And all that I learned from a Colt 45

Was to curse the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
Oh curse the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

Now he's just an old man that no one believes
And he says he's a gunfighter and the last of the breed
But there's ghosts in the street and they're seeking revenge
And they're calling him out to the lunatic fringe
Now he's out in the traffic and he's checking the sun
And he gets killed by a car as he goes for his gun

So much for the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
So much for the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke