der goldene fisch

I was a highwayman. Along the coach roads I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five
But I am still alive.

I was a sailor. I was born upon the tide
And with the sea I did abide.
I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico
I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow
And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed
But I am living still.

I was a dam builder across the river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide
A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around … I’ll always be around … and around and around and around and around

I fly a starship across the universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I’ll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I’ll be back again, and again and again and again and again

Jimmy Webb, 1977

*

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw1bHaUk1CM

The Highwaymen
Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, 1990
Schöne Versionen gibt es auch vom Songschreiber Jimmy Webb gemeinsam mit Prefab Sprout-Sänger Paddy McAloon sowie seit kurzem von der Düstergitarrenband Arbouretum aus Baltimore.

*