Pale Sun

by Michael Timmins (from the Cowboy Junkies web site)

Am               Em
Fifty miles from Dakota territory

C        E                    Am
Cheyenne scalp hangs from his belt

Am              Em
Found him alone washing in the Bighorn

C        E          Am
a steady aim and he bagged his game


Dm                     Am
Pale sun falls without contest

Dm               Am
Here is obedient darkness

G           Am
He will not return


Am              Em
White Cadillac, white man at the wheel,

C                  E         Am
white faces on the mountain, wounds that will never heal

Am                     Em
Black clouds overhead, old man says looks like rain

C                          E                     Am
Thieves' Road winds to the Black Hills sign says South Dakota, U.S.A.


Dm                          Am
Grass plains stretch to the horizon,

Dm                      Am
not a soul can be found on them

G             Am
They will not return

Bb C   C Bb A Am7 A   Bb Am7 Bb A
Bb C   C Bb A Am7 A   Bb Am7 A

Am                                  Em
Old rusted pickup and a mad dog in the yard,

C                      E                   Am
purple paint peels but fails to reveal the bitterness that grows inside

Am                             Em
Cloud of dust in the distance, strange knock beneath my hood

C                          E                        Am
Is it better to have words left unsaid than to have words misunderstood?


Dm                     Am
Pale sun falls without contest

Dm               Am
Here is obedient darkness

G        Am
It will return

G              Am
I know it will return

G        Am
It will return.