Now Windy Bill was a Texas man and he could rope, you bet He swore the steer he couldn't tie, He hadn't found him yet. But the boys they know of an old black steer, a sort of an old outlaw That ran down in the malpais at the foot of a rocky draw. This old black steer had stood his ground with punchers from everywhere And the boys, they bet Bill ten to one That he couldn't quite get there So Bill brought out his old grey horse, His withers and back were raw And prepared to tackle that big black brute that ran down in the draw. With his Brazos bit and his Sam Stack tree, and his chaps and taps to boot And his old maguey tied hard and fast, Bill swore he'd get that brute. Now Bill he first came a-ridin' round, old Blackie began to paw, Then flung his tail right up in the air and went a-drifting down the draw. The old grey hore tore after him, for he'd been eatin corn, And Bill he piled his old maguey right around old Blackie's horn The old grey horse he stopped right still, The cinches broke like straw, And the old maguey and the Sam Stack tree went a-drifting down the draw. Bill, he lit in a flint rock pile, his face and hands were scratched. He said he thought he could rope a snake, but he guessed he'd met his match He paid his debts like a little man without a bit of jaw And allowed old Blackie was the boss of anything in the draw. Now here's the moral of my story boys, and this you all must see: Whenever you go to rope a snake don't tie him to you tree But take your dally welters 'cordin' to California law And you'll never see your old rim fire go a-drifting down the draw. Maguey-- Rope made from the fibers of various species of century plant. Sam Stack tree-- Saddle I think these are the original words but there may have been other variations. Dwight Hawkins [email protected]