It Takes One Shot by Russell Cushman

This song is dedicated to the man who told me this story. Jim Stribling was the real deal man of the West, and there should have been a book, but I did not know him that well. But I could sure write several songs about him. I just returned from a Texas songwriters showcase so pumped up, I had to put this one down when I came home. Artists are like that, one good thing inspires another...


Back during the War in forty two,
Lil’ man of the house went out.
For meat to make a cowboy stew,
What a Texas boy’s about.
Sure enough he found his buck,
An’ he knew, with just a little luck,
If his lever action Marlin stayed unstuck,
One well-placed shot would do it.
He said:
It takes one good shot, to fill your pot.
It takes one man, one gun, one bullet.
That’s all you need, believe it or not,
If you know how to pick your moment.

The deer sniffed and gazed,
He ducked so as not to spook it.
Then they met face to face, an’
Panicked, he used his bullet.
He was only allowed one
And the job seemed well done,
Lil’ man relished in the moment.
Thought bein’ top hand was a cinch.
He said:
It takes one good shot, to fill your pot.
It takes one man, one gun, one bullet.
That’s all you need, believe it or not,
If you know how to pick your moment.

Lil’ man unsheathed his knife,
As the big buck came to life,
Put his Boone & Crockett forks
Hard in the boys’ little chest, maybe
This was where his pants got messed.
Ridin’ the buck like a hellish goat,
He slashed the big deer’s throat,
That’s how it’s done out West.
He said:
It takes one good shot, to fill your pot.
It takes one man, one gun, one bullet.
That’s all you need, believe it or not,
If you know how to pick your moment.

Beaten and bloody, he dressed his kill,
As he thanked God for his Bowie.
He an’ the deer would be wrestling still,
Like some tragic horror movie…
But he put it away, and hung the prize,
High up in a lone oak tree,
An’ swung it for his mother’s eyes,
And his wounds, she would never see…
He said:
It takes one good shot, to fill your pot.
It takes one man, one gun, one bullet.
That’s all you need, believe it or not,
If your knife is sharp when you pull it!