John takes a place at the back
next to a girl selling ice cream.
The curtains neatly withdraw
and the music changes in theme
as the lights go down.
A cowboy rides with a pack
over dry and dusty scrubland.
A figure in black and white,
a Colt 45 in his hand,
set for a showdown.
John, he could have been someone
but others dictated his life.
He did what he thought was right
by his mother, children and wife,
but what could have been.
What could have been…
Up on the deep silver screen
the cowboy captures an outlaw.
The film ends in a safe world
and smiling John heads for the door
to the street outside.
He thinks how he could have been
someone to respect way back then.
A figure in black and white,
a masterful leader of men,
stocky but hawk-eyed.
John, he could have been someone
but others dictated his life.
He did what he thought was right
by his mother, children and wife,
but what could have been.
What could have been…
John, he could have been someone
but others dictated his life.
He did what he thought was right
by his mother, children and wife,
but what could have been.
What could have been…
Copyright Keith Ames
