While drivin' a herd of cattle out in old Nebraska Way
Headin' east at Broken Bow one hot September day
Tryin' to get to Omaha, we hoped to find a buyer
We never counted in the odds of a western prairie fire

A hot south wind was blowin' and the air was gettin' dry
Somethin' far away was spellin' trouble in the sky
Commin' closer was a sound that topped the Devil's choir
Then we knew we'd have to race a raging prairie fire

When all at once a flame is seen a-lickin' at the sky
And every heart is quickened and there's fear in every eye
We've just one chance to get away for there's no place to hide
Got to reach the river flat when it's deep and one mile wide

The herd is gettin' tired but we've got no time to rest
I try to clear the red dust that is gathered in my chest
From ridin' tail on a thousand head with the weather gettin'dry
The black cloud in the west is warnin' ride, ride, ride

The roarin' heat is close, the ash is fallin' by our side
And every feastin' bird is fleein' with it's warnin' cry
We got to reach the river but it's still ten miles or more
And close behind us we can hear that wild, infernal roar

But fate had other plans for we lost that fatal race
We lost, for neither man nor beast could all keep up the pace
The mighty flats subdued it's rage but none were there to rest
We did our best to get away but only I am left

Now on the blackened prairie far as the eye can see
The grim remains are there to show that God rules you and me
Just one he left to tell the tale, just one was his desire
We lost a herd and thirty men to a raging prairie fire