St. Helens and Harry

In the shadow of mighty St. Helens he lived
By a lake in the evergreen trees
He had sixteen house cats, and not one damn to give
He could do just whatever he pleased
Old Harry wasn’t much, for small conversation
He’d rather just be left alone
But soon he became the talk of the nation
St. Helens was fixin’ to blow

It was all in the news, it was all on T.V.
The mountain was comin’ alive
She’s rumblin’ and grumblin’, don’t wait around to see
Get out if you plan to survive
But Harry just talked about the cats and him
And how much they loved living there
“Besides,” he would say, “the chances are slim”
“So I won’t be goin’ nowhere”

“I ain’t packing my things, hell no I ain’t leavin’
If the mountain goes I’m goin’ too
I’ve got nothing else left on this earth to believe in”
Said Harry before St. Helens blew

Well the newswoman came, and he showed her around
“I built this place all on my own
But I’m going broke now, everything’s shutting down
Either way it’s forever my home
‘Cause the fish are still bitin’, I just caught one today
The biggest trout I’ve seen this year
And the sunrise is prettiest from here anyway
And at my age, the end’s always near”

“I ain’t packing my things, hell no I ain’t leavin’
If the mountain goes I’m goin’ too
I’ve got nothing else left on this earth to believe in”
Said Harry before St. Helens blew

Well the eighteenth of May was one hell of a day
And Harry would see it first hand
When that river of mud came raging his way
He thought to himself, “I’ll be damned”
So he said his last prayer, and he took his last sip
And he bid all them felines goodbye
And the whiskey went down, and the lights went out quick
And a spirit shot straight to the sky

“I ain’t packing my things, hell no I ain’t leavin’
If the mountain goes I’m goin’ too
I’ve got nothing else left on this earth to believe in”
Said Harry before St. Helens blew
“I’ve got nothing else left on this earth to believe in”
Said Harry before St. Helens blew
And straight up to heaven he flew
What else was an old man to do?