Slip Jigs and Reels - Lyrics - Fairport Convention

Slip Jigs And Reels He was barely a man in his grandfather's coat Sewn into the lining a ten shilling note Goodbye to the family Farewell to the shore ‘Till I taste good fortune you'll see me no more Now the boat on the ocean tossed like a cork Then one fine mornin' they sighted New York He stood on the gangplank and breathed in the air A lowland aplenty I've come for my share And he did like the ladies, their eyes and the fall of their ankles and dresses down on the dance floor Rollin' the dice, and spinnin' the wheels But he took most delight in the slip jigs and reels There's talk of a pistol, and some say a knife But all have agreed there was somebody's wife Dreadful commotion, a terrible fight He left a man dead and ran into the night On a train to St Louis, just one jump ahead He slept one eye open, a sixgun in bed He dreamt of the mountains and great fields of home Crossing the plain where the buffalo roam CHORUS A bad reputation's a hard thing to bear Mothers pour scorn, and children they stare So he found consolation in flash company Things ain't so bad with a girl on each knee Oh, they called him The Kid, and by 21 All that he knew was the power of the gun And by 23, he'd shot 5 men down that got in his way as he rambled around CHORUS Theres bones on the desert and buzzards that fly In the highest of circles, just wishing he'd die But in manners of cruelty, it must be said A landlord will pick your bones before you're dead It was wild mescaleros I heard someone say In the deadliest ambush near old Santa Fe And the young buck was taken, dressed in a coat And inside the lining a ten shilling note CHORUS