Look out, Mama, there's a white boat coming up the river,   with a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail   I think you'd better call John   'cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail   And it's less than a mile away   I hope they didn't come to stay   It's got numbers on the side and a gun,   and it's making big waves      Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains   Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou   So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking   And I just turned twenty-two   I was wondering what to do   And the closer they got,   The more those feelings grew      Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reassuring   He told me, 'Red means run, Son, numbers add up to nothing'   But when that first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming   Raised the rifle to my eye   Never stopped to wonder why   Then I saw black and my face flash in the sky      Shelter me from the powder and the finger   Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger   Just think of me as one you never figured,   to fade away so young   with so much left undone   Remember me to my love   I know I'll miss her