Come closer, my love
And I'll tell you a tale
It'll make you cold
It'll turn you pale
It's a tale of a man's
Never ending love
And the long black rifle

He wed a woman
Sworn to another
And, in a rage
The other man
Shot him down
With a long black rifle
Shot him down
And away he ran

Now a prairie man
Loved a city maid
Was the love he took
Worth the price he paid
When a man ends up
At the smoking end
Of a long black rifle

He wed a woman
Sworn to another
And, in a rage
The other man
Shot him down
With a long black rifle
Shot him down
And away he ran

Now his dyin' words
I repeat to you
You can never kill love
When your love is true
It lives when only
The rust is left
Of the long black rifle

He wed a woman
Sworn to another
And, in a rage
The other man
Shot him down
With a long black rifle
Shot him down
And away he ran