Marty Robbins - Little Joe the Wrangler lyrics

Little Joe the Wrangler
Will wrangle nevermore
His days with the roundup they are o'er
Was a year ago last April when
He rode into our camp
Just a little Texas stray and nothing more

Was late in the evening when
He rode into our camp
On the little Texas pony he called Chaw
With his brogan shoes and overalls
A tougher looking kid
You never in your life before had saw

His saddle was a Texas kack
Built many years ago
An OK spur on one foot lightly swung
With his packroll in a cotton
Sack so loosely tied behind
And a canteen from his saddle horn was slung

He said he had to leave his
Home his pa had married twice
His new ma whipped him every day or two
So he saddled up old Chaw one night
And lit a shuck his way
He said he'd try to paddle his own canoe

He said if we would give him work
He'd do the best he could
Though he didn't know straight
Up about a cow so the boss he cut him out a
Mount and kindly put him on
He sorta liked this little kid somehow

He learned to wrangle horses and
Learned to know them all
And get them in at daybreakk if he could
And to trail the old chuck wagon
And always hitch the team
And help to cook each evening rustle wood
We had hardly reached the Pecos
The weather it was fine
We were camped down on the
South side in a draw
When a northern commenced blowing and
We doubled up our guards
It took every one of us to hold them in

Little Joe the Wrangler was called
Out with the rest
Scarcely had the little fellow
Reached the herd
When the cattle they stampeded like
A hailstorm on they fled
And everyone was ridin' for the lead

Amid the streaks of lightnin' there
Was one horse up ahead
He was tryin' to check the
Leaders in their speed
It was little Joe the Wrangler with
A slicker o'er his head
He was ridin' Old Blue Rocket in the lead

At last we got them millin'
And kinda quited down
And the extra guards back to the wagon went
But there was one a missin' we
Could see it at a glance
Was our little Texas stray poor Wrangler Joe

Next morning just at daybreak we
Found where Rocket fell
Down in a washout twenty feet below
Beneath his horse his life had gone
His spung had run it's knell
Was our little Texas stray poor Wrangler Joe