Lyrics to
The Ballad Of Billy The Kid

This version of The Ballad Of Billy The Kid was released by Billy Joel in 1973.

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From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia
Rode a boy with a six-gun in his hand
And his daring life of crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and west of the Rio Grande

Well, he started with a bank in Colorado
In the pocket of his vest, a Colt he hid
And his age and his size
Took the teller by surprise
And the word spread of Billy the Kid

Well, he never traveled heavy
Yes, he always rode alone
And he soon put many older guns to shame
And he never had a sweetheart
And he never had a home
But the cowboy and the rancher knew his name

Well, he robbed his way from Utah to Oklahoma
And the law just could not seem to track him down
And it served his legend well
For the folks, they’d love to tell
‘Bout when Billy the Kid came to town

Well, one cold day a posse captured Billy
And the judge said, “String ‘im up for what he did!”
And the cowboys and their kin
Like the sea came pourin’ in
To watch the hangin’ of Billy the Kid

Well, he never traveled heavy
Yes, he always rode alone
And he soon put many older guns to shame
And he never had a sweetheart
But he finally found a home
Underneath the boothill grave that bears his name

From a town known as Oyster Bay, Long Island
Rode a boy with a six-pack in his hand
And his daring life of crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and west of the Rio Grande

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Billy Joel has released many songs over the years besides The Ballad Of Billy The Kid. Billy Joel released songs from 1971 to 1993 spanning across albums like Cold Spring Harbor, Piano Man, Streetlife Serenade, Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street, Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man, The Bridge, Storm Front, and River Of Dreams. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Billy Joel.

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About Lyrics and The Ballad Of Billy The Kid by Billy Joel

The lyrics for The Ballad Of Billy The Kid are defined as the words making up the song released by Billy Joel in 1973. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to The Ballad Of Billy The Kid have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Billy Joel and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to The Ballad Of Billy The Kid by Billy Joel if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" means the words set to the music of The Ballad Of Billy The Kid, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Billy Joel. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to The Ballad Of Billy The Kid and the lyrics to The Ballad Of Billy The Kid are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Billy Joel who came here looking just for the lyrics to The Ballad Of Billy The Kid, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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