Why does death bring out the best in us
Where we don't speak of ill will
Is the suffering enough from the loss
That we don't dare add to the bill

When it's hard to find words so kind
We might say God rest their soul
Try and smile knowing all the while
The truth is left untold

Makes you wonder why when we're still alive
We let each other be
Reasoning that it's their life to live
And has nothing to do with me

Too late to make a difference
Now that they're not coming back
Knowing the truth it's still what we do
When don't speak ill of the dead

Am I just a wheel?
Consuming meals?
A speck in blue sea?
Bound by what I see?
Life amongst trees?
Breathing means free?

Am I my beliefs?
The truth I seek?
Flag of a country?
Defined by currency?
A liability?
Part of society?

Am I what you see?
The way you judge me?
The values you pick?
First impressions stick?
Norm defined by you?
Do I dare to be rude?

No...

I am who I choose.
I fill my own shoes.
I win when I lose.
I create my own views.
I see black beyond blue.
I pick me over you.

Who are we?
I am me.
Who are we?
Depends on you.

Bury me out on the open range
After you fill my pockets up
with all your worthless change
A marker with the day and year
but please leave off the name
When you bury me out on the open range

Shallow enough to hear the coyote howl
Deep enough where I'll stay warm
when the sun goes down
Far enough away
where I never will be found
But close enough
so my ghost can go to town

Bury me out on the open range
Then go about your business
when the memory of me fades
And if you ever think of me again
please give that piece away
When you bury me out on the open range

As long as it takes
These calloused hands
To tell you their story
I could show you instead

Grab me a hammer
And a handful of nails
As I turn the page
With these calloused hands

Years in the making
Working the land
Just like my daddy
And his before him

It's just what we do
Mono a mono as men
All we go through
With calloused hands

Hear what I say
Watch what I do
This story's as old
As it is new

I thank God every day
That I still can
Through life make my way
With these calloused hands