Oh, "Fire fire fire," they called at the Texas Fair
And a cloud of smoke billowed into the hot fall air
And Big Tex's hand continued to wave
With his 70 gallon hat and his jeans all ablaze
"Our cowboy's on fire!" they called on the radio
And all the fire fighters knew just where to go
Over to the fairgrounds, tears welling in their eyes
To see the great cowboy give way to calm blue skies
So we say goodbye to Big Tex
Another outlaw laid to rest
In the hot October air, the flames reached high
And now he rides with the ghost riders in the sky
So beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly
Sing the death march as the fire engines scream
Take me to the valley and lay the sod o'er me
The world's greatest cowboy has gone to our dreams
They say it was an electric spark that did him in
Some wire left ungrounded right below his chin
I guess Tex never had time to look within
To see a contraption unknown to men like him
For long before the iron horse's din
He was reading books by candlelight and harnessing the wind
'Til he saw a sign: "Cowboys needed. Come get paid"
So Tex rode down to Fort Worth to meet his fate
And we say goodbye to Big Tex
Another outlaw laid to rest
In the hot October air, the flames reached high
And now he rides with the ghost riders in the sky
So beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly
Sing the death march as the fire engines scream
Take me to the valley and lay the sod o'er me
The world's greatest cowboy has gone to our dreams
No one knows just how that wire came undone
And started that fire burning in the Texas sun
I heard a man saying that Tex was past his prime
That a new figure was needed for the modern skyline
So wipe the soot from your face, wipe the tears from your eyes
Another great icon soon will rise
To tower before those blue Texas skies
To welcome fair-goers with a gleam in his eyes
And we say goodbye to Big Tex
Another outlaw laid to rest
In the hot October air, the flames reached high
And now he rides with the ghost riders in the sky
So beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly
Sing the death march the fire engines scream
Take me to the valley and lay the sod o'er me
The world's greatest cowboy has gone to our dreams