I was walking around in Denver
One luckless rainy day,
When Kilpatrick's mancatcher
Came up to me and did say
I'll lay you down five dollars
Quickly as I can
If you'll hurry up and catch the train,
She's starting from Cheyenne.
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho.
verse 2
Well he laid me down five dollars,
Like many another man,
And I hurried to the depot
As happy as a clam
When I got to Pocatello
My troubles begin to grow,
I was waitin' in the sagebrush
The rain, the wind, the snow.
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho.
verse 3
When I got to American Falls,
It was there I met Fat Jack,
He kept a little hotel tent
Along beside the track.
Now says he, you are a stranger,
Perhaps your funds are low,
Well yonder stands me hotel tent,
The best in Idaho.
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho.
verse 4
Well I followed my conductor
Into his hotel tent,
And for one square and hearty meal,
I paid him my last cent.
Now Jack's a jolly fellow,
You'll always find him so,
Way out in Idaho.
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho.
Verse 5
Well he put me to work next morning
With a cranky cuss called Bill,
They gave me a ten pound hammer
To strike upon the drill
They said if I didn't like it,
I could take my shirts and go,
And they'd keep my blankets for my board
Way out in Idaho.
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho.
Verse 6
Well it filled my heart with pity,
As I walked along the tracks,
To see so many old bundlers
With their packs upon their backs
They said the work was heavy,
The grub they could not go
Around Kilpatrick's dirty tables
Way out in Idaho.
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho,
Way out in Idaho.
Verse 7
Well, now I'm well and working
Down in the harvest camps,
And there I will continue
Till I make a few more stamps
I'll go back to New Mexico,
Marry a girl I know,
And we'll buy us a horse and buggy
And go back to Idaho.