Ballad Of Stanley

Stanley was a drifter back in '53 Never had a bed where he could sleep He ate his meals from the garbage can Just walked around without a real plan Found his way to the Texas line, Stumbled into our town a quarter past nine Had a few drinks at a roadside bar And that's where our story really starts It was there in the barlight, in a corner booth Where Stan first met the man who called himself Ruth Ruth planned to rob the bank and all Stan had to do Was drive the getaway car, what did he have to lose Well it sounded good to Stan, cause he'd never had No kind of money or a side that was bad They'd take the money skip town and run And live like two kings in the mexican sun Tumbleweed blowing in the wind Carried him somewhere he never should have been Was it fate or just circumstance Makes you wonder if he ever had a chance Well across from the First State Band the next day at four From the drivers seat Stan watched him walk through the door Whipped out his pistols and waived them all around He ordered all the scared people down onto the ground He took the money bags and maybe just for fun He shot two men dead and one of their sons Back outside he ordered Stan to drive The hit the county line 5 minutes till 5 Repeat Chorus Bridge: Feds caught up with them outside of Larado In an ambush of bullets and a cloud of gun smoke They killed an innocent man on that day But now that poor drifter has a bed where he can lay