Old Timer
Verse 1:
D A
I grew up in Wyoming
D
In and around Jackson's hole
A
In the shadows of the Tetons
Where summers are hot
D
And winters unbearably cold
G
But the Spring and the Fall
D
Are always as good as it gets
A
For over 70 years now
D
I'd watch the sun rise and set
Verse 2:
A
I've been a cowboy
D
Working the round-ups in spring
A
I've lived in the mountains
Hunted the grizzly
D
Trapping the rivers and streams
G
Always the loner
D
I've treasured my freedom the most
A
And though I never married
D
As a young man I might have come close
Verse 3:
G
From somewhere back east
She came to the valley
D
With a man who did her no good
G
He was fast with the ladies
A tin horn gambler
D
And a cheat whenever he could
G
She had no friends or family
D
Most of the time he was gone
A
He died in a card game
D
And she found herself all alone
Verse 4:
G
Alone and afraid and left unprotected
D
'Cause he was all that she had
G
Maybe I should have
But I never told her
D
So she never knew he was bad
G
But i'll always remember
D
Standing and watching her cry
A
There was no one to help her
D
But I was determined to try
Verse 5:
A
I mended her fences and
Fixed up her cabin
D
I had everything looking good
A
I laid by her food
And wood for the winter
D
Helping wherever I could
G
The more I was around her
D
The more I wanted to be
A
There was something about her
D
That brought out a good side of me
Verse 6:
G
I went into town, I brought a new outfit
D
I got me a haircut and shave
G
I'd trek through the snow
For no good reason
D
Just to go by her cabin each day
G
I don't know about love
D
But I was quite taken in by it all
A
Till her brother came in the Spring
D
And he took her back to St. Paul
Verse 7:
A
I don't go down to Jackson
D
Ain't nothing there but motels and bars
A
Too damn many tourists
No place to hide
D
They'll find you wherever you are
G
They like to call me old timer
D
I am getting older I guess
A
But I don't like the changes
D
'Cause I've seen it all at its best
Verse 8:
A
When my life is over
D
I don't want to be left in town
A
But up in the mountains
There is a place
D
I've marked off my own piece of ground
G
High in the Tetons
D
Above and away from it all
A
From the top of old Grand
I bet on a clear day - you can see
D
All the way to St. Paul