He grazes alone not far from the rest

That sorrel that is my old friend

For trails that we’ve blazed I s’pose I am blessed

More than I comprehend

Our path came together when he was just three

He knew not of leather or rope

Wild like an elk, so regal and free

A future of promise and hope

Soon it was clear he was better than most

Standing alert in the pen

Eyeing the rails four and nine to the post

He knew he could clear four and ten

Some say it’s me who gentled his soul

And suppled him soft on the bit

But he was the one with savvy I stole

And a heart that didn’t know quit

Pickin’ our way through a dangerous canyon

When tracks just vanished from sight

I couldn’t have found a better companion

In sunshine or dead of night

A master of get when the going got rough

When the bottom dropped out of the trail

He’d scramble beyond a rocky scree bluff

And get me back safe without fail

We’ve jingled the trails way up to the pass

The Palliser, Nigel and Jobe

Past rivers and glaciers to alpine lush grass

Where heaven is here on the globe

Determine to carry his head regimental

Though time is no longer his friend

Watching him age gets me half sentimental

‘Cause soon I know it will end

So he’ll live out his days just grazing alone

But we will remember back then

Of alpine adventures that we have both known

And places we’ll not see again

Chorus

He hasn’t a title, he’s only a grade

And I reckon that he’s gettin’ old

But bloodlines don’t matter whatever the shade

If veins are flowin’ with gold.