He was tougher than leather

And he didn't care whether

The sun shined or not

When a young kid from cow town

Wanted a showdown and he was careless or just maybe forgot But he died in the gun fight

Blinded by sunlight

Never draw when you're facing' the sun

And old tougher than leather

Just carved one more notch on his gun And when he turned to go

The beautiful maiden knelt down

Where her dead sweetheart lay

And on his breast, placed a rose

While the town's people stared in dismay And old tougher than leather

Should've known better

But he picked up the rose in his hand

And the town's people froze

When his hands crushed the rose and the rose petals fell in the sand And old tougher than leather

Was a full-time go-getter

The grass never grew beneath his feet

From one town to another

He would ride like the wind but his mind kept going back to the street Where a young cowboy died

And a young maiden cried

And rose petals fell in the sand

And his heart had been softened

By the beautiful maid and he knew he must see her again Well, he went back to the town

Where it all had come down

And he searched but his search was in vain

He had wanted to find her and say he was sorry

For causing her heart so much pain But one night he died

From a poison inside

Brought on by the wrong he had done

And old tougher than leather

Had carved his last notch on his gun Well he was buried in cow town

Along about sundown

Lookin' good in his new store-bought clothes

When the young maiden came over

And knelt down beside him and on his lapel placed a rose There's a bird in the sky

Flying high, flying high

To a place from a place

Changing skies, changing skies