Tougher Than Leather

He was tougher than leather
And he didn't care whether
The sun shined or not
When a young kid from cow town
Wanted a showdown and he was careless or just maybe forgot

But he died in the gun fight
Blinded by sunlight
Never draw when you're facing' the sun
And old tougher than leather
Just carved one more notch on his gun

And when he turned to go
The beautiful maiden knelt down
Where her dead sweetheart lay
And on his breast, placed a rose
While the town's people stared in dismay

And old tougher than leather
Should've known better
But he picked up the rose in his hand
And the town's people froze
When his hands crushed the rose and the rose petals fell in the sand

And old tougher than leather
Was a full-time go-getter
The grass never grew beneath his feet
From one town to another
He would ride like the wind but his mind kept going back to the street

Where a young cowboy died
And a young maiden cried
And rose petals fell in the sand
And his heart had been softened
By the beautiful maid and he knew he must see her again

Well, he went back to the town
Where it all had come down
And he searched but his search was in vain
He had wanted to find her and say he was sorry
For causing her heart so much pain

But one night he died
From a poison inside
Brought on by the wrong he had done
And old tougher than leather
Had carved his last notch on his gun

Well he was buried in cow town
Along about sundown
Lookin' good in his new store-bought clothes
When the young maiden came over
And knelt down beside him and on his lapel placed a rose

There's a bird in the sky
Flying high, flying high
To a place from a place
Changing skies, changing skies