THE LAST “BALLAD OF A LONE GUN”

From my songbook: Across the Sea of Madness
Original lyrics written sometime about 1990-91

1. It was no pretty woman that broke this man’s heart
but the twists and turns of life, that bit by bit, took him apart.
“Sorry for the dark letter, and the songs left undone
(he wrote), but this is my last one: and it’s called:
‘Ballad of a Lone Gun’.”
Maybe he’d become the victim of watching too much TV.
Or the reality sunk in of absolute trash promoted on MTV.
One thing’s for sure, he no longer felt he could belong—
So he put pen to paper and wrote this one last song:

2. In the pain and confusion of his loneliness that rainy night,
In the helplessness that overwhelmed him,
As he tried to put up a fight—
The memories flooded in of battles lost and battles won.
But after he had given up,
there was only a title written on the page.
This was his last song left unsung:
the last “Ballad of a Lone Gun”

3. The morning dawned bright & beautiful;
the sun shining in a clear blue sky.
If only he could have held on through that thundery night,
We might not need to ask why (?)
[He might have felt different the next day]
But it was too late. The authorities came and took his body away—
As the ‘sun burned bright upon the new day’
This was his last song left unsung; one line scribbled on the page:
The last “Ballad of a Lone Gun”
This was his last “Ballad of a Lone Gun”…

©. 2000/2007, Michael A. Guy, registered September 2000, all rights reserved