Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Elegy for The Shooter (Rod Beck 1968-2007) by David Lawton



A desperado fell on the road today
One more relic consigned to the past
The old school needs another shooter
But they don’t make ‘em like that anymore

It’s a bio-engineered, money-slick world
Getting ready for its airbrushed close-up
It ain’t easy for a man with a Chu and a chaw
And a six-gun on his side

In the saddle every day
Never showing them your fear
Laughing it off in the bar every night
With your whiskey and your beer

Riding the lonely road
To do the thing you love
Hoping you can make it for a little bit more
Feel that honest sweat on the back of your neck

Working any angle so they don’t see
You’re not that fast anymore
Whooping it up like a wild coyote
With every stranger at your trailer door

Staring at the ceiling in the dead of night
At a galaxy of shooting stars
That clear the fences of your quick-draw nightmares
And leave your boot heels pacing twilight floors

We all have our demons
Everybody’s got it comin’
This gunslinger kept on ridin’
Toward the sunset in the west

So bow your heads for just a moment
‘Cause a moment’s like a bullet in the chamber of a gun
And kindly take your hat off for The Shooter
‘Cause The Shooter surely would’ve done the same for you.

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