Shadow Riders On the Wind

With campfire's red embers fading And cattle bedded down for night-- A veil of clouds is descending And the horses don't quite seem right. In the distance a storm's brewing With silver flashes of pale light-- Snakes are restless with strange doing As thunderheads come into sight. A deep faraway rumble stirs The air from each valley and glen-- There comes faint insect hums and whirs, Like shadow riders on the wind. We can hear their horses trotting, We can smell the dark scent of death-- It stings noses like cows rotting-- It takes away our life and breath. We do not know if end is near-- The horses whisper like a friend, As we wait for mute skies to clear-- Like shadow riders on the wind. Dawn lights the sky and comes nearer As sunrise washes us from sin-- It's all an answer made clearer Like shadow riders on the wind.