Corruption - The Code Of The West Poem by Paul Warren

He rode into town that day
Came to join in the cowboy way
He carried a gun and wanted to be
Fast on the draw and tough to see

The Code of the West
For us cowboys is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

The other deputies in the territory
Had been around and knew the story
Don’t cross us or you’ll go down
Take you lick and stand our ground

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

One night the deputies caught them dead
They robbed a bank and out of town they tread
The deputies recovered the money down
But took their cut and rode back into town

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

Later on for a favour given an older deputy
Gave his protection outside his duty
To beat the law for a gambler friend
This was hard for the Governor to comprehend

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

The Governor came to clean up the mess
He told them they should not guess
To tell the truth about it all
There is no need to make a judgement call

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

The Governor said the oath for this office made
Is greater than your marriage grade
But still not one of the deputies spoke
The Code of the West would not be broke

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

But the town had enough
Of the deputies and their ugly stuff
They told the Governor it had to stop
To clean the mess had been a flop

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

The town told the Governor of the gambler
Who had settled and now was not a rambler
Attracting this sort into the town
Meant the town's folk didn’t want them round

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

So the Governor decided to fix this up
And not let the older deputy continue to sup
On providing protection in his game
He was charged and became one of ill fame

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

The deputy lost his badge and went to jail
The evidence of the town’s folk did not fail
The other deputies were left to ponder
And the price of ill-gotten gains to launder

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

The young deputy was left alone to think
And not from his duty forever to shrink
You see when a deputy’s power is under review
Does this power corrupt is something over to chew.

The Code of the West
For us deputies is the best
Don’t let your mates down
‘Cause we are the sheriffs of this town

© Paul Warren Poetry