Billy Venero Lyrics

Bill Venero heard them say,
In an Arizona town one day,
That a band of Apache Indians
Was on the trail of death.
Heard them tell of murder done --
Three men killed at Rocky Run.
"They're in danger at the Cow Ranch!"
Cried Venero under his breath.

Cow Ranch, forty miles away,
Was a little spot that lay
In a green and shady valley
Of the mighty wilderness.
Half a score of homes stood there,
And in one, a maiden fair
Held the heart of Bill Venero --
Venero's Little Bess.

So no wonder he grew pale,
When he heard the cowboy's tale
Of the men that he'd seen murdered
Day before, at Rocky Run.
"Sure as there's a God above,
I will save the girl I love;
By my love for little Bessie,
I'll see that somethin's done!"

Not one minute he delayed,
When this brave resolve was made;
"But, man," his comrades told him
When they heard his daring plan
"You are riding straight to death!"
But he answered, "Save your breath,
I may never reach the Cow Ranch,
But I'll do the best I can."
As he crossed the alkali,
All his thoughts flew on ahead
To the little band at Cow Ranch
Thinking not a danger near.
With his quirt's unceasing whirl,
And the jingle of his spurs,
Little Chapo bore the cowboy
O´er the far away frontier.

Just before the setting sun,
He drew rein at Rocky Run.
"Here those men met death, my Chapo,"
And he stroked the glossy mane.
Sharp and clear a rifle shot
Awoke the echoes of the spot;
"I am wounded!" cried Venero,
As his lips grew white with pain.

"While there's life there's always hope;Marty Robbins - Billy Venero - http://motolyrics.com/marty-robbins/billy-venero-lyrics.html
Slowly onward I will lope;
If I never reach Cow Ranch,
Little Bessie will know I tried."

"I will save her yet!" he cried;
"Bessie Lee shall know I tried!"
So for her sake, then, he halted
In the shadow of a hill.
From his buckskin shirt he took,
With weak hands, a little notebook;
Tore a blank leaf from its pages;
Said, "This shall be my will."

From a branch, a twig he broke,
And he dipped the pen of oak
In the life's blood a-flowing
From the wound above his heart.
"Rouse," he wrote, "before too late!
Apache warriors lie in wait!
Goodbye; God bless you, darling,"
And he felt the cold tears start.

Then he made his message fast,
Love's first letter, and its last;
To the saddle horn he tied it,
As his lips grew white with pain.
"Take this message, if not me,
Straight to little Bessie Lee!"
Then he tied himself to the saddle,
And gave the horse the rein.

Late that night, that horse of brown,
Wet with sweat, came panting down
The little lane at Cow Ranch
And stopped at Bessie's door.
But his rider was asleep,
And his slumber was so deep
Little Bess could never wake him
Though she tried forever more.

You have heard this story told,
By the young and by the old,
Of that little band at Cow Ranch,
The night the Apaches came.
Of that sharp and bloody fight,
How the chief fell full in flight,
And the panic-stricken warriors,
When they heard Venero's name.

Many years have passed away;
Bessie's hair has turned to gray,
But she still plants the flowers
On Bill Venero's grave.