A man like Jesse James
A very meticulous man
Deep concern with detail
A sense of some big plan
His mind turns like a wheel
Wagon wheel through dust
He can count the spokes
Turning down, coming 'round
Walking up, a tap on his back

He counted stars
He committed crimes
He was a robber
He stole men's time

A man like Jesse James
A very serious man
His wife, his children
Their love dwelled in a tame land
As he rode backwards from them
The journey of a lifetime
A twister across the plains
The black vortex his brain
The world weighs heavy on a man
It kicks him in his pains
He comes home to a place he doesn't know again

He counted the stars
He wept inside
He was a robber
He stole men's time

He loved his children
He kissed them goodbye
He lost the sky
He rode out of time

Now he knows he can't go back
He blazed his trail so well
A parade of dust
He leads a bold red swatch through time
A man like Jesse James