G                          C
Bill Horton was a cautious man of the road
          G                                                          D
He walked lookin' over his shoulder and remained faithful to its code
G                             C
When something caught his eye he'd measure his need
G                   D            G
And then very carefully he'd proceed

                              C
Billy met a yound girl in the early days of May
        G                             Bm               C
It was there in her arms he let his cautiousness slip away
G                               C
In their lovers twilight as the evening sky grew dim
      G                     D                            G
He'd lay back in her arms and laugh what had happened to him

       C
On his right hand Billy tatooed the word love
           Bm
And on his left hand was the word fear
    G                                            D
And in which hand he held his fate was never clear
 G                                   C
Come Indian summer he took his young lover for his bride
         G                             D                   G
And with own hands built a great house down by the riverside

(G   C   G   G   D)  

    G                       C
Now Billy was an honest man he wanted to do what was right
    G                                                            D
He worked hard to fill their lives with happy days and loving nights
 G                                      C
Alone on his knees in the darkness for steadiness he'd pray
 G                           D                        G
For he knew in a restless heart the seed of betrayal lay

          C                                 Bm
One night Billy awoke from a terrible dream callin' his wife's name
          G                                                        D
She lay breathing beside him in a peaceful sleep a thousand miles away
G                                    C
He got dressed in the moonlight and down to the highway he strode
         G               D                      G
When he got there he didn't find nothing but road

(G   C   C   Bm7   Bm7)

              G                          C
Billy felt a coldness rise up inside him that he couldn't name
             G                                     Bm                C
Just as the words tattooed 'cross his knuckles he knew would always remain
          G
At their bedside he brushed the hair from his wife's face
        C
 as the moon shone on her skin so white
               G                    D                G
Filling their room with the beauty of God's fallen light