[there] was a hustler once I knew
intuitive and sly
we rode into a hundred sunsets
always on the fly

at best we were but rivals
each had vowed to keep an eye on
at worst consumed with enmity
that rogue is due for dying

that’s Lee Valenti-en

Lee Valentine’s no friend of mine
…stuck me with a dagger
i doused the wound in rotgut rye
and hid it with some swagger

fraught with indecision
it’s so difficult to tell
whether best to be in league with you
or drinking from your skull

…. and it’s not for want of tryin
just can’t shake Lee Valenti-en

rode outta town at break of dawn
hoping to avoid ya
but word got round / it’s going down
reckon I annoyed ya

took to the street all indiscreet
your weapons on display
damned if i do damned if i don’t
and dammit either way

I had lost a lot a blood
and i swear i wasn’t tryin …
but i shot Lee Valenti-en

oh valentine Lee Valentine
[you] extraordinary creature
so many times you crossed the line
now the reaper’s come to greet yur

Lee Valentine was a friend of mine
we sparred it seems forever
exchanging barbs and epithets
on this old patch of desert

and maybe none of this is true
it’s all confabulation
or maybe i’m just saying that
to mask my adulation

for the late Lee Valentine