GOAT ANNIE
by Carole King

When I was young I used to see her
Herdin' her goats on a hillside

No one knows and she ain't telling her age
I'd say she's just about seventy five

She's an old timer
Tryin' to hold on to what she's got
They call her Goat Annie

I still remember the stories
The townspeople told to each other
Just because she liked her goats
better than people
They said the devil was her brother

She never paid them no mind
She just kept on bein' herself
Goat Annie

She's real individual
One of a dying breed
Everything she's got right now
Is all she'll ever need

One day the government decided
They had to have the land she lived on
They came with the papers
polite as could be
They said she had just thirty days
to get gone

You could see them smirking
"We're just doin' our job here
You understand, Goat Annie"

She said 2I was born and raised here
Ain't never done wrong to no one
You ain't gonna throw me off my land,
not me or my goats or my shotgun"

Then she leveled her 12-guage
with a blast she sent'em packin'
Go, Goat Annie

Next day they came with the lawmen
But that didn't get'em nowhere
Rather than shoot at a poor old lady
They decided to let her
live her days out there

It doesn't happen very often
But there are still some people
with heart
Like Goat Annie