There's nothin' left, but ashes
The fire is gone for good
I'm trapped here in this cabin
Too cold to go for wood
I thought I'd write a letter
Let you know that I'm ok
Though my leg still hurts a little
From a bad spill yesterday
Dear Mama, I'm a cowboy
And I know that breaks your heart
All the things they wrote about me
Must'a torn your world apart
So Mama please, forgive me
Though I drove you near insane
I never killed nobody
'n' I never robbed that train
We found him in the springtime
At the table where he died
Tears had stained the paper
When he bowed his head and cried
We all just bawled like babies
As we read it one by one
And thought of our own Mammas
And all the things we left undone
Then we rolled him in his blanket
And as the boys all gathered round
I read his letter one more time
As we placed him in the ground
Dear Mama, I'm a cowboy
And I know that breakes your heart
All the things they wrote about me
Must have torn your world apart
So Mama please forgive me
Though I drove you near insane
I never killed nobody
'n' I never robbed that train
I never killed nobody
'n' I never robbed that train