His mother begged him to be a cattleman But he chose to wear the star his daddy wore God blessed him with a sharp eye and a quick hand Quicker than the man who shot his daddy to the floor Still she prayed and she pleaded But ranch work lacked the vengeance he needed He was cursed on his daddy's dying day When a shot to the back laid him in six feet in a grave And he wears a star on his vest The only thing between a bullet and the heart in his chest He'll be a ranger till he takes his last draw He was born with the strong arm of the law He wore a colt 45 on his hip One notch short on the ivory grip Searching for the outlaw that broke his momma's heart Riding through the badlands from daylight to dark In a dirty back water border town Where the outlaw thought he could not be found He looked like he'd seen a ghost when he saw the ranger's face A legacy to the lawman he sent to his resting-place And he wears a star on his vest The only thing between a bullet and the heart in his chest He'll be a ranger till he takes his last draw He was born with the strong arm of the law The outlaw had no place to run So he turned to the trigger on his gun As the smoke cleared blood stained the dusty street The outlaw lay dying at the ranger's feet He sat in the saddle and shook his head His gun still hot and his father still dead As the sun set on the day he'd waited so long for He saw justice belongs to the law but vengeance is the lord's