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My  name is Mattie Ross and I hail from Yell County
In the state of Arkansas living, on a ranch with family
At the age of fourteen I suffered personal tragedy
When my father Frank Ross was taken from me.

By a lazy good for nothing drifter that he had hired
And if it had been me in charge he would have been fired.
That drifter went by the name of Tom Chaney
Who was down on his luck, and whom my father took pity.

He was quite a devious man with a black mark on his face
And to me, he was nothing short of a disgrace
He was never around when there was work to be done
And I'd often catch him sitting out in the sun.

Father wanted to buy ponies, break them in and sell them on
And he asked Tom Chaney if he'd like to ride along
He went with father to Fort Smith, a busy fur trading town
Then got drunk, lost money gambling and shot my father down.

He stole money left over that father had to buy ponies
And also two lucky gold pieces as he fell to his knees
He left him dying in the dirt then managed to get away
And for that heinous crime I vowed he would pay.

Next day I went to town and asked the Sheriff to help me
But said he wouldnt be able to raise a posse
Because he didn't have jurisdiction in the Indian nation
And added Judge Parkers marshals, might help my situation.

I asked who the best was? he said "Rooster Cogburn is his name
Wears an eye patch, likes a drink but he's the best in the game
He's bringing prisoners in later from the county today
He'll sure get the job done, but you'll have to pay".

I waited outside the courthouse until he came out
A tall man with an eyepatch and he was quite stout
I said " Mr Cogburn I have a proposal for you
I want you to find my fathers killer, you'll be paid what your due".

He agreed but said that he'd rather go it alone
That it could turn out quite dangerous and that I should go home
On the scene arrived a Texas ranger, by the name of LaBeouf
He too was after Chaney saying, he was a wanted killer and thief.

I was determined to go with them, they tried to ride off without me
But I was determined to be there when they arrested Chaney
Out on the trail we found out, he'd joined lucky Ned Peppers gang
A bunch of murdering outlaws who should all hang.

We made camp and I went to the river, for water to make coffee
But I slipped down a slope and there before me stood Chaney
I tried to shoot him with father's colt dragoon gun
But it jamned and Chaney grabbed me before I could run.

He took me back to their camp and Ned's gang rode away
But Rooster heavily armed was standing in their way
A gunfight ensued Rooster shot most of the gang dead
And with his rifle from the hillside LaBeouf shot lucky Ned.

LaBeouf came in to Ned's camp and Chaney hit him over the head
And as he fell to the ground I prayed that he wasn't dead
I picked up father's gun and fired , Chaney was hit
The recoil sent me backwards and I fell into a snake pit.

LaBeouf came to and pulled me out of the pit
And from the mark on my arm noticed that I'd been bit
Meanwhile Rooster returned and saw my snake bite
He picked me up and rode, all day and all night.

He managed to get me to the town doctor, who then saved my life
But I lost my left arm to his sharp surgical knife
LaBeouf made a good recovery, with just a scar where he'd been hit
And I'll never forget him and Rooster, both men with true grit.


Written 9th  March 2021




Inspired by the novel True Grit by Charles Portis and the movie of the same name made in 1969 that starred John Wayne, Glen Campbell and Kim Darby.
There was a remake of True Grit in 2010 starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin  and Hailee Steinfield.
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