In My Reply

(album: Linda Ronstadt - 1971)

Now Matthew was a country boy until one day he found
That cheating folks was easier than plowing his daddy's ground
He left his home back in Ohio, bound for Chicago's town
He crossed Big Jim and turned his back
A bullet cut him down

And as he lay there dying
He said "Will I see my Ohio?"
In my reply I lied a bit
And said I did not know

Now Jim McCall he was meek and small
And to become a man
He'd have to build himself up tall
With fancy folks and land
He threw some stones at honest friends
And he got himself these things
His children left him and he sneered
"That's what my kindness brings"

And on the south side he got lost
He asked me where to go
In my reply I lied a bit
And said I did not know

Yes Miss Lazy Susan called me up
She heard I stole the show
In my reply I lied a bit
And said I did not know
In my reply I lied a bit and said I did not know