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Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
The Byrds
Performer
Roger McGuinn
Vocals
Gram Parsons
Guitar
Clarence White
Guitar
Chris Hillman
Mandolin
Roy Huskey Jr.
Bass
John Hartford
Fiddle
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Woody Guthrie
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Gary Usher
Producer
Lyrics
Well gather 'round me children
A story I will tell
About Pretty Boy Floyd, the outlaw
Oklahoma knew him well
It was in the town of Shawnee
On a Saturday afternoon
His wife beside him in a wagon
As into town they rode
And along come a deputy sheriff
In a manner rather rude
Using vulgar words of language
His wife, she overheard
And Pretty Boy grabbed a long chain
The deputy grabbed a gun
And in the fight that followed
He laid that deputy down
Then he ran through the trees and bushes
And lived a life of shame
Every crime in Oklahoma
Was added to his name
He ran through the trees and bushes
On the Canadian River shore
And many a-starving farmer
Opened up his door
It was in Oklahoma City
It was on a Christmas day
A whole carload of groceries
With a letter that did say
"You say that I'm an outlaw
You say that I'm a thief
Well, here's a Christmas dinner
For the families on relief"
As through this life you travel
You'll meet some funny men
Some'll rob you with a six-gun
And some with a fountain pen
As through this life you ramble
As through this life you roam
You'll never see an outlaw
Take a family from their home
Writer(s): Woody Guthrie
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