Ballad Of The Absent Mare

A Say a prayer for the cowboy, his mare's run away D And he'll walk till he finds her, his darling, his stray A But the river's in flood and the roads are awash E D A And the bridges break up in the panic of loss A And there's nothing to follow, there's nowhere to go D She's gone like the summer, gone like the snow A And the crickets are breaking his heart with their song E D A As the day caves in and the night is all wrong A Did he dream, was it she who went galloping past D And bent down the fern and broke open the grass A And printed the mud with the iron and the gold E D A That he nailed to her feet when he was the lord A And although she goes grazing a minute away D He tracks her all night and he tracks her all day A Oh blind to her presence except to compare E D A His injury here with her punishment there A Then at home on his branch in the highest tree D A songbird sings out so suddenly A Oh the sun is warm and the soft winds ride E D A On the willow trees by the riverside A Oh the world is sweet and the world is wide D And she's there where the light and the darkness divide A And the steam's coming off her, she's huge and she's shy E D A And she steps on the moon when she paws at the sky A And she comes to his hand but she's not really tame D She longs to be lost and he longs for the same A And she'll bolt and she'll plunge through the first open pass E D A To roll and to feed in the sweet mountain grass A Or she'll make a break for the high plateau D Where there's nothing above and there's nothing below A And it's time for their burden, it's time for the whip E D A Will she walk through the flame, can he shoot from the hip A So he binds himself to the galloping mare D And she binds herself to the rider there A And there is no space but there's left and right E D A And there is no time but there's day and night A And he leans on her neck and he whispers low D Wither thou goest, I will go A And they turn as one and they head for the plain E D A No need for the whip, no need for the rein A Now the clasp of this union who fastens it tight D Who snaps it asunder the very next night A Some say the rider, some say the mare E D A Or that love's like the smoke, beyond all repair A But my darling says, Leonard, just let it go by D That old silhouette on the great Western sky A So I pick out a tune and they move right along E D A And they're gone like the smoke and they're gone like this song