When Cowboys Rode Away

There were clear, sunny mornings with the rustle of leaves, A patchwork of sunlight beneath the wind-blown trees-- There were round-ups and long rides that lasted all the day, In times of our innocence when cowboys rode away. Hopalong, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Lash LaRue, We grew up with them in movies--their days were too few. They stood for truth; what was right; they always had their say, America was not the same when cowboys rode away. The West is gone, it's true--there are no cowboys anymore-- At least not like the old ones that we knew before. We make our worlds to please ourselves with our yesterday-- You'll find my world gone years ago, when cowboys rode away.