The Trail Ain’t Holy

[Verse 1] Outta Pipe Spring, where the cedars bend We rode with the herd and a job to tend Winsor was bossin’, a Bible in hand Built that stone fort like he owned the land [Verse 2] Mormon boys sang while they rolled the stew Preached of Zion and skies so blue Me, I just smoked and kept my pace Ain’t much faith in a godless face [Chorus] On the trail to Zion, the wind don’t lie It’ll cut through a prayer like a cattle fly They rode for heaven, I rode for pay But we bled the same at the end of the day [Verse 3] The Paiutes watched from the canyon wall Silent as ghosts in the cedar fall Their springs ran dry from the Winsor pipe Now they trade hides just to sleep at night [Verse 4] Crossed the Virgin when the rains had died A steer went under, and we near cried Brother Elam said, it’s the Lord’s own hand But the Lord don’t rope when the river’s standin’ [Bridge] Passed through Kanab where the red dirt’s sweet Boots full of thorns and cracked dry feet They built a temple out in that waste With borrowed stone and borrowed grace [Verse 5] Met a girl in Zion, eyes like spring Said I smelled of ash and cattle string She smiled kind, but turned away Said a man like me don’t kneel or stay [Chorus] On the trail to Zion, the wind don’t lie It’ll cut through a prayer like a cattle fly They rode for heaven, I rode for pay But we bled the same at the end of the day [Outro Verse] Now I ride alone past the Great Salt Lake Still hear the hymns when the coyotes wake Ain’t no saint, and I never tried But I rode with faith till the river dried