1. Paul Bunyan
    2. By Shel Silverstein



    Paul Bunyan



    By Shel Silverstein



    He rode through the woods on a big blue ox,

    He had fists as hard as choppin' blocks,

    Five hundred pounds and nine feet tall . . . that's Paul.
     

    Talk about workin', when he swung his axe

    You could hear it ring for a mile and half.

    Then he'd yell "Timber!" and down she'd fall . . . for Paul.
     

    Talk about drinkin', that man's so mean

    That he'd never drink nothin' but kerosene,

    And a five-gallon can is a little bit small . . . for Paul.
     

    Talk about tough, well he once had a fight

    With a thunderstorm on a cold dark night.

    I ain't sayin' who won,

    But it don't storm at all . . . 'round here . . . thanks to Paul.
     

    He was ninety years old when he said with a sigh,

    "I think I'm gonna lay right down and die

    'Cause sunshine and sorrow, I've seen it all" . . . says Paul.
     

    So he died . . . and we cried.  

    It took eighteen men just to bust the ground,

    It took twenty-four more just to lower him down.

    And we covered him up and we figured that was all . . . for Paul.
     

    But late one night the trees started shakin',

    The dogs started howlin' and the earth started quakin',

    And out of the ground with a "Hi, ya'll" . . . come Paul!
     

    He shook the dirt from off of his clothes,

    He scratched his butt and he wiped his nose.

    "Y'know, bein' dead wasn't no fun at all" . . . says Paul.
     

    So he jumps on his ox with a fare-thee-well,

    He says, "I'll find out if they's trees in hell."

    And he rode away, and that was all . . . we ever seen . . . of Paul.
     

    But the next time you hear a "Timber!" yell

    That sound like it's comin' from the pits of hell,

    Then a weird and devilish ghostly wail

    Like somebody choppin' on the devil's tail,

    Then a shout, a call, a crash, a fall--

    That ain't no mortal man at all . . . that's Paul!


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