Oh brother, let me take my rest And leave this wild and wicked west
Where the river runs red with blood Until it all dries up and turns to mud
I heard you shot a lawman down At a card game south of Oakland town
Russell City Marshal dead All the California papers read
You know by now They've seen your face
You know by now They've seen your face
You know by now They've seen your face
Dead or alive, it's a thousand dollar race
With dust in your eyes It's hard to see
Oh brother, I come to take you home with me
Well, it didn't seem that long ago
You were breaking ground in Calico
But a miner's life just wouldn't hold
For a gambler's heart will never fold
Yeah, so you headed out to Frisco Bay
Where the miners gambled all their pay
But you never won the settle down
You just dealt your hand from town to town
The gambler's heart is bound to roam
Wherever you hang your hat is home
Oh brother, I come to take you home with me
Where the river runs red with blood Until it all dries up and turns to mud
Russell City Marshal dead All the California papers read
You know by now They've seen your face
You know by now They've seen your face
I'll be headed home for Alabama
Where the honeysuckle smells so sweet
And the moonshine knocks you off your feet
I dream a night of my fella's bed
And a feathered pillow near my head
And I'll say a prayer for my brother Jack
Cause I know now he ain't coming back
I know right now
It's plain to see
Oh brother I only want you to be free
With dust in your eyes
It's hard to see
And rust in your skies
It's hard to breathe
Oh brother I only want you to be free
Oh brother I only want you to be free
Oh brother let me take my rest
And leave this wild and wicked west