I was south of El Paso
hadn't got very far
I was hot on the trail of
A wandering star
It was high in the heavens
like a giant balloon
It was caught in the shadows
of the Blood Red Full Moon

I set out on the trail of
That wandering star
I followed it closely
Heard a tale in a bar
When the moon was in season
and the Blood Moon hung low
That wandering star
Would show where to go

It was up in the rock face
That I found a trail mark
The moon shone upon it
Even though it was dark
It showed the direction
To get away from the wind
Something evil was brewing
It was set to begin

I didn't hear cricket
nay, there wasn't a sound
All of nature was hiding
There was nothing around
The moon it hung lower
Red as jam in a jar
And there in the shadows
Was the wandering star

I found shelter and bunked down
There was nowhere to go
The temperature dropped fast
You knew soon there'd be snow
The trail would be hidden
In the light of the day
I'd wait for the star to
come out and show me the way

Two days we kept moving
Our goal was nearly in sight
The snow kept on coming
We moved only at night
I was just three more miles
It wasn't really that far
We'd been shown by the moon
and by the wandering star

I awoke in the morning
The sun was red as the moon
the wind was still howling
It played a wicked old tune
I could see in the distance
Of what the old drunkard said
I'd found an old grave yard
That housed the Parmalee dead

You see, I was family
They'd come out from the east
They'd died in the winter
they said the storm was a beast
They were buried and left here
Under a ****** red moon
The wind was still blowing
It's bitter cold tune

I painted the fences
I cleared the snow from the graves
Even though they were gone
Their memory was saved
I'd stay here till the spring time
Put fresh paint on each cross
Naming each single one
That our family lost

I came here each season
Left El Paso to ride
It was just a deep feeling
A feeling of pride
They could not be forgotten
Thanks to the tale in the bar
I found all my kin
with the wandering star.