He rode in from the west with an eye for a dollar to make
He pitched us a sale about healing and oil from a snake
The barkeep, he warned him, but the man did not comprehend
How strangers ’round here disappear like straw in the wind
Too young, but in love when she met him in some northern town
He treated her good ’til the sun and the whiskey went down
Did the bruise on her face test the patience of all of her kin?
Or do strangers ’round here disappear like straw in the wind?
Ol’ Jim runs his mouth when he drinks since his wife passed away
But he’s good to the kids and the crops that he sells are fair trade
But a travelin’ man heard enough and took a pipe to his chin
That traveling man disappeared like straw in the wind
If the mouth of this river could talk, here’s what it would say:
“If you come here with good in your heart, you’ll be on your way
“But I’m not the one here who judged another man’s sin
“Or made strangers ’round here disappear like straw in the wind”
Strangers ’round here disappear like straw in the wind