Bill Horton was a cautious man of the road
He walked lookin' over his
shoulder and remained faithful to its code
When something caught his eye he'd measure his need
And then very carefully he'd proceed
Billy met a young girl in the early days of May
It was there in her arms, he let his
cautiousness slip away
In their lovers' twilight as the evening
sky grew dim
He'd lay back in her arms and
laugh at what had happened to him
Chorus:
On his right hand Billy tatooed the word love
And on his left hand was the word fear
And in which hand he held his fate was never clear
Come Indian summer he took his young lover
for his bride
And with own hands built a great house down
by the riverside
Now Billy was an honest man, he wanted to do
what was right
He worked hard to fill their lives with happy
days and loving night
Alone on his knees in the darkness for
steadiness he'd pray
For he knew in a restless heart the seed
of betrayal lay
Chorus:
One night Billy awoke from a terrible dream
callin' his wife's name
She lay breathing beside him in a peaceful
sleep a thousand miles away
He got dressed in the moonlight and down
to the highway he strode
When he got there, he didn't find nothing but road
Billy felt a coldness rise up inside him
that he couldn't name
Just as the words tattooed 'cross his
knuckles he knew would always remain
At their bedside, he brushed the hair
from his wife's face as the moon shone on
her skin so white
Filling their room in the beauty of
God's fallen light