First Daddy Jim Poem

Rooster

They called him Rooster or Daddy Jim
Even those who weren't his sons,
For he was hard and thin
And I heard he liked to have some fun.

He had the best horses in Zionville,
And he rode with the finest tack.
He'd whoop and holler up the hills
And raise more hell coming back,

And he was often seen
Sitting at the Bull Dog Cafe
When he should have been
Out in the fields for the day.

His father left him a hundred acres,
A team of mules, and enough cash
To keep the place for forty years,
If he didn't sit on his ass.

But he preferred liquor to work,
And a game of cards to a sweat,
With women he really made a mark,
And he liked a good fight you can bet.

The land he sold off piece by piece
Until forty acres were left,
And then he was not half so free
To run the hills and risk his neck.

So he stayed up on the farm
And kept it neat as a pin,
Though he'd go from time to time
Just to keep the wildness in

To his old haunts
Like the Bull Dog Cafe
To satisfy his body’s wants,
Though it is fallen and buried today.

It's true his given name was James,
But he had the nerve of a Bantam cock,
So he earned and kept the nickname
Of Rooster, for he was of fighting stock.