Interpretations of this song suggest a gunslinger running from the law who gets captured and sentenced to hard labor. That's one interpretation. If you take the lyrics literally, however, they seem more like a deadbeat who left his family to starve and had the Pinkertons track him down. He seems to be running from debt and dishonor rather than Wild West lawless capers.
Interpretations of this song suggest a gunslinger running from the law who gets captured and sentenced to hard labor. That's one interpretation. If you take the lyrics literally, however, they seem more like a deadbeat who left his family to starve and had the Pinkertons track him down. He seems to be running from debt and dishonor rather than Wild West lawless capers.