Lyrics

White Pines Ranch
Words and Music: Mark David Manders

He wore an old tattered cowboy hat, a leather band stained from sweat
And he leaned upon the bar like a crutch
Black hair with a hint of gray, tired eyes that seemed to say
He’d seen a lot but he hadn’t seen enough
I pulled up a stool and asked his name, he ordered a drink then he explained
The many paths that finally led him here
He said, “I done my share of traveling around, I’ve weathered life’s little ups and downs”
“But through it all one memory stands clear.”
And he talked about a ranch where he learned to be a cowboy
Of trails through those white pines and the horses that he’d ride
He said the closest thing to Heaven was up there in that saddle
Sixteen hands above the ground you can almost touch the sky
I listened as he rambled on about the place where he was born,
His younger days and all the things he did
He said, “I guess if I’d admit the truth I struggled as a troubled youth”
“But New York City’s no place for a kid.”
So he learned from those that he saw living just outside the law
Unaware of what that darker side would bring
‘Till he woke up one day and realized it was leave that town or lose his life
So he packed his bags in search of better things
And he talked about a ranch where he learned to be a cowboy
Of trails through those white pines and the horses that he’d ride
He said the closest thing to Heaven was up there in that saddle
Sixteen hands above the ground you can almost touch the sky
He said, “The pay’s not great for a hired hand”, but he never thought that it would end
Then he fell upon some harder times
He was living a life he couldn’t afford, so he hocked his saddle and he sold his horse
And he left that White Pines Ranch far behind
Now he gets his comfort in Southern bars and tries real hard to hide the scars
But every now and then they reappear
He said, “You know, I’m pushing fifty now and it took this long to figure out”
“You can hide the pain but you cannot hide the years.”
And he still dreams about a ranch where he learned to be a cowboy
Of trails through those white pines and the horses that he’d ride
He said the closest thing to Heaven was up there in that saddle
Sixteen hands above the ground you can almost touch the sky