I was just 18,
my dad bought me a gun.
He handed it to me and he said, son,
soon to manhood you'll arrive.
If you want to stay alive,
then you'll have to learn
just how the West was won.
Now I practiced
as I watched the years go by
Soon the age of twenty
-one was drawing nigh
An d my teacher told me, son,
your speed is second just to one
Cause my daddy was the
fastest gun alive
Yes, my daddy was the fastest gun alive
Then one day he said,
I'm go ing to Abilene
I'm no good,
I'm an outlaw and I'm mean
You can take care of your mob
cause you've got a lightning draw
Next to me you're the
fastest gun I've seen
It wasn't long before the
news was far and near
How my daddy filled old
Abilene with fear
There were killings in the street,
people dying at his feet
Guess that shooting people down
he'd done his share
Guess that shooting people down
he'd done his share
They said my daddy was
a murder -crazy fiend
So I saddled up and rode to Abilene
I got there late one night
and the town was filled with fright
My daddy was the fastest
gun they'd ever seen
They said my dad had killed
a sheriff yesterday
When I asked who took his place,
no one would say
They said they were looking
for another gun
to wear the scar
They wanted someone
who could make my day pay
They wanted someone
who could make my daddy pay
I pinned on the star and thought
I'll never know
Unless my daddy'd made
my hate for outlaws grow
I guess inside I knew just what I had to do
I had to shoot and kill the man that I love so
My daddy heard they had a
new lawman in town
And he vowed that he would
try to shoot me down
I was hoping all along
when I got there he'd be gone
As I tied my gun and started on my round
As I tied my gun and started on my round
Then I turned and walked
slowly up the street
Where I knew my dad
and I were sure to meet
Then I saw him waiting there
like a man without a care
And he said, son, you know I'm fast,
I can't be beat
Then I told him that I guessed
I'd have to try
Even though it meant that
one of us must die
Without passion, he said, son,
when I count, go for your gun
You'd better not be later on the ground,
you'll lie
You'd better not be later on the ground,
you'll lie
When the smoke had cleared,
he lay there in the sand
I knelt down beside him
and I took his hand
Then he whispered, thank you son,
I thought you would never come
This makes you the very fastest in the land
I picked up my daddy's gun
just as he died
Then I breached it and I
don't believe my eyes
Nor the story made it tell
In the chamber, not a shell
My daddy knew he was
the fastest gun alive
Yes, daddy knew he was
the fastest gun alive