ONLY THE HANGMAN (IS WAITING FOR ME)
(Wayne P. Walker)


Rex Allen - 1962
Houston Wells - 1963 (titled "Only The Heartaches")
Val Doonican - 1964 (    "        "        "      )
Al Terry - 1965

Also recorded by: Bobby Sykes



I left my hometown one warm summer evening
Went down to the station to catch me a train
Rode west through Missouri and into Wyoming
Headed out to California to stake a gold claim

I met her at Clancy, the cause of my trouble
A woman with beauty for all men to see
She fed me rye whiskey and gave me a six-gun
Said, "The fools do the diggin', smart men work for me"

There's gold in the mountains, gold in the valleys
Gold in the rivers and gold in the sea
Fortunes are waitin' for men to claim them
But only the hangman is waitin' for me

She gave me her favour, I gave her my six-gun
We cheated most all of the miners in town
And those who complained that she dealt from the bottom
Were challenged to draw and were quickly shot down

I'm so tired of killin' for love of this woman
The notches on my gun are twenty and three
The next one I kill will be my scarlet lover
And that's why the hangman is waitin' for me

There's gold in the mountains, gold in the valleys
Gold in the rivers and gold in the sea
Fortunes are waitin' for men to claim them
But only the hangman is waiting for me



(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - March 2018)