Powderfinger
Composer(s): Neil Young
Performer(s): Neil Young;
and various other artists



Look out Mama, there's a white boat coming down the river
With a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John 'cause it don't look like they're here
To deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun
And it's making big waves

Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking
And I just turned twenty two
I was wondering what to do
And the closer they came the more those feelings grew

Daddy's rifle in my arms felt reassuring
He told me red means run son, numbers add up to nothing
But when that first shot hit the dock I saw it coming
Raised the rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black and my face flashed in the sky

Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me in the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as one who never figured
To fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love, I know I'll miss her