Had it not been for my temper and the drinks I never could hold
You wouldn't be just a memory a dead man ago
Had I weighed with understanding things he said you used to do
I wouldn't be hidin' and a runnin' away I'd still be here with you
But the things he said about you were things that shouldn't be said
A dead man ago I was livin' now it seems like it's me that's dead
Stopped his jealous tongue from talkin' with his last breath I didn't know
I'd lose ev'rything that I dreamed of a dead man ago
I'd planned to change your name now I'm always changin' mine
Cause the men who wear the badge of tin are not the forgivin' kind
And if there's life beyond the grave he's laughin' at me I know
Cause I lost a life of love with you a dead man ago
Had it not been for my temper and the drinks I never could hold...
A dead man ago a dead man ago
