[Verse 1]
Come closer, my love, and you'll hear my 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

[Chorus]
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

[Verse 2]
A prairie man loved a city maid
Was the love he took worth the price he paid
When a man ends up at the smoky end
Of a long, black rifle?

[Chorus]
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

[Verse 3]
His dyin' words I repeat to you
"You can never kill love when love is true
It lives when only the rust is left
Of the long, black rifle
[Chorus]
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

[Outro]
Shot him down and away he ran