The Sky Above the Mud Below
Tom Russell Lyrics

Two men rode in from the south, a rainy autumn night
Two men rode in during a rainy night in the autumn season from the direction of the southern part of the region.

The Sky above and the mud below
The skyline and ground level were easily distinguishable as there was a clear difference between the sky and the mud.

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

The sky above and the mud below
The difference between the skyline and ground level was still noticeable.

They threw a horsehair bridle down, we trade this for whiskey rounds
The two men traded a horsehair bridle for whiskey rounds.

The Deacon slams a bottle down, the two men start to drinkin'
Deacon slam the bottle to the counter, and the two men started drinking.

Their hair was long and black, tied up behind their ears
The two men had long black hair, which they tied behind their ears.

Their faces were identical, like one man beside a mirror
The two men looked the same, like they were the same person standing beside a mirror.

Then someone whispered that beats all, their wanted posters on the wall
Someone whispered that it was unbelievable that the wanted posters of two horse thieves, the Sandoval twins, were hanging on the wall of the bar.

Twin brothers name of Sandoval, horse thieves from Boquillas
The twin brothers were named Sandoval and were known as horse thieves from Boquillas.

Now the bridle and the belts they wore were braided gray and black
The belts and the bridle they wore were made of braided gray and black horsehair.

The color of a roan horse once belonged to Deacon Black
The color of the horsehair on the belts and bridle was the same as that of a roan horse that Deacon Black once owned.

The fastest horse for miles around, he'd been stolen from the old fairground
The horse that was stolen from the fairground was the fastest horse in the area.

A month ago outside of town we tracked and never found him
A month ago, we traced him outside the town but were unable to find him anywhere.

Now the Deacon was a preacher who had fallen hard from grace
Deacon was a former preacher who had disillusioned and fell from a position of grace.

He owned the bar and a string of quarter horses that he'd race
Deacon was the proprietor of the bar and owned a group of quarter horses that he would race.

Yea, Deacon he could drink and curse, though he still quoted sacred verse
Deacon could swear and drink heavily but would still recite a sacred verse.

He was sheriff, judge; he owned the hearse, a man you did not anger
He was a sheriff, a judge and owned a hearse, which made him a person one should steer clear of.

The sky above, the mud below, the wind and rain, the sleet and snow
The weather outside the bar was terrible with heavy rain, strong winds, sleet, and snow.

Two horse thieves from Mexico drinkin' hard and singin'
The two horse thieves from Mexico were drinking heavily and singing loudly in the bar.

One brother he spoke English, Deac inquires as to their work
One of the brothers could speak English, and Deac questioned them about their profession.

The man says mister we braid horsehair bridles, ropes and quirts
The man responded that they were skilled in braiding horsehair bridles, ropes, and quirts.

Yea, that fine bridle we did make, a roan horse killed by leg-bone break
They bragged that they had constructed the fine bridle from a roan horse that met its end from a broken leg.

He's horsehair rope now; horse-meat steak, we cleaned him to the bone
They had transformed the horse into a horsehair rope and horse meat steak after cleaning it entirely.

Well these gentlemen they were ignorant or didn't know just where they were
These gentlemen seemed unaware of their whereabouts or lacked understanding regarding their fate.

The Deacon's face grew darker as he measured every word
Deacon's face grew darker as he thought carefully before speaking.

You horsehair braidin' sons o' witches stole my claim to earthly riches
Deacon accused the horsehair braiding men of stealing his claim to his earthly riches.

Someone go and dig a ditch, there may well be a hangin'
He ordered someone to dig a ditch as someone could face capital punishment.

One brother reached inside his shirt searching for his gun
One of the brothers attempted to find his gun from inside his shirt.

Too late, for Deac had whipped around his sawed-off Remington
It was too late as Deac grabbed his sawed-off Remington quickly.

The twins, they raised their hands and sneered, Deac was grinnin' ear to ear
The twins raised their hands in mid-air and sneered, and Deac had a broad smile on his face.

He says court's in session, hear ye hear, yours truly is presidin'
Deac announced he was presiding, and the court was in session.

Well, the trial commenced and ended quick they didn't have a hope
The trial that began and ended soon was futile, and they had no chance of escaping.

Deac says we'll cut your hair now boys, and you can braid yourselves a rope
Deac decided to have their hair cut and make them braid it to form a rope.

The Old Testament, it says somewhere eye for eye and hair for hair
Deac referred to The Old Testament which states the law of retaliation.

Covet not thy neighbors mare, I believe it's Revelations
Deac quoted a phrase from the book of Revelations asking his neighbours not to have an eye on his horses.

Now the fancy horsehair bridle, it hangs on Deacon's wall
The attractive horse hair bridle hangs on Deacon's wall.

Next to that wanted poster of the brothers Sandoval
The wanted poster featuring the Sandoval brother hung beside the bridle.

And he twisted rope so shiny black, the artifact that broke their necks
He twisted a shiny black rope, which broke their necks and caused their death.

Their craftsmanship he did respect, they shoulda stuck to braidin'
Deacon respected their craftsmanship, and he believed they should have stuck to horsehair braiding.

The sky above the mud below, the wind and rain, the sleet and snow
The intense and unpleasant weather experienced earlier was still present.

The Deacon's hearse is rollin' slow in the first blue light of mornin'
Deacon's hearse moved slowly with the first light of dawn.