LYRIC FOR SALE

By Thorsten Gabriel

I was sittin’ by the fire on a cold black night,
Stars hung low, no moon in sight.
Boots in the dust, hat pulled down,
Just me and the wind in a dead‑still town.
Then the flames bent low…
Like they feared what walked my way.

A shadow rose where the firelight broke,
Smelled like sulfur, moved like smoke.
He grinned at me with a preacher’s smile,
Said, “Mind if I sit here for a while?”
And the night grew still…
As he settled by the flame.

He said, “Give me your soul, boy,
And I’ll give you a name.
A legend ridin’ forever,
Through the dust and the flame.
Men will whisper your story
Till the stars all fall.
But you’ll wander these campfires
When the nightbirds call.”

I felt the years I’d run behind,
Every sin I’d tried to hide.
The fire cracked sharp like a warning sign,
But the Devil’s voice cut smooth as wine.
He said, “Son…
You ain’t got much left to lose.”

I reached my hand across the flame,
He took it slow and spoke my name.
The sky turned red, the earth turned black,
And I knew right then there was no turnin’ back.
The wind cried low…
Like it mourned what I became.

He said, “Give me your soul, boy,
And I’ll give you a name.
A legend ridin’ forever,
Through the dust and the flame.
Men will whisper your story
Till the stars all fall.
But you’ll wander these campfires
When the nightbirds call.”

Now I ride through ages with a hollow chest,
No heartbeat left beneath my vest.
I sit by fires of strangers’ camps,
A ghost in boots, a shadow in the lamps.
And I whisper soft…
“Have you seen my soul?”

Some say the Devil still walks beside me,
Some say I’m huntin’ what he denied me.
But when the flames burn low and the night turns cold,
You might feel a presence from the days of old.
A cowboy lost…
Still searchin’ for what he sold.