[Verse 1]
Cowboys and outlaws and long shiny rails
Was the background setting for Grandpappy's tales
Places like Tucson and old Santa Fe
Cheyenne, Wyoming during Rodeo Days
I'd sit there for hours perched on his knees
And ride just as far as his memory could see
With Billy The Kid and the one Jesse James
Rail-riding outlaws that robbed lots of trains

[Chorus]
Let me tell you a story 'bout Billy the Kid
The one Jesse James and some things that we did
I knew them well, son, just like my own name
Billy and Jesse and me, we robbed trains

[Verse 2]
But a boy don't stay seven all of his life
And he starts to wonder what's true and what's lies
Still respect makes him listen to an old man's refrain
'bout a wild bunch of cowboys and some make-believe trains

[Chorus]
Let me tell you a story 'bout Billy the Kid
The one Jesse James and some things that we did
I knew them well, son, just like my own name
Billy and Jesse and me, we robbed trains
[Verse 3]
The funeral was family, as funerals should be
Except for two cowboys no one else could see
And then they were gone, just as quick as they came
Billy and Jesse had robbed one more train

[Chorus]
Let me tell you a story 'bout Billy the Kid
The one Jesse James and some things that we did
I knew them well, son, just like my own name
Billy and Jesse and me, we robbed trains