13. 25 Minutes to Go

Well, they're buildin' the gallows outside this jail
And I've got twenty-five minutes to go
And the whole town's waitin' just to hear me wail
There's twenty-four minutes to go
Well, they give me some beans for my last meal
Twenty-three minutes to go
And nobody asks me how I feel
Twenty-two minutes to go
So I sent for the governor and the whole darned bunch
Twenty-one minutes to go
And I called up the mayor, but he's out to lunch
I got twenty more minutes to go
Then the sheriff said, "Boy, I wanna watch you die"
"You got nineteen minutes to go"
So I laughed in his face and I spit in his eye
I got eighteen minutes to go
Then I called up the warden, "Hear my plea"
I've got seventeen minutes to go
He said, "Call me back in a week or three"
"You got sixteen minutes to go"
Now my lawyer says he's sorry that he missed my case
I've got fifteen minutes to go
Well, if you're so sorry, come and take my place
I've got fourteen minutes to go
Now here comes the padre for to save my soul
With thirteen minutes to go
And he's talkin' 'bout burnin', but I'm so cold
I've got twelve more minutes to go
Now they're testin' the trap and it chills my spine
With eleven more minutes to go
And the trap and the rope, ah, they work just fine
I've got ten more minutes to go
Well, I'm waitin' for the pardon, gonna set me free
With nine more minutes to go
But this ain't the movies, so forget about me
I got eight more minutes to go
Now I'm climbin' up the ladder to the scaffold there
With seven more minutes to go
Now I better watch my step or else I'll break my leg
I got six more minutes to go
With my feet on the trap, head in the noose
Five more minutes to go
Won't someone come and cut me loose?
I got four more minutes to go
I can see the mountains, see the sky
Three more minutes to go
And it's too darn pretty for a man to wanna die
I got two more minutes to go
I can hear the buzzards, hear the crows
One more minute to go
And now I'm swingin' and here I go