Ian Tyson - Will James

When I was but a small boy
Father bought me many books
About the creatures of the river banks
And the sins of sea cooks

But the ones I never left behind
Of those long forgotten gains
Were the tales of wild and windy slopes
By the man they called Will James

The living of his cowboy dreams
Or so it seemed to me
The perfect combi nation
Riding high and living free

His heros were his horses
And he drew them clear and true
And on every page they'd come alive
And they'd jump straight out at you

His race towards the sunset
Was the high and lonesome kind
Like coyote always looking back
He left no tracks behind

So I've memorized those pictures boys
There still the very best
If whiskey was his mistress
Then his true love was the west

I remember up on deadmans creek back
Thirty years or more
I hired out breaking colts
Which I'd never done before

A city kid, I ask myself now
What would Will james do
And you know it was the d***dest thing but it
Kinda got me thru

His race towards the sunset
Was the high and lonesome kind
Like coyote always looking back
He left no tracks behind

So I've memorized those pictures boys
There still the very best
If whiskey was his mistress
Then his true love was the west