The Reverend Mr. Black Lyrics

He rode easy in the saddle, he was tall and lean
At first you thought nothing but a streak of mean
Could make a man look so downright strong
One look in his eyes and you knowed you was wrong
He was a mountain of a man, I want you to know
He could preach hot hell or freezing snow
He carried a Bible in a canvas sack
The folks just called him the Reverend Mr. Black
He was poor as a beggar but he rode like a king
Sometimes in the evening I could hear him sing

You got to walk that lonesome valley
You got to walk it by yourself
For nobody else can walk it for you
You got to walk it by yourself

If ever I could have thought this man in black
Was soft, had a yellow of his back
I gave that notion up the day a lumberjack came in
He wasn′t to pray

Yeah, he kicked open the meeting house door
Then he cussed everybody up and down the floor
Then when things got quiet in the place
He walked up and cussed in the preacher's face

He hit that reverend like the kick of a mule
To my way of thinking, it took a pure fool
To turn the other cheek to that lumberjack
That′s what he did, the Reverend Mr. Black
He stood like a rock, a man among men
Then he let that lumberjack hit him again
And then with a voice as kind as could be
He cut him down like a big oak tree when he said

You got to walk that lonesome valley
You got to walk it by yourself
For nobody else can walk it for you
You got to walk it by yourself

It's been many years since we had to part
I guess I learned his ways by heart
I can still hear his sermons ring
Down in the valley where he used to sing
I followed him and I don't regret it
I hope I′ll always be a credit to his memory
′Cause I want you to understand
The Reverend Mr. Black was my old man

You got to walk that lonesome valley
You got to walk it by yourself
For nobody else can walk it for you
You got to walk it by yourself

You got to walk that lonesome valley
You got to walk it by yourself
For nobody else can walk it for you
You got to walk it by yourself
You got to walk it by yourself