A bloody tragedy.... An ode to the dalton gang

Let me tell you a story,
That has been around for awhile,
Of some men who started out lawmen,
And ended up dead or on trial.

Born in eighteen fifty nine,
The oldest of them though,
In the year eighteen eighty four,
Was commissioned deputy, with JR Cole.

In the year eighteen eighty seven,
The two marshals went to find,
A man named David Smith,
Running whiskey and horses of all kind.

Deputy Frank walked up to the tent,
And took a look inside,
Smith fired a bullet to Franks chest,
At once deputy cole thought Frank had died.

Cole fired a bullet to Smith's back,
And took cover behind some trees,
With his winchester rifle loaded,
He dropped down to his knees.

A man by the name of Towerely,
Who was also in the tent,
Stepped out and looked at Frank,
Down on a knee he bent.

Frank begged Towerely not to do it,
Mortally wounded in blood he shed,
But Towerely opened fire,
And killed Frank Dalton dead.

Cole then went on for help,
Wishing Frank wasn't really gone,
Thinking he had failed in life,
And wished he was never born.

The death of old Frank Dalton,
Reached family... bloodline thick,
His three other brothers, also lawmen,
Decide to change their good side quick.

Emmett, Gratton and Robert,
Saw fit to change their jobs,
In the year eighteen nintey two,
Two banks they tried to rob.

First National Bank in Coffeeville,
And Condon Bank to tell,
Along with two other men,
Bill Powers and d*ck Broadwell.

Emmett and Robert Dalton,
Took the First National on,
While Grat, Bill and d*ck
Took Condon just past dawn.

Robert, Grat, Bill and d*ck,
All fell to their knees dead,
Ole Emmett who was shot twenty three times,
His sentence would soon be read.

A five thousand dollar reward,
Was put on each Daltons head,
Someone got lucky that day,
Emmett wounded and three shot dead.

Emmett survived that day in ninty two,
But went to trial and got life,
Thinking if he'd only settled down,
And took for himself a wife.

After fourteen years in prison,
Emmett finally walked out those gates,
Headed for Los Angeles USA
And found a job selling real estate.

In the year ninteen thirty one,
Emmett decided to publish a book,
"When The Daltons Rode" came out,
A well deserved rest he surley took.

In the year ninteen thirty seven,
At the age of sixty six,
Emmett laid down with his brothers,
What a life the Daltons picked.

To end this ode on a famed note,
I would like to put this in,
My grandmother on my mothers side,
Was a Dalton..so they were kin.