1.

Meet Me Tonight In Laredo

Ronnie Robinson - Mabel Cordle

© Mariposa Music, BMI

She met him one night in Laredo just a wild comanchero they say
They told her that he'd been an outlaw and she'd have to send him away
They warned her of toil and of hardships and a life filled with heartaches and tears
Then one day he sent her a message the one she'd been waiting to hear

Meet me tonight in Laredo
Wait till the moon's hanging low
Meet me tonight in Laredo
We'll soon be in old Mexico

That night as they slipped through the darkness to the trail where their horses were tied
He whispered a prayer for tomorrow that she would be safe by his side
She smiled as they climbed in the saddle and as swift as a wild prairie wind
They rode to the Madre Sierra repeating these words once again

Meet me tonight in Laredo...

Now in their own hacienda in the glow of a soft candle light
The hands that once held a sixgun are holdin' their baby tonight
She echoes his God will go with us and at night when the moon's hanging low
She smiles as she fondly remembers the words he had said long ago

Meet me tonight in Laredo...

**********

2.

Wind Goes

Marty Robbins

© Mariposa Music, BMI

Oooh the winds are sad today oooh since you went away
There is no gladness since there's no you
The winds go oooh oooh oooh

How very strange that I find comfort when I lie
And tell my heart that she belongs to me
But still the winds know because the winds go oooh oooh

**********

3.

Cry Stampede

Bill D. Johnson

© Mariposa Music, BMI

The night was ablaze with a heavenly fire of lightnin' wind and rain
And the sound of thunder is spookin' the herd and I fear there'll be a stampede
The cattle are starting to mill around their bellows strike fear in my heart
I know if the storm lasts very much longer there's bound to be a stampede

Stampede cry stampede
The thing that a cowboy fears the most is stampede

As I sat in the saddle the night's wearing on and the storm is lingering still
The lightning's glare on the restless herd make it seem like a sea's angry swell
Then all of a sudden a bolt of fire strikes the tree where my pony stands
As I fall to the ground I can hear the sound of a drover yellin' stampede

Stampede cry stampede
The thing that a cowboy fears the most is stampede

For a moment I lay in the mud half dazed I could hear the herd bearin' down
And I crawled in a ditch where a tree came to rest and I crouched between it and the ground
It seems like a miracle of God's hand it's over and I'm still alive
And I thank the trail boss up in the sky for sparin' me from the stampede

Stampede cry stampede
The thing that a cowboy fears the most is stampede

**********

4.

Feleena (From El Paso)

Marty Robbins

© Mariposa Music, BMI

Out in New Mexico many long years ago
There in a shack on the desert one night in a storm
Amid streaks of lightnin' and loud desert thunder
To a young Mexican couple a baby was born

Just as the baby cried thunder and lightnin' died
Moon gave its light to the world and the stars they did stay
Mother and father both proud of the daughter
That heaven had sent them Feleena was this baby's name

When she was seventeen bothered by crazy dreams
She ran away from the shack and left them to roam
Father and mother both asked one another
What made her run away what made Feleena leave home

Tired of the desert nights followed with grief and strife
She went her way late one night in the moon's golden beam
She didn't know where she'd go but she'd give there
And she would find happiness if she would follow her dream

After she ran away she went to Santa Fe
And in the year that she stayed there she learned about life
In just a little while she learned that with a smile
She could have pretty clothes she could be any man's wife

Rich men romanced her they dined and they danced her
She understand men and she treated them all just the same
A form that was fine and rare dark shining glossy hair
Lovely to look at Feleena was this woman's name

Restless in Santa Fe she had to get away
To any town where the lights had a much brighter glow
One cowboy mentioned the town of El Paso
They never stopped dancing and money like whiskey did flow

She bought a one-way a ticket from Santa Fe
Three days and nights on a stage with a rest now and then
She didn't mind that she knew she would find that
Her new life would be more exciting than where she had been

The stage made its last stop up there on the mountain top
To let her see all of the lights at the foot of the hill
Her world was brighter and deep down inside her
An uncontrolled beating her young heart just wouldn't be still

She got a hotel a room at the Lily Belle
Quickly she changed to a form fitting black satin dress
Every man stopped to stare at this form find and rare
Even the women remarked of the charm she possessed

Dancin' and laughter was what she was after
And Rosa's Cantina had lights with love in the gleam
That's what she hunted and that's what she wanted
Rosa's was one place a nice girl would never be seen

It was the same way in was back in Santa Fe
Men would make fools of themselves at the thought of romance
Rosa took heed of the place was in need of
This kind of excitement so she paid Feleena to dance

A year passed or maybe more then through the swinging doors
Came a young cowboy so tall and so handsomely dressed
This one was new in town hadn't been seen around
He was so different he wasn't like all of the rest

Feleena danced close to him then threw a rose to him
Quickly he walked to her table and there he sit down
And in a day or so wherever folks would go
They'd see this young cowboy showin' Feleena the town

Six weeks he went with her each minute spent with her
But he was insanely jealous at glances she's give
Inside her was hurtin' from all of her flirtin'
That was her nature and that was the way that she lived

She flirted one night it started a gunfight
And after the smoke cleared away on the floor lay a man
Feleena's young lover had shot down another
And he had to leave there so out through the backdoor he ran

The next day at five o'clock she heard a rifle shot
Quickly she ran to the door that was facin' the past
She saw her cowboy her wild ridin' cowboy
Low in the saddle her cowboy was ridin' in fast

She ran to meet him to kiss and to greet him
He saw her and mentioned her back with a wave of his hand
Bullets were flying Feleena was crying
As she saw him fall from the saddle and into the sand

Feleena knelt near him to hold and to hear him
When she felt the warm blood that flowed from the wound in his side
He raised to kiss her and she heard him whisper
Never forget me Feleena it's over goodbye

Quickly she grabbed for the sixgun that he wore
And screaming in anger and placing the gun to her breast
Bury us both deep and maybe we'll find peace
Then pullin' the trigger she fell cross the dead cowboy's chest

Out in El Paso whenever the wind blows
If you'll listen closely at night you'll hear in the wind
A woman is cryin' it's not the wind sighin'
Old timers tell you Feleena is calling for him

You'll hear them talking and you'll hear them walking
You'll hear them laughing you'll look but there's no one around
Don't be alarmed there is really no harm there
It's only the young cowboy showing Feleen the town

**********

5.

Never Tie Me Down

Marty Robbins

© Mariposa Music, BMI

Give me lots of elbow room but never tie me down
Let me see the mountains over yonder
Give me lots of elbow room but never tie me down
Let me ride and roam and let me wander

Let me see the rivers let me see the waterfalls
Let me ride until I've seen the beauty of it all
Let me sleep out in the cold upon the dampened ground
But never tie me down
[ guitar ]
Let me see the rivers let me see the waterfalls...

**********

6.

Cottonwood Tree

Bobby Sykes

© Mariposa Music, BMI

I rode into Tucson three hours ago
For supplies and a short friendly game
Of poker while Smitty put some new shoes
On old Dan before he goes lame

I sat in a game at the Miner's Saloon
Soon I had doubled my stake
The cards run like they'd been dealt by Lady Luck
They were just sealin' my fate

A young cowboy lost more than he could afford
And accused me of dealin' too smart
His draw was too slow and he fell to the floor
With three bullets close to the heart

Oh cottonwood tree are you waiting for me
Waiting to take me away
I've done no wrong but the town cannot see
And so with my life I must pay

A crowd started gatherin' the sheriff came in
I handed him over my gun
Was then when I found out the boy I had killed
Was the town's biggest man's only son

I tried to explain I had shot in defense
It was the young cowboy or me
The crowd wouldn't listen so they drug me out
To the limb of this cottonwood tree

Majestically standing out here all alone
It's spring and the valley is green
But I can't admire a place I don't belong to me
It's all like a bad dream

But old Dan's beneath me with new shows and all
As they place the noose round my neck
Cowboys I've never laid eyes on before
Are tyin' my hands to my back

Oh cottonwood tree are you waiting for...

I see hate in the eyes of the town's biggest man
As he pulls a branch from the tree
To whip the backside of my old pony Dan
So he'll run out from under me

Insane he won't listen to my last appeal
A wild grin has covered his face
As I tried to reason just how he would feel
If he were up here in my place

There's many a mountain trail I'll never ride
Green valleys I'll never see
A young cowboy died and a man's foolish pride
Brought me to this cottonwood tree

My face is turned upward and I cannot breathe
The sky's growing dark overhead
The knot's pulling tight as my body swept free
A few moments more I'll be dead

Oh cottonwood tree are you waiting for...

**********

7.

Oh Virginia

Marty Robbins

© Mariposa Music, BMI

How many roses have faded and died Virginia
How many tears since I've walked by your side Virginia
Too many moonlights have come and gone
Too many sunups and too many sundowns
Too many teardrops and too many roses have died

I'm like I was sad like the day we parted
I'm just the same lonely and still broken hearted
Maybe I'm older but nothing is changed
Love grows no colder I still fell the same
Life has been empty but I've learned to live it Virginia

Oh Virginia when will I stop loving you will it go on forever
Oh Virginia when will these dreams that I dream of you stop maybe never
How many times when your vision appears
I've tried to hold you and you disappear
And I find the arms that once held you are empty Virginia
[ guitar ]
How many times have I seen in the sky Virginia
One lonely dove as it goes flying by Virginia
I'm like the dove as it flies through the blue
One mate it chooses and if it should lose
It remains lonely and that's how I'm living Virginia

Oh Virginia when will I stop loving you...

**********

8.

Mr. Shorty

Marty Robbins

© Mariposa Music, BMI

Nobody knew where he came from they only knew he came in
Slowly he walked to the end of the bar and he ordered up a slug of gin
Well I could see that he wasn't a large man I could tell that he wasn't too tall
I judged him to be bout five foot three and his voice was a soft Texas drawl

Said he was needin' some wages fore he could drive to the west
Said he could do most all kind of work said he could ride with the best
There in his blue eyes was sadness that comes from the need of a friend
And though he tried he still couldn't hide the loneliness there deep within

Said he would work through the winter for thirty a month and his board
I started to say where he might land a job when a fella came in through the door
And I could tell he was a lookin' for trouble by the way that he came stompin' in
He told me to leave Shorty there by himself come down and wait on a man

The eyes of the little man narrowed the smile disappeared from his face
Gone was the friendliness that I had seen and a wild look of hate took its place
But the big one continued to mock him and he told me that I'd better go
Find him a couple of glasses of milk and then maybe Shorty would grow

When the little man spoke there was stillness he made sure that everyone heard
Slowly he stepped away from the bar and I still remember these words
Oh it's plain that you're lookin' for trouble trouble's what I try to shun
If that's what you want then that's what you'll get
Cause cowboy we're both packin' guns

His hand was already positioned his feet wide apart on the floor
I hadn't noticed that there on his hip was a short barreled Bat .44
It was plain he was ready and waitin' he leaned a bit forward and said
When you call me Shorty say Mr my friend maybe you'd rather be dead

In the room was a terrible silence as the big one stepped out on the floor
All drinkin' stopped and the tick of the clock said death would wait ten seconds more
He cursed once or twice in a whisper and he said with a snarl on his lips
Nobody's Mr to me little man and he grabbed for the gun on his hip

But the little man's hand was like lightnin' the Bat ,44 was the same
The 44 spoke and it sent lead and smoke seventeen inches of flame
Oh the big one had never cleared leather beaten before he could start
A little round hole had appeared on his shirt the bullet went clear through his heart

The little man stood there a moment then holstered the Bat .44
It's always this way so I never stay slowly he walked out the door
Nobody knew where he came from they won't forget he came by
They won't forget how a .44 gun one night made the difference in size

As for me I'll remember the sadness shown in the eyes of the man
If we meet some day you can bet I would say that it's me Mr Shorty your friend

**********

9.

Take Me Back To The Prairie

Bobby Sykes

© Mariposa Music, BMI

Take me out of this prison
Back to the clear blue sky
Take me back to the part where this cowboy's heart
Wants to live till I die

Take me back to the prairie
Away from these cold prison bars
By a campfire's gleam let me lie there and dream
Under a blanket of stars

Where each mountain top wears a halo
Of fleecy white clouds overhead
Where symphonies ring from birds on the wing
And the grass is like a soft feather bed

Take me back to the prairie
Back to the land I love best
So that when I am gone I'll be where I belong
There in my heaven of rest

**********