16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought-Six Lyrics

Lyric discussion by DollarShort 

Cover art for 16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought-Six lyrics by Tom Waits

I get the impression the song is told from the perspective of a desperate, dedicated lawman, obsessed with capturing some notorious criminal who always seems to evade him. The lawman has been on the trail a long time, and the longer it takes, the more his hatred of the object of his pursuit grows. Great song.