Straw in the wind

He rode in from the west with an eye for a dollar to make
He pitched us a sale about healing an awl from a snake
The barkeep, he warned him but the man did not comprehend
How strangers 'round here disappeared like straw in the wind

Too young but he loved when she met him in some northern town
He treated good 'til the sun and the whiskey went down
Did the bruise on her face test the patience of all of her kin
Or do strangers 'round her disappear like straw in the wind

Oh, Jim runs his mouth when he drinks since his wife passed away
But he's good to the kids and the crops that he sells for fair trade
But a travelling man had enough and took a pipe to his chin
That travelling man disappeared like straw in the wind

If the mouth of this river could talk, here's what it would say
If you come here with good in your heart, you'll be on your way
But I'm not the one here who judged another man's sin
Or made strangers 'round here disappear like straw in the wind
Strangers 'round here disappear like straw in the wind