Wanigan The Ridgerunner lyrics

He tramped up from the south land
Running from the law
He'd heard of the wilds of Idaho
Freedom's what he sought

In the North Fork of the Clearwater River
By the tall white pine trees
Running on the ridges of those mountains
He felt free

When he came to a Forest Service cabin
He took what he needed to survive
As the legend grew, the locals knew
Bill Moreland as the Ridgerunner

Bill was born in Landsaw, Kentucky
Full of unrest
Jumped a ship in Pennsylvania at age sixteen
Sailed it out west

He did hard time in the prisons of Arkansas and Arizona
Finally slipped into the mountains near the mining town of Atlanta

When he came to a Forest Service cabin
He took what he needed to survive
As the legend grew, the locals knew
Bill Moreland as the Ridgerunner


For years he survived
When most would have died
In the drainage of the North Fork and Joe
But for years he pressed on
Until one weary dawn
Bill Moreland couldn't press on anymore

So Bill bummed around and worked in the woods
As the years passed on by
And sometimes Ol' Bill had fits and rages
Other times he was shy

The Ridgerunner came and went like a shadow
Till one fateful day
He disappeared with a backpack full of nothing
The locals would say

When he came to a Forest Service cabin
He took what he needed to survive
Now in the spirit of those mountains
Lives the legend of the Ridgerunner

Now in the spirit of those mountains
Lives the legend of the Ridgerunner