When Hays Was Young

(album: Still Unwinding - 1978)

Born in Boston, raised in Hays
Way back in my younger days
We came looking for a brand new start
Us, five kids, Ma and Pa
Hays back then was full of fun
Full of money and full of guns
Everyone knew everyone
Back when Hays was young

My old man was a hell of a guy
Three hundred pounds and six foot five
But there was nothing he could do
When the smallpox took him and my mother too

Hays back then had a lot of flair
Lot of women and a lot of beer
Lots of people in the graveyard there
Back when Hays was young

Lots of dust and lots of din
Specially when the herds came in
Lots of laughing and lots of crying
A lot of shooting and a little dying

Hays back then was a town like hell
Lots of noise and lots of smell
And the undertaker did real well
Back when Hays was young