Mr. Shorty

Tom: C

C                    Am
Nobody knew where he came from 
C                      Am
They only knew he came in 
C                       Am
Slowly he walked to the end of the bar 
       Dm                     E7
And he ordered up one slug of gin 
              Am                   Dm
Well, I could see that he wasn't a large man 
        G                       C
I could tell that he wasn't too tall 
  E7               Am
I judged him to be 'bout five-foot three 
        D                      G
And his voice was a soft Texas drawl. 
 
Said he was needin' some wages 

'Fore he could ride for the west 

Said he could do most all kind of work 

Said he could ride with the best; 

There in his blue eyes was sadness 

That comes from the need of a friend 

And tho' he tried, he still couldn't hide 

The loneliness there, deep within. 
 
Said he would work thru the winter 

For thirty a month and his board 

I started to say where he might land a job 

When a fellow came in thru the door; 

And I could tell he was lookin' for trouble 

From the way that he came stompin' in 

He told me to leave Shorty there by himself 

Come down and wait on a man. 
 
The eyes of the little man narrowed 

The smile disappeared from his face 

Gone was the friendliness that I had seen 

And a wild look of hate took its' place; 

But the big one continued to mock him 

And he told me that I'd better go 

Find him a couple of glasses of milk 

Then maybe Shorty would grow. 
 
When the little man spoke, there was stillness 

He made sure that everyone heard 

Slowly he stepped away from the bar 

And I still remember these words; 

Oh! it's plain that you're lookin' for trouble 

Trouble's what I try to shun 

If that's what you want, then that's what you'll get 

'Cause cowboy, we're both packin' guns. 
 
His hand was already positioned 

Feet wide apart on the floor 

I hadn't noticed but there on his hip 

Was a short-barreled Bass Forty-Four; 

It was plain he was ready and waitin' 

He leaned a bit forward and said 

When you call me Shorty, say Mister, my friend 

Maybe you'd rather be dead. 
 
In the room was a terrible silence 

As the big one stepped out on the floor 

All drinkin' stopped and the tick of the clock 

Said death would wait ten seconds more; 

He cussed once or twice in a whisper 

And he said with a snarl on his lips 

Nobody's Mister to me, little man! 

And he grabbed for the gun on his hips. 
 
But the little man's hands was like lightning 

The Bass Forty-Four was the same 

The Forty-Four spoke and it sent lead and smoke 

And seventeen inches of flame; 

For the big one had never cleared leather 

Beaten before he could start 

A little round hole had appeared on his shirt 

The bullet went clear thru his heart. 
 
The little man stood there a moment 

Then holstered the Bass Forty-Four 

It's always this way so I never stay 

Slowly he walked out the door; 

Nobody knew where he came from 

They won't forget he came by 

They won't forget how a Forty-Four gun 

One night made the difference in size. 
 

C                            Am
As for me, I'll remember the sadness 
C                        Am
Shown in the eyes of the man 
C                           Am
If we meet someday, you can bet I would say 
          D          D7
That it's me, Mister Shorty,  
     G     F   G
Your frien-ien- end.