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He was born a little baby on the Appalachian Trail
At six months old he'd done three months in jail
Here at the bank in his diapers and his little bare baby feet
All he said was "Folks, my name is Outlaw Pete."
I'm Outlaw Pete!
I'm Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
At twenty-five a mustang pony he did steal
And they rode around and 'round on heaven's wheel
Father Jesus, I'm an outlaw killer and a thief
And I slowed down on Lee and I saw my grief
I'm Outlaw Pete!
I'm Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
They cut his trail of tears across the countryside
And where he went, when he wept and died
One night he woke from a vision of his own death
Saddled his pony and rode her deep into the West
Married a Navajo girl and settled down on the res
And as the smooth 'fairy' he held that beautiful daughter to his chest
I'm Outlaw Pete!
I'm Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Out of the East on an Irish stallion came Bounty Hunter Dan
His heart quickened and burned by the need to get his man
He found Pete peacefully fishing by the river, pulled his gun and got the ???
He said, "Pete, you think you've changed, but you have not."
He cocked his pistol, pulled the trigger and shot him 'let it start'
He drew a knife from his boot and pierced him through the heart
Dan smiled as he laid in his own blood dying in the sun
And whispered in Pete's ear, "We cannot undue these things we've done."
You're Outlaw Pete!
You're Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
For forty days and nights Pete rode and did not stop
Till he sat high upon an icy mountain top
He watched the hawk on a desert ??? slip and slide
Moved to the edge and dug his spurs deep into his bony side
Some say Pete and his pony vanished over the edge
Some say they remain frozen high upon that icy ledge
The young Navajo girl washes in the river, skin so fair
And braids a piece of Pete's buckskin chaps into her hair
Outlaw Pete!
Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
At six months old he'd done three months in jail
Here at the bank in his diapers and his little bare baby feet
All he said was "Folks, my name is Outlaw Pete."
I'm Outlaw Pete!
I'm Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
At twenty-five a mustang pony he did steal
And they rode around and 'round on heaven's wheel
Father Jesus, I'm an outlaw killer and a thief
And I slowed down on Lee and I saw my grief
I'm Outlaw Pete!
I'm Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
They cut his trail of tears across the countryside
And where he went, when he wept and died
One night he woke from a vision of his own death
Saddled his pony and rode her deep into the West
Married a Navajo girl and settled down on the res
And as the smooth 'fairy' he held that beautiful daughter to his chest
I'm Outlaw Pete!
I'm Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Out of the East on an Irish stallion came Bounty Hunter Dan
His heart quickened and burned by the need to get his man
He found Pete peacefully fishing by the river, pulled his gun and got the ???
He said, "Pete, you think you've changed, but you have not."
He cocked his pistol, pulled the trigger and shot him 'let it start'
He drew a knife from his boot and pierced him through the heart
Dan smiled as he laid in his own blood dying in the sun
And whispered in Pete's ear, "We cannot undue these things we've done."
You're Outlaw Pete!
You're Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
For forty days and nights Pete rode and did not stop
Till he sat high upon an icy mountain top
He watched the hawk on a desert ??? slip and slide
Moved to the edge and dug his spurs deep into his bony side
Some say Pete and his pony vanished over the edge
Some say they remain frozen high upon that icy ledge
The young Navajo girl washes in the river, skin so fair
And braids a piece of Pete's buckskin chaps into her hair
Outlaw Pete!
Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
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Got that lyric wrong.
I love Springsteen's epic story characters. They're like hard rock updates on old Dylan folk tunes.
Random note on this song: They way he pronounces "stop" & "top" in the lyrics: For forty days and nights (biblical referrences) Pete rode and did not stop/Till he sat high upon an icy mountain top) reminds me a lot like the way Jakob Dylan from The Wallflowers sings. Cool connection to Bobby D right there.
We've lived through a nightmare like that in the past eight years here. We had a historically blind administration who didn't take consideration of the past; thousands and thousands of people died, lives were ruined and terrible, terrible things occurred because, there was no sense of history, no sense that the past is living and real.
So the song is about this happening to this character. He moves ahead. He tries to make the right moves. He awakes from a vision of his death, and realizes: life is finite. Time is with me always. And I'm frightened. And he rides west where he settles down. But the past comes back in the form of this bounty hunter, whose mind is also quickened and burdened by the need to get his man. And these possessed creatures meet along the shores of this river where the bounty hunter of course is killed, and his last words are: 'We can't undo the things we've done.'
In other words, your past is your past. You carry it with you always. These are your sins. You carry them with you always. You better learn how to live with them, learn the story that they're telling you. Because they're whispering your future in your ear, and if you don't listen, it will be contaminated by the toxicity of your past."
Pete obviously had hard begginings. As a result, he robbed banks and did other outlaw things for glory and recognition. This is where the first refrain comes in.
All he said was "Folks, my name is Outlaw Pete."
I'm Outlaw Pete!
I'm Outlaw Pete!
Can you hear me?
He wanted people to acknowledge him and know that he existed.
As he got older, he found no satisfaction in the outlaw life and grew resentful of the world. The second refrain seems to be directed at God, as if Pete is telling Him that he's an outlaw and God can do nothing change that.
He then saw the death his life would bring him. In fear, he tried to run, not just from the law but from the person he had become. He found a wife and tried to settle down. I'm not sure whether "that beautiful daughter" refers to his wife or a daughter they had, but an obvious change can be seen in Pete in the third refain. Here he admits his past to his family and asks if they can forgive for what he's done. He comes to regret his past now that he has found love in the world he used to hate.
Now enters Bounty Hunter Dan a symbol of the life Pete wants to leave behind. Dan is consumed by his hatred of Pete so much that he refuses to allow Pete any kind of peace. With his dying words in refrain four, Dan tells Pete that he can not escape his past. He can never be just Pete. He will forever be "Outlaw Pete".
Pete runs again but perhaps this time to keep other bounty hunters away from his family. His ultimate fate is left unanswered. He may have gone over the ledge to try to finally get away from "Outlaw Pete". He may have sat on the mountain and froze to death trying to come to grips with his past. Only Springsteen knows for sure. We are only left with the final refrain where a mournful Navajo girl, either Pete's wife or daughter, cries out for her beloved Outlaw Pete.