With Dog and Gun

Out in the woods with a dog an’ gun

Is my idea of a real day's fun.

‘ Tai n't the birds that I'm out to kill

That furnish me with the finest thrill,

‘ Cause I never worry or fret a lot,

Or curse my luck if I miss a shot.

There's many a time, an’ I do n't know why,

That I shoot too low or I aim too high,

An’ all I can see is the distant whirr

Of a bird that's gittin’ back home to her —

Yep, gittin’ back home at the end o’ day,

An’ I'm just as glad that he got away.

There's a whole lot more in the woods o’ fall

Than the birds you bag — if you think at all.

There's colors o’ gold an’ red an’ brown

As never were known in the busy town;

There's room to breathe in the purest air

An’ something worth looking at everywhere;

There's the dog who's leadin’ you on an’ on

To a patch o’ cover where birds have gone,

An’ standin’ there, without move or change,

Till you give the sign that you've got the range.

That's thrill enough for my blood, I say,

So why should I care if they get away?

Fact is, there are times that I'd ruther miss

Than to bring‘ em down,‘ cause I feel like this:

There's a heap more joy in a living thing

Than a breast crushed in or a broken wing,

An’ I can n't feel right, an’ I never will,

When I look at a bird that I've dared to kill.

Oh, I'm jus’ plumb happy to tramp about

An’ follow my dog as he hunts‘ em out,

Jus’ watchin’ him point in his silent way

Where the Bob Whites are an’ the partridge stay;

For the joy o’ the great outdoors I've had,

So why should I care if my aim is bad?