Cautious Man

Bill Horton was a cautious man of the road
He walked lookin' over his shoulder
And remained faithful to its code
When something caught his eye
He'd measure his need
And then very carefully he'd proceed

Billy met a young girl
In the early days of May
It was there in her arms
He let his cautiousness slip away
In their lovers twilight
As the evening sky grew dim
He'd lay back in her arms
And laugh at what had happened to him

On his right hand Billy'd tattooed the word love
And on his left hand was the word fear
And in which hand he held his fate
Was never clear
Come Indian summer he took his young lover for his bride
And with his own hands
Built her a great house down by the riverside

Now Billy was a honest man
He wanted to do what was right
He worked hard to fill their lives
With happy days and loving nights
Alone on his knees in the darkness
For steadiness he'd pray
For he knew in a restless heart
The seed of betrayal lay

One night Billy woke from a terrible dream
Callin' his wife's name
She lay breathing beside him in a peaceful sleep
A thousand miles away
He got dressed in the moonlight
And down to the highway he strode
When he got there
He didn't find nothing but road

Billy felt a coldness rise up inside him
That he couldn't name
Just as the words tattooed 'cross his knuckles
He knew would always remain
At their bedside he brushed the hair from his wife's face
As the moon shone on her skin so white
Filling their room in the beauty
Of God's fallen light