The Roan

[Verse 1]
Rode into Utah out of Grand Junction
Rode through where the painted rock bleeds
Rode into the bold, red dyin' sun
So long, I won’t miss your heat

[Verse 2]
I was tracking this roan through the cold-hearted desert
The half-moon face down in the fire
I opened a can to the memory of that red mane
Flames lickin' what was achin' and tired

[Verse 3]
She won’t take the bit, she won't take the bridle
Too scared and too skittish for the ring
She bolts when the rope closes on the cattlе
Won't be soothed when this old cowboy sings

[Chorus]
Thеy try to break this wild, unruly mare
But I would take you far from away from there

[Verse 4]
Last time I saw her, she'd broken her halter
Broke free from the geldings and the wire
Thrown off the scent, thrown off the trail
Thrown off all constraints to desire

[Verse 5]
You say you loved the desert, you loved how it glistened
In the half-light of the new dawnin' day
How it chased all the dark sharp-pointed edges
That were haunted by your past escapades

[Chorus]
They try to break this wild, unruly mare
But I would take you far from away from there

[Verse 6]
Oh, hope springs eternal in the mind of the cowboy
Who won't let no sleepin' dog lie
For a good horse'll do that—know when it’s cornered
Then break for the wide open skies

[Verse 7]
Rode into Utah out of Grand Junction
Knowin’ she'd thrown better men than I
Through salt flats, salt lakes, and salty wet stubble
It’s a good thing that cowboys don't cry

[Chorus]
They try to break this wild, unruly mare
But I would take you far from away from there