Shadow on the Saddle | The Dark Country Ghost Song

LYRICS:
[Verse 1]
Neon buzzing over busted doors
Boots on a barstool, dust on the floor
Jukebox humming some old steel line
’Bout a good man falling on the wrong side of time

I tip my hat to the mirror’s stare
See a stranger in black standin’ over there
Got a silver buckle and a stranger’s eyes
And a whole lot of trouble hid behind that shine

[Chorus]
I’m a shadow on the saddle in a one-horse town
With a .45 heartbeat, ridin’ me down
Got a past like a storm on the desert plain
Every mile I’ve ridden, I’ve been draggin’ chains
If you dance with the devil by the rodeo light
He’ll ride your back ’til the morning’s white
Yeah, I once wore white, now my soul’s tar-black
I’m a shadow on the saddle, and I ain’t ridin’ back

[Verse 2]
There’s a cross on the hill made of weathered pine
Where I left my name and I drew the line
She cried like thunder when I rode away
Now her ghost rides shotgun every long, dark day

Cards on the table, whiskey on my breath
Bluffed one too many hands and I called down death
Now the dealer’s smilin’ with a crooked grin
Sayin’, “Son, you don’t cash out ’til you pay for your sin.”

[Chorus]
I’m a shadow on the saddle in a one-horse town
With a .45 heartbeat, ridin’ me down
Got a past like a storm on the desert plain
Every mile I’ve ridden, I’ve been draggin’ chains
If you dance with the devil by the rodeo light
He’ll ride your back ’til the morning’s white
Yeah, I once wore white, now my soul’s tar-black
I’m a shadow on the saddle, and I ain’t ridin’ back

[Bridge]
Midnight wind keeps callin’ my name
Boot spurs singin’ like a runaway train
Sheriff’s star glows like a cold sunrise
But I see judgment burnin’ in my own dark eyes

There’s a Bible in my saddlebag, pages torn
A prayer half-faded from a sweeter morn
But a cowboy’s church is a lonesome sky
And the only hymn I know is a coyote’s cry

[Verse 3]
So I cinch that leather, pull my brim down low
Hit that blacktop trail where the tumbleweeds go
Town gets smaller in the rearview glass
But the ghost at my shoulder never rides on past

Some men find mercy in a woman’s hand
Some sweat it out in a prison band
Me, I’ll chase that horizon ’til the bright stars fade
’Til the good Lord asks ’bout the deals I made

[Final Chorus]
I’m a shadow on the saddle in a one-horse town
With a .45 heartbeat, ridin’ me down
Got a past like a storm on the desert plain
Every mile I’ve ridden, I’ve been draggin’ chains
If you dance with the devil by the rodeo light
He’ll ride your back ’til you’re out of sight
When my last sun sets and the sky turns black
I’ll be a shadow on the saddle, never ridin’ back

[Outro]
Neon flickers, then the bar goes dark
All that’s left of me is a boot-heel mark
If you hear spurs ring where the dust clouds rattle
That’s just the echo of a shadow on the saddle.