Mama rode the rodeo, and they say she was the best;
She was the flower of Arizona
And the star of New Mexico
They say she never missed a shot, the darling of the west
But my mama's gone like the prairie dawn
And the Lord of the Buffalo
Mama put her six-guns down and she traveled to the east
To the great green woods and the fenced-in sky
And the unfamiliar snow
She shook the prairie off her boots and she settled to the feast
Where winter crashes down upon this quiet town
And the ghosts ain't lettin' go
And she said, "Don't be chosen, make the choice to choose
Though the world seems frozen, forcing you to lose
You only get one shot to shoot at fate
So better take your time before it's too late
When they try to force your hand, you just refuse."
She said, "Don't be chosen, make the choice to choose."
Mama never understood the dangers of the hills
She was strange and wild, the desert's child
Lost in a land she didn't know
One day the forest claimed its own; I'm dreaming of her still
Of the way she rode and the debts that she owed
To the Lord of the Buffalo
Mama was a shooting star, she never could have stayed
She could no more change her nature than
The rising sun could dim its glow
Don't blame her for the way she went; I never was betrayed
And I know that she will come and gather me
When it's time for me to go
And she'll say, "Don't be chosen, make the choice to choose
Though the world seems frozen, forcing you to lose
You only get one shot to shoot at fate
So better take your time before it's too late
When they try to force your hand, baby, just refuse."
She said, "Don't be chosen, make the choice to choose."
Mama had a clever heart, and she chose her family well;
Though our roots are thin and shallow
We always find a way to grow
So when we're scattered to the wind, we never say farewell
Though we roam for now, we'll come on home somehow
To the Lord of the Buffalo
Though we never stay, we'll meet again someday
With the Lord of the Buffalo