He'd killed mountain lions and elks

Survived years of snow and ice in the hills

Made a living by trapping and fishing

Yet somehow managed to pay his bills

 

He died in his bed like a sister of mercy

As we all do, he softly ran out of breath

We'd all imagined him facing a violent end

Some gruesome and horrible death

 

Down from the mountains he came one spring

Unable to fathom that pain in his chest

Arthritis had stiffened those bandy old legs

His scarred body was telling him to rest

 

He died in his bed like a sister of mercy

As we all do, he softly ran out of breath

We'd all imagined him facing a violent end

Some gruesome and horrible death

 

Trapping for furs had been his obsession

He watched a zoo of terrified animals die

On his deathbed he was a wounded puma

Unable to flee that Great Trapper in the sky

 

He died in his bed like a sister of mercy

As we all do, he ran out of breath

We'd imagined him facing a violent end

Some gruesome and horrible death