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Annie Oakley, Sharpshooter

Erren Kelly

and did i tell you
i was raised by wolves?
that was what i called my
foster parents who adopted me
from the county poor farm, where
i grew up in ohio
when i was 6
when my mama couldnt afford to
raise me
they were so mean and vicious
they beat me, put me in a
closet

once, they put me outside
in the middle of the night
in a snowstorm
i was barefoot
i prayed for the grace of god
to save me
and he did...

i was a little slip of a girl
5 feet, 100 pounds
taught myself to shoot
with daddy’s cap and ball rifle
i became a good enough shot
to use my trophies
from my hunts
to pay off the family mortage

frank butler came into town one day
someone bet him
that he coud outshoot me
he laughed, but he needed the money
they threw up 24 balls in the air
he hit all but one
i hit them all
frank fell in love with me
the feeling was mutual

and did i tell you
i could shoot a hole
through the middle of the
queen of hearts from 30 paces?

frank would throw up

1
2
3
4

colored balls up into the sky

and i’d shoot them with
my shotgun
before they fell to the ground

feathers and colors rained
in the sky

i was the girl of the western plain

chief sitting bull
wanted to adopt me
he called me “ little miss sure shot ”

that i was

after all, he saw me
shoot the ace of spades
out of a pack of
cards

i rode through buffalo bill’s
travelling wild west show
and we tamed america

i showed the queen victoria
the true meaning of
courage
the west was no place for a
lady
but i claimed it

signed my ticket to destiny
with a colt .45
and i claimed it.

god didnt make man equal, colonel colt did...

i wore long sleeves, and catholic skirts
and leggings
i was always a lady
but men still found me
sexy

frank and i travelled with
buffallo bill’s wild west
show
from new orleans, to paris
to london
we showed people
a showgirl could put on
a show

and did i tell you
i could hold a shotgun
upside down on my
shoulder?
shoot behind my back
looking at a mirror
and put a hole in
the queen on hearts
from 30 paces ?

frank would hold up two candles
i’d shoot the candle flames
out of each one
i didnt have to show my
legs like the vaudville girls did

i wasnt afraid to love a man
i wasnt afraid to shoot one

thomas edison used me and frank
as a guinea pig
for his invention called
the kinetiscope
he made moving pictures
of me and frank shooting !

the wild west died
thanks to the movies

the president of france
offered me a comission in
the french army

the king of senegal offered me
100,00 francs to kill vicious
lions

i save the prince of bavaria
by throwing him out of
the path
of a bucking bronco

i was willing to take 50 female sharpshooters
to spain to fight in the
spanish-america war...

i believed in equal pay and equal rights
all women should carry a gun
but i dont need to march in
a parade, to prove im a
woman

i was the queen of the the western
plains
little miss sure shot
a lady and unladylike...

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