It's written on the chart there,
at the foot end of my bed
They think that I am blind,
Well, I've read that chart there,
every word, every word spells death
My confession, I know that's
before I check out of the game
there are 13 things I'll name
above the cold Missouri water
It was August of 49 in North Montana
It was the hottest day on record
and the forest was tinder dry
I was crew chief at the jump base,
I prepared my boys to fly
I gave the tap upon each leg
I watched the circle of the fire down below
above the cold Missouri water
I gauged the fire, I'd seen bigger
So I ordered them to side hill,
and we'd fight it from below
We'd have this one out by morning,
it jumped the coulee just ahead.
so we headed for the ridge in stead.
and it chased us up that slope ahead.
above the cold Missouri waters.
The sky had turned to red,
death was 50 steps behind
I don't know why, I just did it
I touched a match to waste high grass
cause we were running out of time
step inside this fire I've set
this is the only chance you'll get
ran for the rocks above instead
I lay face down and I prayed
above the cold Missouri waters
And when I rose, like the phoenix,
The world was burned to ashes,
and there were only two survived.
I carried my dead boys to the river,
wondered why was I alive.
Thirteen stations of the cross
I've told you, I can tell you nothing more
because they left me long before
above the cold Missouri waters
above the cold Missouri waters
4.8
