born and raised in black and white
The Highwaymen Lyrics

The wind blows hard across the Texas planes
The harsh and unforgiving weather in Texas is a common occurrence that is felt by everyone living there.

Makes some people go insane
Some people can't handle the pressure and stresses of living in the difficult Texan conditions, which can drive them to insanity.

While others quietly pray for rain
On the other hand, some people are just as desperate for the weather to change for the better, so they quietly pray and hope for rain.

That's where we came from
The harsh conditions and demands of living in Texas is the environment that the Highwaymen grew up in.

Two boys playing in the burning sun
The Highwaymen are describing their childhood and how they were just two young boys who experienced the harsh Texan sun and all that came with it.

One with books, one with guns
One of the boys had a love for reading and education, while the other was interested in guns and weaponry.

Mama calls but just one comes
The mother of these boys would call out to them, but only one of them would respond and come home.

The other one runs
The other boy would instead run away and avoid coming home, perhaps due to the difficult living conditions or an aversion to his family's way of life.

In a crystal sense of wrong and right
The Highwaymen grew up with a strong and clear understanding of right and wrong, which was like a crystal – very clear and visible to them.

We were born and raised in black and white
This line emphasizes how absolute the Highwaymen's sense of morality and the way they saw the world and what's right and wrong was. Nothing was grey or ambiguous.

One learned to pray, one loved to fight
As the boys grew up, one of them became more religious and spiritual, while the other was more interested in conflict and violence.

We were born and raised in black and white
The Highwaymen are again emphasizing the absoluteness of their upbringing and the clarity of their view of the world.

We were born and raised in black and white
Reiterating the idea that the Highwaymen's worldview was absolute and unchanging.

Brother took to the gospel road
One of the boys became religious and dedicated his life to the path of the gospel.

Spent his whole live saving souls
This brother's focus in life became about saving people's souls and bringing them closer to their faith.

When he looked at me his blood ran cold
The other brother is describing how his religious brother would look at him with judgment and disapproval, making him feel uncomfortable and uneasy.

He didn't even try
The religious brother didn't seem to make an effort to understand or relate to his gun-loving sibling.

I had no dreams, I had no plans
The gun-loving sibling describes how he didn't have any real goals or aspirations in life, choosing instead to focus on the feeling he got from holding a gun.

But a gun felt good in my right hand
For the gun-loving sibling, there was no feeling that compared to the sensation of holding a gun in their hand.

The warden asked, “How come you killed that man”
The gun-loving sibling was asked by the warden about their decision to murder someone with their weapon.

I said, “I don't know why”
The sibling couldn't really find a coherent or satisfactory answer to the warden's question about their motivations.

Welcome home said the hot moonlight
The moonlight symbolizes the darkness that follows people even when they go back home.

We were born and raised in black and white
Returning to the idea of their upbringing being very clear-cut and absolute, this line also hints at the idea of returning home to the familiar but also unchanging environment they grew up in.

One lives to pray, one prays for life
Reframing the earlier line about one sibling being religious and the other more violent, this line shows how the religious brother's spirituality was rooted in his desire to live a long and fulfilling life.

We were born and raised in black and white
Reiterating again how fixed and inflexible the Highwaymen's view of the world and their morality was.

We were born and raised in black and white
Further emphasizing the fixity of the Highwaymen's worldview and situating it as an unchanging force in their lives.

Someone handed me a cigarette
In this line, the sibling is being offered a cigarette, perhaps in the moments before their execution.

They offered me my last request
This person or group is accommodating the sibling's request for a final cigarette or final wish.

I asked my mortal soul be blessed
The gun-loving sibling's final request is to have their soul blessed by someone close to them.

By someone close to me
The sibling wants someone they know and love to bless them, rather than a stranger.

He came to me with trembling hands
This person who is supposed to bless the sibling is afraid and nervous, showing how much weight this act carries.

He swore he'd never understand
The person who is supposed to bless them admits that they don't really know or understand the situation, but is still trying to perform the blessing.

I said it's just what life had planned
The gun-loving sibling brushes off their companion's concerns and worries, saying that everything is just fate and beyond their control.

It's destiny
The sibling is further emphasizing this idea of fate, portraying their actions and eventual fate as predetermined.

Don't waste your tears on me tonight
This is the sibling's way of telling their companion not to worry or grieve for them, as they are resigned to their fate.

We were born and raised in black and white
Returning one final time to the idea of the Highwaymen's strict and unbending worldview.

I chose the dark, you chased the light
This final line emphasizes the difference between the gun-loving sibling and their companion, who they see as someone chasing the light or positivity, while they themselves have chosen the dark or negative path.

We were born and raised in black and white
One last repetition of the major theme and idea of the song, that the Highwaymen's worldview and upbringing were absolute, unchanging, and black and white.

We were born and raised in black and white
A final reiteration of this idea that has been present throughout the entirety of the song.