Words and music by Bill
Staines, copyright 1980 by Mineral River Music. Published
in the book "If I Were A Word, Then I'd Be A Song."
T thanks to Lauren Malone for providing an
mp3 version.
|
Well, I once was a cowboy, and I used to run wild.
And I rodeoed, wrangled, and rambled in style.
But I'm too old for horses, too old for the show,
And I'm too young for Heaven; now where shall I go?
Where shall I go? Where shall I go?
I'm too young for Heaven; now where shall I go?
I had me a true love, and I made her my wife,
And I swear that I loved her most all of my life,
But the cold of the winter and the wind laid her low,
And she's gone on before me, now where shall I go?
Bill Staines became involved
with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960's. For
a time, he served as the MC at the Sunday hootenanny at Club 47
in Cambridge.
In 1971, after one of his performances,
a reviewer for The Phoenix stated that Bill was "simply
Boston's best performer." A decade later, both in 1980 and
1981, the annual Reader's Poll of The Boston Globe selected
him as a favorite performer. |
Where shall I go? Where shall I go?
She's gone on before me; now where shall I go?
Well, I never was a drunkard, but this I can say:
The taste of the whiskey gets better each day.
The bartender scowls, "Mack, you're drinking too slow,
And we close in ten minutes." Now where shall I go?
Where shall I go? Where shall I go?
They close in ten minutes; now where shall I go?
So it's out on the street with the stars burning bright,
With nothing but memories to share with the night.
Oh, I once was a cowboy, and I used to run wild.
And I rodeoed, wrangled, and rambled in style.
Now I'm too old for horses, too old for the show,
And I'm too young for Heaven; now where shall I go? |