Ballad Of Stanley

	  		 
 
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Stanley was a drifter back in '53 
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Never had a bed where he could sleep 
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He ate his meals from the garbage can 
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Just walked around without a real plan 
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Found his way to the Texas line, 
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Stumbled into our town a quarter past nine 
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Had a few drinks at a roadside bar 
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And that's where our story really starts  
 
 
It was there in the barlight, in a corner booth 
Where Stan first met the man who called himself Ruth 
Ruth planned to rob the bank and all Stan had to do 
Was drive the getaway car, what did he have to lose 
Well it sounded good to Stan, cause he'd never had 
No kind of money or a side that was bad 
They'd take the money skip town and run 
And live like two kings in the mexican sun 
 
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Tumbleweed blowing in the wind 
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Carried him somewhere he never should have been 
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Was it fate or just circumstance  
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Makes you wonder if he ever had a chance
 
 
 
Well across from the First State Band the next day at four 
From the drivers seat Stan watched him walk through the door 
Whipped out his pistols and waived them all around 
He ordered all the scared people down onto the ground 
He took the money bags and maybe just for fun 
He shot two men dead and one of their sons 
Back outside he ordered Stan to drive 
The hit the county line 5 minutes till 5 
 
Repeat Chorus 
 
Bridge: 
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Feds caught up with them outside of Larado 
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In an ambush of bullets and a cloud of gun smoke 
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They killed an innocent man on that day 
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But now that poor drifter has a bed where he can lay