Lyrics

(Verse 1)
I was born on the wrong side of mercy,
With a six-gun and a debt to pay.
Mama prayed but the Lord never heard me,
So I learned how to earn my way.

(Verse 2)
Ran with wolves in the cold, black midnight,
Took my whiskey and my word like gold.
Ain’t a man alive that can chain me,
Ain’t a lie that I ain’t been told.

(Chorus)
The devil don’t ride for free, boy,
You gotta pay with blood or soul.
Every step on the road to glory
Leaves another grave in the cold.

(Verse 3)
Sheriff’s got my name on a wanted sign,
Says I shot a man down in the street.
But he drew first, so I ain’t sorry—
Hell, the law don’t mean much to me.

(Verse 4)
I’ve had love, but it don’t last long,
Women like a man they can’t keep.
They kiss you hard, then they leave you,
Like the ghost of a gambler’s dream.

(Chorus)
The devil don’t ride for free, boy,
You gotta pay with blood or soul.
Every step on the road to glory
Leaves another grave in the cold.

(Bridge)
One day soon they’ll come for me,
With a rope and a righteous hymn.
But I ain’t never bowed to no man,
And I won’t start bowing to them.

(Outro)
So if you hear a lone horse running,
Through the midnight, wild and mean—
Know it’s just a ghost still chasing,
A life that was never clean.

(Instrumental outro)