Highwayman Lyrics
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 '25
But I am still alive
[Verse 2: Kris Kristofferson]
I was a sailor
I was born upon the tide
And with the sea I did abide
I sailed a schooner around 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
[Verse 3: Waylon Jennings & All]
I was a dam builder
Across a 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 gray tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around
I'll always be around
And around, and around, and around
And around, and around, and around...
About
Have you ever written a song so great that the four greatest Outlaw Country singers of all time named their supergroup after it? No? Well, that’s because you’re not Jimmy Webb.
According to Webb, he got the influence to write the lyrics after dreaming himself as a Highwayman on the run from the law, and formed the music for the song shortly after coming up with the concept.
I had an old brace of pistols in my belt and I was riding, hell-bent for leather, down these country roads, with sweat pouring off of my body. I was terrified because I was being pursued by police, who were on the verge of shooting me. It was very real. I sat up in bed, sweating through my pajamas. Without even thinking about it, I stumbled out of bed to the piano and started playing “Highwayman”. Within a couple of hours, I had the first verse.
This song’s lyrics heavily imply the theme of reincarnation. Each time one of these country legends say they were killed, the line after is about them living on. Additionally, at the end of Johnny’s verse, he states that he may become a highwayman again when he dies.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
A Yard is part of the anatomy of a sail boat. It’s part of what the sails are attached to. So the implication in the line is that he was in turbulent water at sea, and it was so violent the yard arm broke off.
- 1.Highwayman
- 4.Big River
- 8.Welfare Line