The Mighty Longhorn Chair
Clayton King was a cattle baron
With ranges like far flowin’ seas,
And thousands of Texas longhorns
Roilin’ around like swarms of bees.
He built a huge cedar ranch house
With everything he needed there,
And oversaw his vast empire
Right from his mighty longhorn chair.
He had huge sets of longhorns,
Some more that eight feet of course,
On walls and over fireplaces
And he even stuffed his first horse.
He was the greatest of the great,
His fame was everywhere—
It seemed he ruled the entire world
Right from that mighty longhorn chair.
Still the money stampeded in
And that King Ranch just beat all—
They said it was the world’s biggest
As it quickly did grow and sprawl.
Some say he just wasted money
On things that mattered so little—
That he always had the finest
But like Nero he just fiddled.
“I am the noble Clayton King
And my wealth is everywhere!”
So read the engraved inscription
On his still mighty longhorn chair.
In those long years the dollars flowed
And it seemed like it would not end—
Till a first then second wife left
Without leavin’ an heir or friend.
Then the cattle business changed
And money dried up like the creeks,
This went on for years and years,
Not just a few months or weeks.
The vast King Ranch then did dwindle
Till the day ol’ Clayton King died—
What was left went up for auction—
It seemed no one now cared or cried.
They tore down the house and buildings
And built a shopping center there—
And after that final auction,
I own that mighty longhorn chair.
Copyright © Glen Enloe | Year Posted 2005
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