The Horseman Rides Lyrics

Some say he was a rider in the war between the states

Mounted on a steed as dark as steel

His saber was the quill that penned a testament of hate

As brother butchered brother in the field

Some say he was an outlaw that always rode alone

A highwayman that hunted in the night

And travelers who met him in the moonlight on the road

Would never live to see the mornin' light

But whatever name he answered to or uniform he wore

That secret now lies buried with the dead

If you see him you could ask him if you really want to know

But I doubt you'll get an answer from a man without a head

So, hang a horseshoe on the door and say your prayers tonight

And have no thoughts of evil when you're blowin' out the lights

And any weary travelers had better stay inside

For a sinner's moon is risin' and tonight the horseman rides!

My grampa swore he saw him back when he was just a boy

Stayin' out too late one winter's eve

He heard a rider comin' down along the crooked road

That twisted through the shadows in the trees

My grampa told me somethin' bout the whistle in the breeze

Made him feel a quiver in his bones

He lit out for a hidin' place back up among the trees

And hunkered down behind a mossy stone

He heard a sound like someone cryin', though it might have been an owl

And he caught the scent of somethin' cold and dead

But all he ever saw when he got the guts to look

Was the shadow of a rider with no head

So, hang a horseshoe on the door and say your prayers tonight

And have no thoughts of evil when you're blowin' out the lights

And any weary travelers had better stay inside

For a sinner's moon is risin' and tonight the horseman rides!

I know you think I'm lyin' or you think me just a fool

A country boy who couldn't understand

Your science and your fancy words they learned you in your schools

Who couldn't count to ten without my hands

I do not know the date and time of the Gettysburg Address

And I cannot recollect what Lincoln said

But I know if you go out tonight beneath that wicked moon

You won't be comin' back here with your head

So, hang a horseshoe on the door and say your prayers tonight

And have no thoughts of evil when you're blowin' out the lights

And any weary travelers had better stay inside

For a sinner's moon is risin' and tonight the horseman rides!