He rode in from the west with an eye for a dollar to make He pitched us a sale about healing and oil from a snake The barkeep, he warned him, but the man did not comprehend How strangers 'round here disappear like straw in the wind Too young, but in love when she met him in some northern town He treated her good 'til the sun and the whiskey went down Did the bruise on her face test the patience of all of her kin Or do strangers 'round here disappear like straw in the wind Ol' Jim runs his mouth when he drinks since his wife passed away But he's good to the kids and the crops that he sells are fair trade But a traveling man had enough and took a pipe to his chin That traveling man disappeared like straw in the wind If the mouth of this river could talk, here's what it would say If you come here with good in your heart, you'll be on your way But I'm not the one here who judged another man's sin Or made strangers 'round here disappear like straw in the wind Strangers 'round here disappear like straw in the wind