Last night as I lay on the prairie

And looked at the stars in the sky,

I wondered if ever a cowboy

Would drift to the sweet by and by.

The road to the bright, happy region

Is a dim, narrow trail so they say;

But the bright one that leads to perdition

Is posted and blazed all the way.

They say that there will be a great roundup,

And cowboys, like dogies, will stand

To be marked by the Riders of

Judgement, Who are posted and know every brand.

I know that there's many a cowboy

Who'll be lost at the great, final sale

When he might have gone in the green pastures

Had he known of the dim narrow trail.

I wonder if ever a cowboy

Stood ready for the Judgement Day

And could say to the Boss of the Riders

"I'm ready, come drive me away."

For they, like the cows that are located

Stampede at the sight of a hand

Are dragged with a rope to the roundup

Or get marked with some crooked mans brand.

And I'm scared that I'll be a stray yearling

A maverick, unbranded on high

And get cut in the bunch with the "rusty’s"

When the Boss of the Riders goes by.

They tell of another big Owner

Who's ne're overstocked, so they say

But who always makes room for the sinner

Who drifts from the straight narrow way.

They say he will never forget you

That he knows every action and look;

So for safety you'd better get branded,

Save your name in his big Tally Book.

by: S.Omar Barker