Jesse James is running, and he'll never be at rest
'Til the day they fold his arms across his chest

He's a long way from the cradle
And his Ma's authority, ooo-ooo-oooh
But it only seems a minute (ooh-ooh)
Since she stood over his bed (ooh-ooh)
And she tried to tell him something (ooh-ooh)
Now what the hell was it she said?

Jesse James is thinking of the breaks he never had
And the gene that cursed his blood group rhesus-bad
Jesse James lived money
His account was in the black
'Til the day he stopped a bullet with his back

Well, the zip code may read Vegas
But the heart beats Tupelo, ooo-ooo-oooh
And a footstep is such a small thing (ooh-ooh)
That it's neither here nor there (ooh-ooh)
'Til you string those steps together (ooh-ooh)
And find home is way back, way back where?

Jesse James was never
Part of life's great symphony
All he heard were penny whistles out of key
Jesse James he promised,
'I will never die afraid.'
That boy perjured every vow he ever made