His mother begged him to be a cattleman
But he chose to wear the star his daddy wore
God blessed him with a sharp eye and a quick hand
Quicker than the man who shot his daddy to the floor
Still she prayed and she pleaded
But ranch work lacked the vengeance he needed
He was cursed on his daddy's dying day
When a shot to the back laid him in six feet in a grave
Chorus
And he wears a star on his vest
The only thing between a bullet and the heart in his chest
He'll be a ranger till he takes his last draw
He was born with the strong arm of the law
He wore a colt 45 on his hip
One notch short on the ivory grip
Searching for the outlaw that broke his momma's heart
Riding through the badlands from daylight to dark
In a dirty back water border town
Where the outlaw thought he could not be found
He looked like he'd seen a ghost when he saw the ranger's face
A legacy to the lawman he sent to his resting-place
Chorus
The outlaw had no place to run
So he turned to the trigger on his gun
As the smoke cleared blood stained the dusty street
The outlaw lay dying at the ranger's feet
He sat in the saddle and shook his head
His gun still hot and his father still dead
As the sun set on the day he'd waited so long for
He saw justice belongs to the law but vengeance is the lord's