14: It's Death for Bonnie and Clyde

Leaders of the Barrow Gang.

"We, each of us, have a good alibi For being down here in the joint; But few of them are really justified, If you get right down to the point. You have heard of a woman’s glory Being spent on a downright cur. Still you can’t always judge the story As true being told by her. As long as I stayed on the island And heard confidence tales from the gals, There was only one interesting and truthful, It was the story of Suicide Sal. Now Sal was a girl of rare beauty, Though her features were somewhat tough, She never once faltered from duty, To play on the up and up. Sal told me this tale on the evening Before she was turned out free, And I’ll do my best to relate it, Just as she told it to me. I was born on a ranch in Wyoming, Not treated like Helen of Troy, Was taught that rods were rulers, And ranked with greasy cowboys...."

"You’ve read the story of Jesse James Of how he lived and died If you’re still in need of something to read Here’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde. Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow Gang, I’m sure you all have read how they rob and steal and those who squeal are usually found dying or dead. There’s lots of untruths to these write-ups They’re not so ruthless as that Their nature is raw, they hate all law Stool pigeons, spotters, and rats. They call them cold-blooded killers They say they are heartless and mean But I say this with pride, I once knew Clyde When he was honest and upright and clean. But the laws fooled around and taking him down and locking him up in a cell 'Til he said to me, "I’ll never be free, So I’ll meet a few of them in hell." The road was so dimly lighted There were no highway signs to guide But they made up their minds if all roads were blind They wouldn’t give up 'til they died. The road gets dimmer and dimmer Sometimes you can hardly see But it’s fight man to man, and do all you can For they know they can never be free. From heartbreak some people have suffered From weariness some people have died But all in all, our troubles are small 'Til we get like Bonnie and Clyde. If a policeman is killed in Dallas And they have no clue or guide If they can’t find a fiend, just wipe the slate clean And hang it on Bonnie and Clyde. There’s two crimes committed in America Not accredited to the Barrow Mob They had no hand in the kidnap demand Nor the Kansas City Depot job. A newsboy once said to his buddy "I wish old Clyde would get jumped In these hard times we’s get a few dimes If five or six cops would get bumped." The police haven’t got the report yet But Clyde called me up today He said, "Don’t start any fights, we aren’t working nights, we’re joining the NRA." From Irving to West Dallas viaduct Is known as the Great Divide Where the women are kin, and men are men And they won’t stool on Bonnie and Clyde. If they try to act like citizens And rent a nice flat About the third night they’re invited to fight By a sub-gun’s rat-tat-tat. They don’t think they’re tough or desperate They know the law always wins They’ve been shot at before, but they do not ignore That death is the wages of sin. Some day they’ll go down together And they’ll bury them side by side To few it’ll be grief, to the law a relief But it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde."

First mug shot, age 16

Clyde's older brother Buck and his wife Blanche joined the Barrow Gang in 1933.

Buck and Blanche Barrow were captured in Dexter, Iowa later in 1933. Buck later died of injuries sustained during 2 shootouts. The rest of the Barrow Gang escaped.

Former Texas Ranger, Frank Hamer, and the posse that killed Bonnie and Clyde.

Bonnie & Clyde's car immediately following their execution. The bodies were not removed from the car until it had been towed to the coroners office.

When news of Bonnie and Clyde's deaths got out, crowds of people came to see the bodies and take "souvenirs." Here you can see people leaning in to the car windows, snatching anything they can grab, including hair and body parts.

It was later said that nearly all of the shots would have been fatal alone. The posse shot hundreds of rounds at the car.

Laid out as proof that the notorious pair had finally been taken down.

The bodies were photographed with the posse that killed them, as proof for their bosses that the pair were dead.