By Rope Lyrics

Eight mouths open crying to be fed,
Sixteen hands, a single loaf of bread,
Two cold eyes too sad to shed a tear,
Eighteen years that I've been living here.
Oh my brothers, oh my sisters,
You won't see me again,
I've headed out west to join the Williams gang.

Sixteen coaches running down the track,
Eight men ride through the night so black,
Four gunshots go through the railman's head,
One more man lies in a pool of red.
Oh my brothers, oh my sisters,
I'm on this dusty plain,
I rob every stagecoach and passenger train.

One bright morning fast asleep in bed,
One soft voice coos, "Up you sleepy head",
Two thick barrels pressed against my face,
Four strong hands drag me from this place.
Tell my brothers, tell my sisters,
They won't see me again,
For early next morning by rope I will hang.

See my brothers, see my sisters,
See my mother's face,
They've come much too late for by rope I am hanged.