Powderfinger

Look out Mama, there's a white boat comin' up the river
 With a big red beacon, and a flag, and a man on the rail
 I think you'd better call John, 'cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
 And it's less than a mile away
 I hope they didn't come to stay
 It's got numbers on the side and a gun and it's makin' big waves
 Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
 Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy-Lou
 So the powers that be left me here to do the thinking
 And I just turned twenty-two
 I was wonderin' what to do
 The closer they got, the more those feelings grew
 Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reassuring
 He told me, red means run son, numbers add up to nothing
 But when the first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming
 Raised my rifle to my eye
 Never stopped to wonder why
 Then I saw black and my face splashed in the sky
 Shelter me from the powder and the finger
 Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger
 Just think of me as one you'd never figure
 Would fade away so young
 With so much left undone
 Remember me to my love, I know I'll miss her