Billy Austin

My name is Billy Austin, I'm 29 years old
I was born in Oklahoma
Quarter Cherokee I'm told
Don't remember Oklahoma
It's been so long since I left home
Seems I've always been in prison
Like I've always been alone

Didn't mean to hurt nobody
Never thought I'd cross that line
I held up a filling station
Just like I'd done a hundred times
The kid done like I told him
He lay face down on the floor
I guess I'll never know what made me turn
And walk back through that door

The shot rang out like thunder
My ears rang like a bell
But no one come running
So I called the cops myself
A court appointed lawyer
Couldn't look me in the eye
He just stood and closed his briefcase
When they sentenced me to die

But now the waiting's over
As my final hours drag by
I ain't about to tell you that
I don't deserve to die
But could you pull that switch yourself, sir
With a sure and steady hand
And could you still tell yourself, sir
That you're better than I am

My name is Billy Austin, I'm 29 years old
I was born in Oklahoma
Quarter Cherokee, I'm told