Cowboys and outlaws and long shiny rails
Was the background setting of grandpappy's tales
Places like Tucson and old Santa Fe
Cheyenne Wyomin' during Rodeo Days
I'd sit there for hours perched on his knee
To ride just as far as his memory could see
With Billy The Kid and the one Jesse James
Rail ridin' outlaws that robbed lots of trains
Let me tell you a story 'bout Billy The Kid
The one Jesse James and some things that we did
I knew them well son just like my own name
Billy and Jesse me and we robbed trains
But a boy don't stay seven all of his life
And he starts to wonder what's true and what's lies
Still respect makes him listen to an old man's refrain
Bout a wild bunch of cowboys and some make believe trains
Let me tell you a story 'bout Billy The Kid
The one Jesse James and some things that we did
I knew them well son just like my own name
Billy and Jesse me and we robbed trains
The funeral was family as funerals should be
Except for two cowboys no one else could see
And then they were gone just as quick as they came
Billy and Jesse had robbed one more train
Let me tell you a story 'bout Billy The Kid
The one Jesse James and some things that we did
I knew them well son just like my own name
Billy and Jesse me and we robbed trains