[Verse 1] Hangin’ on a rope from an old oak tree, Boot heels dancin’ over a grave I couldn't see Town folk gathered like a Sunday parade, Preacher said I’d be forgiven if I’d prayed. But the wind through the branches sounds like my name, Like every bad choice and every badge I claimed, And the ghosts I made all come walkin’ by, Just starin’ through me one last time. [Chorus] I prayed for Grace, like the devil planned, Cold steel of a Colt .45 in my hand, Only friend I had, only love I’d need- Got me hangin’ on a rope from that old oak tree. [Verse 2] I shot the sheriff down in Abilene, Should’ve laid that pistol down, might have walked away clean, But I was young, mean, and faster on the draw, Left him in the dust with a badge and the law. Killed a man in Tulsa over nothin’ but pride, Another in Laredo with Grace by my side, Every line I crossed got harder to see- Now they’re all standin’ here waitin’ on me. [Chorus] I prayed for Grace, like the devil planned, Cold steel of a Colt .45 in my hand, Only girl I had, only love I believed- Got me hangin’ on a rope from that old oak tree. [Verse 3] I was born in a shack where the river runs dry, With a hunger so loud it could drown a baby’s cry, Mama worked her hands down to bone and skin, Daddy drank every dollar and he left every scar, Said the world don’t give nothin’, you take what you are, So I learned real young just to fight, not to hope- A poor boy don’t choose… he just runs outta rope. [Bridge] I hear Mama hummin’ through the courthouse square, See that porch light glowin’ like it’s still waitin’ there, Feel that summer breeze from a life I outran, And the weight of every choice that made me this man. Might’ve been different if to the Lord I’d prayed… But the truth is… I walked the path the devil laid. [Verse 4] I stole my first dollar from a church house plate, Hands shakin’ like leaves but it still felt like fate, Preacher’s eyes cut through me but he let me pass, Guess he’d seen that kind of hunger in a boy like that. Then I stole me a .45 and named her Grace, Only love I ever had that ever stayed in place, Like the only warmth when the world went cold- She never judged me, just did what she’s told. [Final Chorus] I prayed for Grace, like the devil planned Just a kid with a Colt .45 in my hand, Only friend I had, only love I’d need- Now I’m swingin’ from that rope on that old oak tree. Just swingin’ from that rope on that old oak tree. [Outro] And the ghosts I made all fade into the crowd… And the good Lord’s judgment’s ringin’ loud… Yeah, I danced with the devil, kept my sins close… [Pause] Funny how Grace never saved my soul.
