Between The Country

They got the farmhouse burning, watched it burn to the ground
Smoke filled the horizon just two miles from town
There was no need to worry, there was no one who’d care
It was a dog den where good men were rare

With the wheels on the highway through the cold autumn rain
Out came the pistols and a book full of names
Thumbing each one who’d sing out the words
Facing hard time is an old junkie curse

On down between the country
Where deer lay along the road
On down between the country
Where a long life is a blessed one, I’m told

When they caught up with Henry, he was out in his yard
Splitting that beechwood before the winter hit hard
Laid a bullet in his back, watched him drop like a rock
And come to rest ‘cross that old chopping block

Anne Carol ran the uppers from the laundry downtown
Played online poker when there was no one around
And except for a few strays in the dead parking lot
Not a soul heard the thud or the shot

On down between the country
Where deer lay along the road
On down between the country
Where a long life is a blessed one, I’m told