歌词
Look out, mama, there's a white boat comin' up the river
With a big red beacon and a flag- and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call Big John, 'cause it don't look like they're here to deliver-
The mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope that they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side, and a gun- and it's makin' big waves
Daddy's gone, my brother's huntin' up in the mountains
Big John's been drinkin' since the river took Emmy-Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do the thinkin'
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wondering what to do
The closer they got, the more those feelings grew
Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reassurin'
He said, "Red means run, son. Numbers add up to nothin'"
But when the first shot hit the dock, I saw it comin'
I held my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black- and my face splashed in the sky
Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as the one you've never figured
That'd fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love, I know I'll miss her
