Gm F D
Gm F D


[Verse 1]

Gm                          F
The bar room was quiet, and smoke filled the air
   D
A young fellow was dying with no one to care
Gm                       F
I held him in my arms, a sad sight to see
D
Hear my story, he said, 'fore you bury me

Bb           F                   Bb
When I was a boy I saw my father die
                           C                    D
By the gun of a man with a scar across his eye
                            D7
And I swore that when I was full grown
    Gm
I'd kill that man with a gun of my own
Gm  F         Eb         D         Gm
I'd kill that man with a gun of my own


[Verse 2]

Gm                         F
I spent the years working, working day and night
D
Learning how to shoot, and learning how to fight
Gm                             F
The word got around, oh it was known by all
     D
They knew I drew fast, they knew I stood tall
Bb                      F
When the time was right, I left my town
   Bb                      C
To search for the man that gunned my pa down
  D                         D7
I rode through the night, I rode without stop
  Gm
I rode without rest, 'till I thought I would drop


[Interlude]

Gm F D
Gm F D


[Verse 3]

Gm                             F
Then I heard that a man with a scar had been seen
        D
In some God-forsook town, north of Abilene
Gm                      F
I knew at last, I would see justice done
    D
And if pa was alive, he'd be proud of his son
Bb                             F
When I rode through that town, every man turned away;
           Bb                       C
They could see by my face there was devil to pay
  D                    D7
I got off my horse and went into the bar
    Gm
And standing right there was the man with the scar
    D                            Gm
And standing right there was the man with the scar


[Verse 4]

Gm                        F
He looked straight at me, my mouth went dust-dry
          D
He said, "What is it son?" I said, "You're gonna die!"
Gm       F                  Eb            D
But as I went for my gun, a bullet hit my chest
                                                Gm F
And the last thing I saw was a star on his vest
D
That was the story he whispered to me

It's funny how foolish some men can be
Gm                                      F
And strange, I thought, as I buried him that day
                            D
How men, without knowing why, throw their lives away