Songtext Mister shorty Marty Robbins

Mister shorty

Nobody knew where he came from, they only knew he came in.
Slowly he walked to end of the bar and he ordered up one slug of gin.
But I could see that he wasn't a large man, I could tell that he wasn't too tall
I judged him to be about five foot three And His voice was a soft Texas drawl.
He said he was needin' some wages, for a for a big drive to the West
Said he could do most all kinds of work, Said he could ride with the rest.
There In his blue eyes there was sadness that comes of the need of a friend
And though he tried he still couldn't hide the loneliness there deep within

He said he would work through the winter, for thirty a month and his board
I started to say where he might land a job when a fellow came in through the door
And I could tell he was looking for trouble by the way he came stompin' in
He told me to leave shorty there by his self and come down and wait on a man
The eyes of the little man narrowed, his smile disappeared from his face
Gone was the friendliness that I had seen and a wild look of hate took it's place
But the big one continued to squabble and he told me that I had better go
Find him a couple of glasses of milk and then maybe shorty would grow.

When the little man spoke there was stillness, He made sure that everyone heard
Slowly he stepped away from the bar and I still remember these words
Oh It's plain that you're looking for trouble, trouble is what I try to shun
If that's what you want then that's what you'll get, the cowboys were both packin' guns
His hand was already positioned, his feet wide apart on the floor
I hadn't noticed but there on his hip was a short barreled bad forty four
It was plain he was ready and waiting he leaned a bit forward and said
When you call me Shorty say Mister my friend or would you rather be dead.

In the room was a terrible silence As the big one stepped out on floor,
All drinkin stopped and the tick of the clock ticked away ten seconds more
He cursed once or twice in a whisper, then he said with a snarl on his lip
No bodys is mister to me little man and he grabbed for the gun on his hip
The little man's hand was like lightning, The bad forty four was the same
The forty four spoke and between lead and smoke was seventeen inches of flame.
Oh the big one had never cleared leather, beaten before he could start
A little round hole had appeared on his shirt, the bullet went straight through his heart
The little man stood there a moment, then holstered the bad forty four
It's always this way, so I never stay and slowly he walked out the door

Nobody knew where he came from, but they won't forget he came by
They won't forget the forty four gun that one night made a difference in size
As for me I'll remember the sadness that shown In the eyes of the man
And if we meet someday you can bet that I'll say, It's me Mister Shorty, your friend.