Harry Chapin: Last Stand

It used to be that old John Wayne
Would fight the good fight once again,
Find the strength to bear the pain,
Stand up til he'd finally fall.
But now it's not just movie time,
And now it's you that's on the line.
And now it's you that's going to find
If you can stand at all.

So you circle all the wagons
And you hide behind the trees,
And you try to find some courage on your knees.
When you heard the sound of taps played
By the one man band,
You knew this is where you'd have to make
Your last stand.

And so, my friends, the last stand,
The last song from the last band,
The last note from the last man,
But you gave it all you can.
The cards came down to the last deal,
You're a starving man at his last meal,
And the movie's rolled down to the last real,
It's got an ending you never planned.
She's left you now, and so it seems,
You've tumbled down the last stream,
And you've found out that the final dream,
Can disappear so fast.
Watch it all just fade away, boy,
It came down to the last day,
And then the last out, and then the last play,
And you're alone at last.

So you circle all the wagons
And you hide behind the trees,
And you try to find some courage on your knees.
When you heard the sound of taps played
By the one man band,
You knew this is where you'd have to make
Your last stand.

Well, so it was late last night,
She left on the final flight
You watched as the last light
Went out there in your soul.
Took your look around the top,
For now you face the final drop.
You'll go down fast and you won't stop,
You found a very deep hole.
Say you're off on the last ride,
Remembering how she last cried,
And you know that love had long last died
In silence, not in pain.
You lost your last, your last race
Stumbled in last place,
Too late to find the one last face
Waiting in the rain.
So you circle all the wagons
And you hide behind the trees,
And you try to find some courage on your knees.
When you heard the sound of taps played
By the one man band,
You knew this is where you'd have to make
Your last stand.