Lyrics South Dakota - James McMurtry
It
was
the
23rd
of
May
and
I
heard
the
sergeant
say,
"Fuck
it,
round
up
the
usual
suspects
and
call
it
a
day
We've
got
no
time
to
mess
around
And
I'm
not
dying
in
this
shit
hole
town
for
a
soldier's
pay"
It
was
too
good
to
be
true,
but
my
discharge
came
through
And
I
was
on
the
first
bird
out
that
I
could
find
Rode
that
C-17
into
Stuttgart
Fall
roundup
on
my
mind
When
my
brothers
picked
me
up
We
got
way
deep
in
our
cups
We
must've
tore
old
Rapid
city
down
My
big
brother
Jack
said
"Boy
it's
good
to
see
you
back
What
you
gonna
do
now,
what
you
gonna
do
now?"
Because
there
ain't
much
between
the
Pole
and
South
Dakota
And
barbed
wire
won't
stop
the
wind
You
won't
get
nothing
here
but
broke
and
older
If
I
was
you
I
might
re-up
again
Well,
we
had
good
rain
this
year
Dad
fed
in
some
charolais
steers
Got
them
way
cheap
out
of
Texas
Because
of
the
drouth
We
put
them
out
on
oats
They
hadn't
yet
grown
their
winter
coats
away
down
south
It
was
barely
even
fall
But
that
blizzard
got
them
all
Left
them
sprawled
across
the
pasture
Stiff
as
boards
You
take
a
sharp
knife
in
your
hand
Skin
them
out
while
you
still
can
And
curse
the
lord
Curse
the
lord
These
old
hides
are
not
worth
much
So
we'll
pitch
them
off
the
truck
Pile
them
up
by
the
horse
trough
in
the
lot
Because
they
sell
by
the
pound
They
weigh
like
lead
if
you
wet
them
down
And
they're
all
we
got
With
a
gas
lease
or
two
we
might've
just
made
due
But
there's
nothing
under
this
ground
worth
a
dime
Now
the
sheriff's
on
his
way
and
it's
damn
sure
not
our
day
It's
just
our
time
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