The Last time I saw Charlie,
He was sitting on the corral fence.
That was some time ago
And I ain't seen him since.

He was shouting at the cowboy's
When I saw him on the fence.
A cowboy walked up and said
"That there's old Charlie Spence.

Charlie was the best of the best,
His name was well renown,
But an endangered owl gets more attention
Than an old hero, when he's down.

He's like so many other great cowboys.
They cheered him when he was hot.
Now he's old, crippled, and stove up.
Just another hero they've forgot.

When he was young, success came easy
And Charlie didn't handle it well.
He spent his money fast as he earned it,
Far as we can tell.

I guess he should have quit long ago,
But you know how that story goes.
Those old boys think they're unbreakable,
When working them rodeos.

Some years past, his horse stumbled,
While working a bunch of cattle.
I don't know exactly,
But he said somewhere around Seattle.

Folks say they figure him lucky,
He could have lost his life.
Charlie said he'd be better off dead
It cost him his children and wife.

He just sits on the fence and watches the men,
With very little to say.
Once in a while, he yells at a cowboy,
About how it was done in his day.

We let him do what he wants
And ask his advice now and then.
Charlie's no bother, he's a hero to us.
We consider him a man among men.

Kids all love him, he tells them stories,
'Bout all the things he's done.
He pulls in his stomach, points to his buckle
And talks about the trophies he's won.

Little children still need heroes,
To help them through each day.
I can't think of anything better,
Than to grow up the cowboy way,

We should let them know they're not through,
When the last eight second whistle blows.
We still want them at the head of the parade,
At all the rodeos.

One sad day, we'll look around
And heroes like Charlie'l be gone.
We should erect a monument, in their honor
And carve their name in stone.

Charlie's done it all, we look up to him.
To us it makes good sense.
We treat him like the hero he is
And just call it Charlie's fence.

Willie P. 08/09/23