He leaves unplowed his furrow, He leaves his books unread For a life of tented freedom By lure of danger led. He's first in the hour of peril, He's gayest in the dance, Like the guardsman of old England Or the beau sabreur of France.
He stands our faithful bulwark Against our savage foe; Through lonely woodland places Our children come and go; Our flocks and herds untended O'er hill and valley roam, The Ranger in the saddle Means peace for us at home.
Behold our smiling farmsteads Where waves the golden grain! Beneath yon tree, earth's bosom Was dark with crimson stain. That bluff the death-shot echoed Of husband, father, slain! God grant such sight of horror We never see again!
The gay and hardy Ranger, His blanket on the ground, Lies by the blazing camp-fire While song and tale goes round; And if one voice is silent, One fails to hear the jest, They know his thoughts are absent With her who loves him best.
Our state, her sons confess it, That queenly, star-crowned brow, Has darkened with the shadow Of lawlessness ere now; And men of evil passions On her reproach have laid, But that the ready Ranger Rode promptly to her aid.
He may not win the laurel Nor trumpet tongue of fame; But beauty smiles upon him, And ranchmen bless his name. Then here's to the Texas Ranger, Past, present and to come! Our safety from the savage, The guardian of our home.