From my younger days I recall And I’ve remembered ever since Now history begs me To retell The demise of Levi Prince From Galloway to the Tygart Truth on High he brought down to men Slay them in the Spirit And raised them up As children born again But somewhere in his pride His soul withered overgrown Even though God still whispered In the end Levi’s words were his own All around him we saw a change We sensed a turning away But Levi rode on still Like a lost shepherd Leading his flock astray His intentions lay bare Neither innocent nor cruel Through his pride he became wise And through his wisdom He became a fool
In a late September dusk With Levi leading the way On horseback we rode Along the Tygart To the mission at Pilgrim’s Way The trail was still And we heard no sound But Levi’s horse kicked back In fear raising up Dropping Levi to the ground There we stood above him The ground he rested on Gave no hint of life In that September dust Levi’s last breathe was drawn As we stood around him A silent word was prayed Easiness broke the calm Inside we knew No mistake had been made For the last time in his life The Truth pierced him like a sword As we all knew by heart The scriptures read “Vengeance is Mine,” saith the Lord