Champion from Rollin' On by Jesse Daniel

He was lean and full of quiet rage and built just like a wall
He had circles under his eyes and he stood at 6 feet tall
He rode an old bicycle that he’d stole from off the rack
The kind of man that when he takes from you, you don’t ask for it back

His hands were big as baseball gloves and fists were solid rock
He was born out in Modesto from pure old Okie stock
And he moved here with his mama, but she left him long ago
And he looks just like his Daddy who he never got to know

It’s best to fear him, ‘cause he only has his name
They call him Champion, ‘cause he never lost a game
Out in that old cold town he’s the toughest of them all
Never knew a man to challenge him that didn’t take a fall


He had a leather wallet that he’d had since he was 9
His mother said it was his Dad’s, but he knew that was a lie
‘Cause Mama had so many men after he went away
It was likely one of theirs but Champion kept it anyway

Inside it was a photograph full of holes and marks
Of him and his Mama on the swing set at the park
And on the back it read you’re Mom and Daddy’s pride and joy
On lonely nights he’ll pull it out and wish he was a boy

It’s best to fear him, ‘cause he only has his name
They call him Champion, ‘cause he never lost a game
Out in that old cold town he’s the toughest of them all
Never knew a man to challenge him that didn’t take a fall

Two AM on August first a birthday all alone
The lights they shone like candles on the window by the phone
And at the door the Sheriff’s there with a warrant to arrest
The man that they call Champion and put his case to rest

So come out with your hands up and you’ll leave this place alive
Champion weren’t afraid to kill a man and he weren’t afraid to die
And he’d leave this word a violent way, just like his father did
But you can’t really blame him, oh, that poor old Okie kid

It’s best to fear him, ‘cause he only has his name
They called him Champion, ‘cause he never lost a game
Out in that old cold town he’s the toughest of them all
Never knew a man to challenge him that didn’t take a fall

• Americana
• Americana-Country
• Bakersfield sound
• Country
• Norteno
• Tex-Mex
• bluegrass
• country rock
• honky tonk
• storytelling
• tejano
• tejano (tex-mex)
• United States