Angels Can Do No More
Written by Andy Wilkinson
We laid young Sammy to his rest
Dug a deep hole, then we did our best
To say the right things as we knocked the dirt from the shovel
So far from God so near to a life of trouble
No more than a boy when he died like a man
We stood around his grave with our hats in our hands
Leanin' first on one foot and then on the other
Wishin' we'd a-knowed what to say to write to his mother
But there ain't much to say when a man dies young
Before he can do what he should have done
Leastways, the cowboys that knowed him swore
"Sammy done his damnedest, angels can do no more"
We stared at our boots, and nobody spoke
'Til the trail boss coughed, and cleared his throat
And said to the cook, "Tear a plank off the chuckwagon
And bring it here to mark the grave of our young companion"
So the wranglers made a fire out of dry prairie coal
The wind fanned the flames 'til the brandin' irons glowed
Then we burned in the wood the words we should'a been sayin'
Down on our knees like a bunch of growed men a-prayin'
But there ain't much to say when a man dies young
Before he can do what he should have done
Leastways, the cowboys that knowed him swore
"Sammy done his damnedest, angels can do no more"
Now, Sammy rode hard and never complained
Two long years on the Rockin' Chair range
Chasin' them strays down the Salt Fork of the Red River
Angels' and cowboys' work, it goes on forever
And as for myself, when it's my turn to die
I hope there's a cowhand or two standing' by
To pack down the dirt and carry the news to the family
And say over me what we should'a said over Sammy
But there ain't much to say when a man dies young
Before he can do what he should have done
Leastways, the cowboys that knowed him swore
"Sammy done his damnedest, angels can do no more"
No, there ain't much to say when a man dies young
Before he can do what he should have done
"Sammy done his damnedest and angels can do no more"
Lyrics Submitted by Stan Swihart