Dust and Justice
A 1960s-style western ballad with twangy electric guitar, harmonica, trumpet, snare, and acoustic bass. A lone cowboy rides the wild west hunting the gang that killed his family, delivering justice to innocents along his revenge trail.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Red sun sinking on a busted town
Boot prints fading where the blood ran down
Three small crosses on a hillside plain
He carved their names
Then he changed his name
Silver star lying in his weathered hand
Turned it over
Let it sink in the sand
Saddled up slow
Didn’t say a word
Just the leather creak and a black crow stirred
[Chorus]
Dust and justice
That’s his law
Draws the line with what he saw
For every tear they ever cried
He rides
He rides
A quiet shadow in the sage and stone
He ain’t turning ‘til the debt’s all done
Dust and justice in his eyes
He rides
He rides
[Verse 2]
First was Billy on the canyon rim
Cards still warm
But the light left him
Dealer whispered
“Was it worth the take?”
Cowboy answered
“That’s a judge to make”
Then came Jacks at the Rio Inn
Found him laughing in a stranger’s skin
Cleared the room with a steady stare
Sent him falling down a crooked stair
[Chorus]
Dust and justice
That’s his law
Draws the line with what he saw
For every tear they ever cried
He rides
He rides
A quiet shadow in the sage and stone
He ain’t turning ‘til the debt’s all done
Dust and justice in his eyes
He rides
He rides
[Bridge]
He tips his hat to the shopkeep’s girl (mm-hmm)
Helps a widow with a wagon wheel
Leaves a dollar where the bad men stole
Never takes more than the hand can hold
Moonlit faces in a campfire glow
Whispers following everywhere he goes
Is he savior
Is he just a ghost?
Only the desert really knows (oh)
[Chorus]
Dust and justice
That’s his law
Draws the line with what he saw
For every tear they ever cried
He rides
He rides
A quiet shadow in the sage and stone
He ain’t turning ‘til the debt’s all done
Dust and justice in his eyes
He rides
He rides