Cowboys Can'T Be Pigeonholed

So you think you know just how us cowboys should behave But listening to your jawing, I hear Chisholm spinning in his grave A Cowboy who don’t drink or cuss, I’ll tell you that’s not right Ain’t you heard of Old Whiskey Row, Where two cowboys got tight? To go to tying knot’s in the Devil’s tail took more than lemonade There’s been liquor on the bar in every movie John Wayne made Back when Chisholm blazed the trail & cattle claimed the West It was music round a campfire, as the hands settled for a rest They’d often talk of home or sing a tune to pass the time You’ve seen that in the movies, when it only cost a dime They sang of Laredo, Lil Joe or maybe Annie Laurie Right then & there you decided what a Cowboy ought to be There are some things we might share with Hoppy, Roy & Gene But real cowboys won’t ever be like those on the Disney scene Any buckaroo can sure clean up sharp for a Saturday night dance Even be persuaded to use pretty words when sparking a romance We pick a little guitar and some can make that harmonica wail But you’re just as apt to hear La Bamba as you are a song of the trail Those cowboys that you talk of, all slick & squeaky clean All pressed and starched, with proper speech, they ride a silver screen You see that feller in the corner, all tattered & dusty, that’s the real McCoy Battered old Stetson, mud & manure spackled jeans, a bonafide Cowboy He might be rough around the edges and his language a bit coarse But when he sets to working cattle, You swear he was born on a horse We are only human after all; sometimes we just need to cut loose Shoot out the lights, kiss all the ladies; drink our fair share of the booze We still love our mommas and say grace with most meals We just don’t handle being boxed, can’t stand the way it feels Those who don’t tolerate a lot of rules choose the cowboy way Much like this cowboy you see here before you today I can see you are trying to sort this out in your head For all you know of cowboys is what you’ve seen and read I surely hope this little talk about cowboys made it all a bit clearer The only one we answer to is the maker and the face in the mirror I hate to burst your bubble, still you best here it from me Cowboys can’t be pigeon holed; they must be wild & free Catherine Lilbit Devine © September 19, 2005