Sky Above the Mud Below
Tom Russell Lyrics

Two men rode in from the south, a rainy autumn night
Two men on horseback rode into town during a rainy autumn night.

The Sky above and the mud below
The weather was bad, with overcast skies and muddy ground.

They walked into the Deacon's bar, they were Mexican by sight
The two men entered a bar owned by Deacon, and were identified as Mexican by their appearance.

The sky above and the mud below
The stormy weather continued.

They threw a horsehair bridle down, we trade this for whiskey rounds
One of the men offered a horsehair bridle to the bartender in exchange for drinks.

The Deacon slams a bottle down, the two men start to drinkin'
The bartender slammed a bottle on the bar and the two men began to drink.

Their hair was long and black, tied up behind their ears
Both of the men had long, black hair that was tied behind their ears.

Their faces were identical, like one man beside a mirror
The two men had identical faces and could have been mistaken for one another.

Then someone whispered that beats all, their wanted posters on the wall
Someone noticed that posters identifying the men as wanted horse thieves were hanging on the bar's wall.

Twin brothers name of Sandoval, horse thieves from Boquillas
The men were twin brothers named Sandoval and they were wanted for stealing horses in Boquillas.

Now the bridle and the belts they wore were braided gray and black
The bridle and belts that the men wore were braided in gray and black colors.

The color of a roan horse once belonged to Deacon Black
The color of the braided accessories was the same as a horse that Deacon Black owned.

The fastest horse for miles around, he'd been stolen from the old fairground
Deacon Black's fastest horse was recently stolen from a fairground outside of town.

A month ago outside of town we tracked and never found him
Deacon Black and others had been searching for his stolen horse but had not found it.

Now the Deacon was a preacher who had fallen hard from grace
Deacon Black used to be a religious leader but has since lost his reputation.

He owned the bar and a string of quarter horses that he'd race
Deacon Black owns the bar and also has several quarter horses which he uses for racing.

Yea, Deacon he could drink and curse, though he still quoted sacred verse
Despite his rough demeanor, Deacon Black still quotes religious scripture.

He was sheriff, judge; he owned the hearse, a man you did not anger
Deacon Black had a lot of power in the town as both sheriff and judge, and he was not someone to be crossed.

The sky above, the mud below, the wind and rain, the sleet and snow
The harsh weather conditions continued throughout the night.

Two horse thieves from Mexico drinkin' hard and singin'
The two men continued to drink and sing despite the tense situation.

One brother he spoke English, Deac inquires as to their work
One of the brothers was able to speak English, and Deacon Black asked them about their profession.

The man says mister we braid horsehair bridles, ropes and quirts
The man explains that they specialize in making horsehair accessories like bridles, ropes, and quirts.

Yea, that fine bridle we did make, a roan horse killed by leg-bone break
The man admits that they made the braided bridle from the horse that Deacon Black is looking for, which was killed by a broken leg.

He's horsehair rope now; horse-meat steak, we cleaned him to the bone
The men also turned the horse's hair into rope and ate its meat down to the bones.

Well these gentlemen they were ignorant or didn't know just where they were
The men did not realize the trouble they were in by admitting to making the stolen bridle.

The Deacon's face grew darker as he measured every word
Deacon Black became more upset with the men's admission.

You horsehair braidin' sons o' witches stole my claim to earthly riches
Deacon Black accused the men of stealing his valuable horse and braiding its hair to make accessories.

Someone go and dig a ditch, there may well be a hangin'
Deacon Black commanded someone to dig a grave, implying that he planned to execute the men.

One brother reached inside his shirt searching for his gun
One of the brothers attempted to draw his gun in self-defense.

Too late, for Deac had whipped around his sawed off Remington
Deacon Black was quicker, pulling out his sawed off shotgun and using it to threaten the men.

The twins, they raised their hands and sneered, Deac was grinnin' ear to ear
The brothers gave up and sneered at Deacon Black, while he found their reaction amusing.

He says court's in session, hear ye hear, yours truly is presidin'
Deacon Black acted as the judge during the mock trial he held in the bar.

Well the trial commenced and ended quick they didn't have a hope
The trial was short and there was no chance for a fair outcome.

Deac says we'll cut your hair now boys and you can braid yourselves a rope
Deacon Black decided to give the twins the punishment of having their hair cut so they could braid it into a rope to be hanged with.

The Old Testament, it says somewhere eye for eye and hair for hair
Deacon Black used a quote from the Old Testament to justify his punishment for the horse thieves.

Covet not thy neighbors mare, I believe it's Revelations
Deacon Black again cited scripture from Revelations to further his argument.

Now the fancy horsehair bridle, it hangs on Deacon's wall
The braided bridle made from Deacon Black's stolen horse was now displayed on his wall.

Next to that wanted poster of the brothers Sandoval
The poster identifying the Sandoval brothers as horse thieves hung nearby.

And he twisted rope so shiny black, the artifact that broke their necks
Deacon Black used the braided rope made from the brothers' hair to hang them both.

Their craftsmanship he did respect, they shoulda stuck to braidin'
Despite punishing the brothers, Deacon Black had appreciation for the quality of their braiding work and thought they should have stuck to their craft instead of stealing horses.

The sky above the mud below, the wind and rain, the sleet and snow
The weather continued to be harsh when the Deacon's hearse carried the bodies of the executed men away.

The Deacon's hearse is rollin' slow in the first blue light of mornin'
The Deacon's hearse carried the bodies of the executed men slowly in the early morning light.