Archives.

At the brandin’ pen ‘neath the snowy peak
On the reservoir road toward Otter Creek
Swing a leg on a bronc; feel the mountain wind
Build a big wide loop and let the fun begin

Chorus:
That’s how you heal a cowboy’s heart
Drag a slick new calf to the brandin’ fire
Thank the Lord above that you’re where you are
That’s how you heal a cowboy’s heart

Verse 2:
He was his youngest son; he was a damn good hand
He was just a boy but so much a man
And there will always be an emptiness inside
All a man can do is saddle up and ride

Repeat Chorus

Bridge
There is healing in the mountain’s church
There is peace for the hearts that hurt
There are pardners all you that you can and cannot see
Taste the dust, smell the sage, let it be

Final Verse
In the rearview mirror as you drive away
Stands a memory of a sacred day
A field of branded calves means a brand new start
That’s how you heal a cowboy’s heart
That’s how you heal a cowboy’s heart

Chorus:
He’s a modern day middle aged cowboy
He’s caught ‘n’ dallied hard to his glory days
Ropin’ and ridin’ while his whole life goes glidin’ by him
Better to burn out than fade away
He’s just a modern day middle aged cowboy

Verse 2:
She wants him to build a new house He wants to buy some more cows and build a few new stalls on the barn for his new horses
She wants to travel someday, he wants to take her away to some old rodeo somewhere they’re on separate courses
And she’s too much in his business and he won’t ever listen
She’s swears that she’ll be gone by Christmas he promises she’ll miss him

Repeat Chorus

Instrumental Final

Chorus Breakdown

First Half

Verse:
My name is Milo Thomsey I’m a cowboy from Killeen
On the Arizona desert I have worked since seventeen
But the Drug-Lords and Banditos have a ransom on my life
And I will gladly pay to save my children and my wife
The border men and Sheriff they were nowhere to be found
When the son of Escondido fell into the creek and drowned
I rode and tried to save him as I dug his shallow grave
Another smuggler saw me and now I’m the one they blame

Verse:
Was an old retired bandito used to cowboy on the Bell
He was brought up in the shanties and his childhood days were Hell
So he worked for Escondido bringing drugs across the line
‘Til he swore a vow of silence if he smuggled one last time
And he told me they would kill him if I told them how I found
The home of Escondido and his Becatate compound
So I’m bound for Hermasillo with his money and his drugs
Only God now can deliver through the border and his thugs

Verse:
I told her I was leavin’ and she knew I had to go
Our lives and half-blood children would be gone like desert snow
I gave her all the money that I had left to my name
Said “If you don’t make it to Prescott then my life will be in vain”
I filled up the gas tank of my beat-up dirty truck
And looked deep into her dark eyes one more time for better luck
I’ll see my love in Prescott or else on the other side
Then I steeled myself to take this midnight ride

Verse:
At the iron gates of the compound by the high adobe wall
I recalled the son of ‘Dido how made his fatal fall
As the gates began to open and I slowly made it through
The guards were all around me and a rifle butt came through
The shattered glass and shouting was the last thing I recall
Til I woke ten hours later on a cold adobe wall
And sitting there before me in a three-piece linen suit
Was the man called Escondido wearin’ alligator boots

Verse:
So I told him what had happened and that I was all alone
When the cut-bank broke beneath his son and turned him into stone
I did not tell the lawmen and I’d never tell a soul
The drugs that I’ve returned to you are a token of my role
And I give my fate to you now but I beg you for the life
Of my black-hair, brown-eyed daughters and my sweet Apache wife
And the room it turned to silence but the pounding of my head
And I stared at Escondido for I knew that I was dead

Verse:
Then he said I built a business out of honor and I see
That a man of honor hangs here on the wall in front of me
I will give you life and freedom and the lives of those you love
And you make your vow of silence and you never more speak of
The son of Escondido and my Becatate home
The bravery you’ve shown by coming here alone
Then they drove me to the desert with a band around my eyes
And I burned three days and wandered neath the Becatate skies

Verse:
On the highway from Nogales through the Arizona rain
From the Becatate Mountains where a man could go insane
In the back of an old pickup with Tequila in a crate
I am thinking of my family and my miracle of fate
There’s a .45 colt pistol in my jeans upon its end
And a black-eyed girl in Prescott that I long to see again
And the sky is hot and empty out upon the desert ground
And the wheels upon the highway make a lonesome dreary sound

There’s a coyote dancin’ along Mackie Draw
There’s a Golden Hawk perched on the wire
There’s a bedroll a waitin’ for your head to fall
As you stare deep into the campfire

Chorus:
And I’ve been camped where you are
And I’ve wished upon the same star
And I would give every last penny I’ll spend
If I could be twenty and cowboy again

Verse 2:
On an old Textan saddle with no buckin’ rolls
And a hand me down shank snaffle bit
And a rawhide reata that’s too long to hold
And a pair of old chinks that don’t fit

It’s seventeen miles from the Highway across
To the head of the summertime range
And there’s no one but you and the crew and the boss
And there’s nowhere to hide if it rains

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
I’ve got a place of my own And I’ve got a woman I love And I am never alone But sometimes that just isn’t enough

Final Chorus

Chorus:
On a faraway star I send up a wish
That I could turn back the time somehow
I told you that I didn’t love you back then
And I don’t love you now
I still don’t love you now

Verse 2:
American blue eyes I’m so far away from the wild one I used to be
On a cold winter night twenty years down the road with a job and family
I’m still chasin’ a dream and still chasin’ my tail now I’ve laid everything on the line
Is it you that I miss and your innocent love or the freedom that I left behind?

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
Still see you cryin’ in that cold September rain
And neither one of us has ever been the same Verse 3:
American blue eyes take me away on the wings of a sweet memory
On a hot summer night off of old Combe road where you told me you’d always love me
You swore that you’d always love me

When that big ol’ sky is bright and blue
I am the man you should employ
But I’ll be gone when that autumn wind blows through
Cause I’m just a fair weather cowboy

Verse 2:
My ol’ hoss is cowhorse born ‘n’ bred
He likes draggin’ calves and ropin’ steers
He’ll sort and gather in beautiful weather
Then turn out to pasture for nine months of the year

Long as it ain’t dusty dry and hot
Ridin’ him is fundamental joy
We’ll give you ev’rything we got if it ain’t rainin’
Cause I’m just a fair weather cowboy

Verse 3:
If you ask me them cowpokes they’re all crazy
To sit upon a horse out in the rain
If it was me I’d go in and watch a western movie
And lament how I am just like old John Wayne when its sunny

Cause when that big ol’ sky is bright and blue
I am the man you should employ
But I’ll be gone when that autumn wind blows through
Cause I’m just a fair weather cowboy
Cause I’m just a fair weather cowboy

Chorus:
The mountain is my mistress
And she’ll always come between us
And I’m wrapped inside her arms tonight
In this Idaho wilderness
I’m faithful to you more or less
But I’ve gotta get this off my chest
It’s somethin’ girl you’ll just have to accept
The mountain is my mistress

Verse 2:
There are some things that are too hard to explain
And I never meant to cause you so much pain
And I know that it’s not right to lead her on
But with the changin’ of the weather I’ll be gone

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
And I know that she’s tearing us apart
And it’s killin’ me to know that I am breakin’ your heart

Final Chorus

I started Mono in the Spring of 95 I was seventeen and he was two
I’d work him from the ground and then I’d steal a ride he was learnin’ I was too
He bucked me off in the round pen once or twice
Stepped on my hand once and we fell down on the ice
But he started growin’ and his feet got straight and true
He was learnin’ I was too

We gathered cattle for the Bar B in the fall I rode him hard every day
Through shale rock canyons he gave his all and just got better in every way
He’d pin back his ears and bite an ornery cow
He was ready next mornin’ to go again somehow
And by the time the winter came I can honestly say
We were one in every way

I started college that semester in the Spring little Mono stayed at home
I rode Mono every night in my dreams while he waited all alone
I came home and branded cattle for my Dad
Little Mono gave me everything he had
When I went back to school again it hurt me to the bone
Little Mono stayed home

I met a girl that year and we fell in love and got married in the Fall
Goin’ to school and workin’ there was never time to ride little Mono at all
I sold him to a cowboy on the ALL
Heard Mono slipped and broke his neck when they fell
And now every time I saddle up a horse I can recall
How little Mono gave his all

I am a father now and life is hard and fast chasin’ children and their dreams
This world is changin’ and I long for the past and a simpler life or so it seems
I think of ridin’ Girtsen canyon in the Fall
I think of little Mono and how he gave his all
And I can’t find the words to say how much that memory means
But I still ride him in my dreams

In a bar top trailer there’s a range bred horse
He’s a half blood mustang; he’s a wild unyielding force
When you start to gather you begin to gel
But it can get a little western south of the Dell

Chorus 1:
If it rains all night it’ll be dry by noon
There’s a strange blue light ‘neath the last blood moon
And the bawlin’ babies brand-burned to Hell
Like a choir from Heaven south of the Dell

Verse 2:
Dust devil goes dancin’ cross the Valley of the Skull
Toss a wind-burned penny down a dry stock well
Push a first-calf heifer to the brandin’ pen
To the edge of the world and back again

Chorus 2:
If it rains all night it’ll be dry by noon
There’s a strange blue light ‘neath the last blood moon
And your circlin’ pardners man they ride so well
They’re a picture of heaven south of the Dell

Bridge:
Cedar Mountains heal me hold me in your dry and barren hands
Urban poisons kill me; transfuse me with the blood of the land
Final Verse:
Take a drag on the free wind south of the Dell
If you don’t make it back again I’ll see you in Hell
On the eastbound freeway through the urban yell
Heaven will be waitin’ south of the Dell

Chorus:
To be chasin’ cowgirl dreams
And there ain’t no in between
Win or lose it’s the road you choose
To be the best Father you can be
Everytime she spreads her wings
You’re chasin’ cowgirl dreams

Verse 2:
She’s got your same blue eyes but even brighter on a buckskin mare
And like a golden hawk she flies with the wind through her long blonde hair
And you’re upside down in love with the girl
With the breakaway rope she’s the center of your world
And brother I know just what it means

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
So run like a train my friend
Saddle up when you get back home
Never doubt yourself again my friend
You are not alone

Verse 3:
When winter comes again and the rodeo season’s done
You can take a little time off then knowin’ she is the only one
That could ever tame an old bronc fighter
Whisky bended roughstock rider
Brother that’s you in a tighter pair of jeans

Final Chorus

Chorus:
And that Colorado highway ain’t a likely home
For a woman and a family livin’ there
She’s got a heart of gold and a will that’s made of stone
And you don’t ever mess with Mama Bair
Don’t try to second guess my Mama Bair

Verse 2:
There’s a new snow fallin’ on a cold November morn’ and a cowboy haulin’ bucks straight through the storm
She can hear him callin’ from a broken mobile phone so she sets out to save him all alone
Raisin’ lambs, raisin’ grandkids raisin’ hay ain’t the easy way to live but you find love
In the sacred land, and in the children that you raise, in the sheep and on the mountain above

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3:
Takin’ chemo and takin’ it like a man helps you understand your precious life
Back to the ranch to see if you can make a hand standin’ strong as a sheep rancher’s wife
Raisin’ sons, raisin’ daughters, raisin’ Hell when they fall short of what she expects
But you’ll find love a deep and neverending well in the heart of this woman of the west

Final Chorus

New snow has fallen upon blood red cliffs
The mountains stand silent; the air clean and crisp
The bay of the walker is a song to your heart
That beats like a war drum every time you hear the song start

Chorus:
So Houndsman keep ridin’; away from your demons
The times they are changin’; you’re still up there dreamin’
These mountains and canyons that you love the most
Are dark and enchanted; you’re chasing a ghost

Verse 2:
They don’t understand you and they never will
The thrill of the chase is more than the kill
It’s something inside you that you can’t explain
It’s deeper than love, what love that you’ve known; it’s sharper than pain

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
And freedom waits behind locked gates
The cattle are gone; the whole world’s movin’ on
It’s wild open country that you know so well
These mountains are haunted-but they’re Heaven
The cities are Hell

Final Chorus

Chorus:
Singin’ I could’ve married a cowboy
But I broke a good cowboy’s heart
Now whenever I pass Heiner Canyon
I wonder where and how on earth you are
The life that I chose is a good one
But between all the pain and the joy
I guess that I’ll always wonder how it would be
If I married a cowboy

Verse 2:
At the twenty year high school reunion
She put on her best Sunday dress
She waited but he never came
Too busy out tamin’ the west I guess
The old flame burned down to ashes
And ashes blow hard on the wind
She longingly woke up the next mornin’ after
A wonderin’ and wishin’ again

Repeat Chorus

There’s a cold hard wind upon his shoulder
There’s a ragin’ storm across the plain
There are mountains and deserts left to cross
Before he sees her again

Chorus:
Like the knight on the white horse ridin’
There is nothin’ in the world I wouldn’t do
For the hope and the promise of this family
I will always make it home to you
I will always come back home to you

Verse 2:
And I know you’ll be up all night a waitin’
Wonderin’ how I’ll make it home alive
Thinkin’ only the worst of news is comin’
Hopin’ and prayin’ I’ll survive

But the white knight wields the sword of God
And Faith is his everlasting shield
Love is his shining suit of armor
And a soldier’s heart is made of iron will

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
Bound by love that is Eternal
Sealed by promises we’ve made
There are legions of Angels all around us
That listen close to every word you pray

Final Verse:
There’s a knight on a white horse ridin’
Through the day and the dark to get home
From the battlegrounds where he was fightin’
To the woman he left waitin’ all alone

Chorus:
But I know who you are
And I know there’ll never be
A better man, a better hand, a better friend to me

Verse 2:
I listen to the stories of your life out in these hills
And through your eyes I always find a little iron will
To stand against the winds of change and go the extra mile
To treat my fellow man in kind with an honest word and smile
And sink a spur even when it hurts and always do my best
Never be afraid to wear my heart out on my chest

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
Ain’t it time for some else to ride them green-broke colts
Take some time out for yourself and the woman that you hold
She’s got a heart of gold

Verse 3:
So take the easy trail back home there’s nothin’ left to prove
Wannabees like me come free but there’s damn few left like you
Sell your colts and your broken bones and buy a grown up horse
There’s no shame in givin’ in as nature takes its course
Wild colts and lightnin’ bolts still dance inside your mind
There’s a man looks just like you ropin’ mustangs inside mine

Final Chorus

From deep in the Bitteroot Range
To the tips of the Selway Crags
The ghost wolf reaper rides his secret line
In those dark black timbered hills
He studies old wolf kills
Trying to restore what’s yours and mine

Chorus:
OOOOOh Ahhhhh Somewhere the ghost wolf reaper rides
OOOOOh Ahhhhh Until the last damn gray wolf cries

Verse 2:
You’ll never hear his name
He searches not for fame
For he’s seen the cow and calf elk on the run
Brought down in their own blood
To drown in crimson mud
And he won’t stop until the war is won

Think of him what you will
A man that lives to kill
Or is he more a man that lives to save
The last great roaming herds
Of wild things on the earth
What forty years of conservation gave

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
And as another wolf pack cries
Their chorus sounds like demons in the night
Politicians sold on lies
But the west will not go down without a fight
Final Chorus

Verse 1:
Well I know you can’t imagine ridin’ on alone
Carryin’ on this ranch on your own
Now the winds of change are blowin’ and the winter’s settin’ in
And you look like you have lost your best friend
And you’re feelin’ like the good times are all gone
And you wonder if its time for movin’ on

Chorus 1:
But the Spirit Rider’s comin’
On a white horse through the sky
Give your horse his head and run him
Brother don’t ever ask why
I’m the angel on your shoulder
I’ll be ridin’ alongside ya
You will always be my brother
Now I’m your Spirit Rider

Verse 2:
Well there ain’t no use in wishin’ you could hear my voice again
Just listen to the cold Wyomin’ wind
I’m the blue sky in the summer I’m the colors of the Fall
I’m the horses you love most of all
And if you really want to feel me close to you
Go and do the things we loved to do

Chorus 2:
Cause the Spirit Rider’s comin’
On a white horse through the sky
Give your horse his head run him
Brother don’t ever ask why
I’m the angel on your shoulder
I’ll be ridin’ alongside ya
You will always be my brother
Now I’m your Spirit Rider

Bridge
Carry on this family brand
If you ever need a hand

Final Chorus
From Spotted Bear Montana to Nez Perce Idaho
I am free Lord I am free
Turn me loose and set me runnin’ on Elk City Wagon Road
I’ll be free Lord I’ll be free

Verse 1:
Through the veil I can see my family’s tears
I can feel the depth of sorrow as they mourn
For my body lies in ruin ‘neath a stand of Douglas Fir
And from their arms for mortal life I have been torn

But I lived strong and I loved deeply on the earth
I chose the road of righteousness and truth
And I held the girl that loved me; prayed for the one that gave me birth
As I smiled and bid farewell to my own youth

Chorus:
So let me fly again on unbreakable wings
We will meet again in the land beyond all dreams
And though my life is over there’s no need for you to mourn
There is peace here in the land of no return

Verse 2:
So live your dreams for I am living beyond mine
I know now just how the mystery unfolds
Believe in God’s eternal plan and know that I’ll be fine
With the love of my life here for me to hold

And praise the land where I took my final breath
May those Salmon River Mountains ever stand
For I lived a life of freedom and I died a cowboy’s death
And there’s nothin’ more to ask of any man

Repeat Chorus

Verse 1:
You have cause to wonder how much I love you
The time has come for you my son to finally hear the truth
You are what I live for and everything I do
I do because I love you and I know you love me too

Chorus:
And I yell from the sidelines of the game that you call life
And I always love you though you won’t always be right
For the rest of forever or until my days are through
I’ll come runnin’ guns a blazin’ just to prove my love for you

Verse 2:
The signs are all around us the world is changing fast
You are living proof to me God saved his best for last
The way you treat the ones you beat with honor and respect
The way you stand tall in defeat may you never forget

Chorus
That I yell from the sidelines of the game that you call life
And I always love you though you won’t always be right
For the rest of forever or until my days are through
I’ll come runnin’ guns a blazin’ just to prove my love for you

Bridge:
And I know I don’t always say the things you need to hear
But you can hear how I love you every time I stand and cheer
And for the rest of forever or until my days are through
I’ll come runnin’ guns a blazin’ just to prove my love for you
I’ll come runnin’ guns a blazin’ just to prove my love for you

Verse 1:
We have been saved for these latter days
We have been made to follow His way
There may be times we might turn in despair
But He is always there

Chorus:
We will go on
And we will not fall
And we will not run
We will be strong
Through the darkest night
We’ll stand and fight
Through the deepest pain
Our love remains
And we will go on

Verse 2:
This battle of life
Rages outside
So we face the storm
We’re ready to ride
And there may be times
We must stand on our own
But we are never alone

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
The day will come when we will be with Him again
But until then

Final Chorus

Tag
We will go on
We will go on

Verse 1:
What am I gonna do with a little baby girl
I don’t know the first thing ‘bout how you see the world
I never had a sister I don’t understand my wife
Now I’ve signed up to love you for the rest of my life

Chorus:
Daddy’s and daughters
Cowboys and Angels
It’s a love so true
There’s nothin’ I won’t do
For two sweet arms around my neck
And a kiss upon my cheek
Little girl you’re everything to me

Verse 2:
You’re growin’ up so fast and I really don’t know why
I’ll hold you forever or until you wanna fly
Cause everything that’s right and good and innocent and true
Is sittin’ here right next to me and livin’ inside you

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
So take my hand and hold on for dear life
It’s a big mean world so cover up your eyes
And dream those dreams that every little cowgirl dreams
Little girl you’re everything to me
Little girl you’re everything to me

Verse 1:
They arced on the highway one October mornin’
When that renegade bay dropped his head without warnin’
With two oncoming semis in either direction
We reigned up to witness the fate of Simmie Weston

Chorus:
While off to the west over Monte dark thunderclouds gathered
With his spurs deep in flanks it was clear that nothing else mattered
With nothing to spare in time’s narrow portal
We all turned to see Simmie Weston become immortal

Verse 2:
They were frozen in time; they were framed in blue lightnin’
And I knew in my mind he’d die tryin’ to fight him
As an oncoming semi laid hard on the horn
I saw the eyes of that bronc become lost and forlorn

Chorus
While off on the soft grassy shoulder a thousand black cattle
Bellowed in rhythm with thunder a song for the battle
At the last fleeting moment in time’s narrow portal
The bay horse decided Simmie Weston’s immortal

Verse 3:
Some men speak of legend I’ve told you no tale
The greatest bronc fighters would die rather than fail
But he rides today through time’s narrow portal
Through the Deseret sage…Simmie Weston, the immortal

Verse 1:
From the low-lying mountains to the Salmon River breaks
I am free Lord I am free
The MacGruder Road from Darby; headwaters of the Snake
I am free Lord I am free

Chorus 1:
And I miss my home and family and the woman that I love
But the spirit of The Lapwei runs through the land like blood
And I’m leavin’ it behind me now for that’s how it has to be
But I’ll return and I’ll be free

Verse 2:
The Black Bear and the Lion and the blasted timber wolves
They run free Lord they run free
The canyon winds and rivers clear and clean as polished gold
They run free Lord they run free

Chorus 2:
And the world it keeps a changin’ spinnin’ faster all the time
When a tired and troubled nation weighs heavy on my mind
I can leave it all behind me and be just who I want to be
And be free Lord and be free

Instrumental

Repeat Chorus 2

Verse 3:
From Spotted Bear Montana to Nez Perce Idaho
I am free Lord I am free
Turn me loose and set me runnin’ on Elk City Wagon Road
I’ll be free Lord I’ll be free

Final Chorus:
When you see that crystal water you will never be the same
You can disappear and wander in land never to be tame
Leave your troubles far behind you come and ride along with me
And be free Lord and be free
And be free, and be free

Verse 1:
She gathers slack on a Saturday night
On a horse bred Lucky J Pine
She spins his heels in the July dust
And whispers ‘everything is gonna be fine’
The price of diesel’s up a dollar fifteen
Since they struck out in the Spring
They broke left and she missed him clean
All she can do now is cling to the dream

Chorus:
Of a Breakaway Runaway
There’s another rodeo down a long dark road
She’s far away from her Selway River home
But she’s gonna bring the big money back one day
She’s a Breakaway Runaway

Verse 2:
Her heart breaks at the sound of his voice
Sayin’ “Mommy when you comin’ back home?”
She whispers soon but she’s got no choice
She never dreamed she could feel so alone
But there’s a fire burnin’ deep inside
And a new hope shinin’ in her eyes
She was born to rope and ride
From the Texas plains to the Selway skies

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
Her heart is flyin’ when the chute gate opens
Horse is runnin’ like the Selway’s rollin’

Final Chorus

Verse 1:
Nothin’ like the golden Camas Prairie in the Fall
Stretchin’ to the canyons and the hills
Catch that Old Blue Roani in the twilight before dawn
With the whitetail buck a boundin’ through the fields
Through the fields

And it’s seven rocky miles to the meadows on the butte
Where the fatties drift and mingle through the pines
You dump out Old Blue Roani-he’s a frosty backed galute
Thank goodness for the soft grass if you land on your behind

Chorus:
Up on Blacktail Butte it’s a high and lonesome feelin’
Up on Blacktail Butte with the whipperwill a singin’
Up on Blacktail Butte chase them fatties through the meadow
Turn ‘em towards the two track on the muddy sawmill loop

Up on Blacktail Butte you can hear the bull elk bugle
Up on Blacktail Butte see the red tail and the eagle
Up on Blacktail Butte chase them fatties through the meadow
As you whoop an’ spur an’ spin an’ run
Up on Blacktail Butte

Verse 2:
Twas just a dusty summer since we struck out in the rain
Drove them skinnies up from down below
Ol’ Quinney blew his latigo just off Kamiaih grade
And landed in a pile of mud an’ snow
Mud an’ snow

He rode the long and windin’ road a shiverin’ to the bone
Bouncin’ on that rusty old flat bed
Climbed into his pickup and he lit a shuck fer home
With a busted rib and goose egg on his head
On his head

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
There’s somethin’ in the way those meadows move in the wind
Somethin’ in the way the timber stands
It’s somethin’ of a feelin’ when you ride along the rim
And see a line o’ cattle wearin’ your old family brand

Final Chorus

Verse 1:
I still remember how it rained
Still hear the whistlin’ wire
I know we really haven’t changed
Since our first brandin’ fire

It’s such a long and windin’ road
Through years of sacrifice
If we knew then now what we know
Would we still choose the life

Chorus 1:
We rode the Glory Trail my friend
That leads right straight to God
Still searchin’ everywhere west
To find a ridin’ job

Verse 2:
You take the Baker Highway home
To southeast Oregon
You’d take it easy all alone
But you are not alone

Four hungry mouths you have to fill
New dreams to carry on
You’re just a buckaroo but still
Your legacy grows strong

Chorus 2:
You ride the Glory Trail my friend
That leads right straight to God
Still searchin’ everywhere west
To find a ridin’ job

Bridge:
And now the cities of the west
They spread like prairie fire
Still it burns deep inside my chest
It is my one desire

Final Verse:
To saddle up at break of dawn
And ride into the wind
To see the west before it’s gone
Once more with you my friend

Final Chorus
To ride the Glory Trail again
That leads right straight to God
Still searchin’ everywhere west
To find a ridin’ job

Verse 1:
Perkiset takes the edge off
Ibuprofen takes the swell
Ice packs upon these old broken bones
Man I still feel like Hell

I’ve had broken bones before
I’ve been bucked off to save my life
But the pain I feel it will never heal
Your sharp tongue cuts me like a knife

Chorus:
And Hell hath no fury like a cowgirl’s goodbye
It’s colder than the Norther blowin’ cross the Texas sky
And it’s sharp like a dagger diggin’ deep into my side
Hell hath no fury like a cowgirl’s goodbye

Verse 2:
I can’t run to chase you down
And I won’t make it on my own
When the night comes again the pain rushes in
I’ll sober up and realize that you’re gone

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
You’ll be halfway to Oklahoma
Just a whisper in that cold Panhandle wind
I’ll be back on my feet in a couple of weeks
But I’ll never be the same again

Final Chorus

Verse 1:
I can’t stand the news but I can’t walk away
I hold the ones I love; I don’t know what to say
I fall upon my knees and offer up a prayer
For someone so far away somewhere

Verse 2:
I am a simple man I lead a simple life
I do all that I can for my children and my wife
But I can’t stop the world and I can’t guarantee
A lesser fate will wait for them or me

Chorus:
There are days that change the times
There’s a time to say goodbye
There’s a place beyond the clouds where a precious angel flies
Some things never change
There are things that change us all
This one’s for the ones that changed our lives

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
But we are not alone and loved ones never leave
We will meet again if we just believe
That love trumps tragedy in spite of what has been
We will be with Emily again

Final Chorus

Verse 1:
Brianna saddle up that pony and ride him one last time
Before the winds of change blow you away
Ride him ‘til you’re out of your troubled mind and everything will be okay
I promise somebody hears the dreams you pray

Chorus:
And cowgirls and angels are one in the same
And if you’re gonna be true you’re gonna have to be strong
And if you find yourself all alone just whisper my name
And hold on, hold on Brianna

Verse 2:
You know that somebody loves you more than you could ever know
And everything that she does she does for you
She can’t stop the risin’ tide of trouble in your life
But she’ll do anything else that she can do

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
I can’t even stand to think of tears from your blue eyes
So ride into the wind and let ‘em dry

Final Chorus

Verse 1:
Staunch in conviction, hard twisted and ancient
Surveying the world from its perch in the cold
The bristlecone pine through millennia watches
As new chapters open on stories untold

It watched as our young ones were schooled in tradition
And watched generations each march off to war
Then watched as their soldiers returned broken hearted
Just longing to sleep as they once had before

Chorus 1:
But war’s never over for mem’ry or dreams
And, innocence lost ain’t important, it seems
Oft woke being soaked through in sweat, fear and screams
Which make both your head and heart pound
You still drop at the stop of a sound
Cuz you’re stuck on some old battleground

Verse 2:
The bristlecone whispers to wind in the valley
The wisdom of ages that live on the shelf
How humans are warlike by nature, and oddly
The only real threat to their kind is their self

They war over thought, and they war for religion
They war for a prize just the size of a throne
How many more young will they send off to battle
Before they start helping the heart to get home

Chorus 2:
But war’s never over for mem’ry or dreams
And, life ain’t as precious as claimed, so it seems
Oft woke being soaked through in sweat, fear and screams
In a pain worse than most can conceive
Tryin’ hard to hold on and believe
Feeling forgot and deceived
Dying of PTSD

Final Verse:
The bristlecone whispers to wind in the valley
Surveying the world from its perch in the cold
Twisted and ancient, through millennia it watches
As a new generation is readied for war

Verse 1:
He wears an old gray sweat-stained hat
With a Montana crease
Pulled down low upon his eyes
Gotta wonder how he sees

He rides a Hamley A-Fork saddle
Built in 1952
And he swears that punchin’ cattle
Is just what he was born to do

Chorus:
If he weren’t an old Vaquero
And a two reign Hacka-Mormon
You’d swear it wasn’t California

Verse 2:
Close the big steel gate behind ya
Built by an LA millionaire
Drive a mile past the home ranch
You’re in Paradise somewhere

Two track trail through live oak trees
Cattle drift the golden hills
The smell of ocean spray reminds you
You’re in California still

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
And he can’t afford the taxes
On a place to call his own
And his truck won’t pass emissions
And he can’t carry a gun

Final Verse:
So he hand braids horse hair bridles
Just to pass the time away
And he remembers California
Before the sixties came to stay

Final Chorus:
And if it weren’t for the ocean
And the rollin’ central coast
And the live oak and persimmon
And the canyons he loves most
And if he weren’t an old vaquero
And a two-reign Hacka-Mormon
You’d swear it wasn’t California

Verse 1:
River riders wait for her
Free and easy she is sure
The Salmon River and her soul
Come together where the rapids roll

I’m a cowhand-a buckaroo
Between the timber and Montana blue
Now I wait for Friday night
We’ll be dancin’ in the moonlight

Chorus:
At the Salmon River Motel
Along the highway I know so well
Heaven waits ‘neath Seven Devils
At the Salmon River Motel

Verse 2:
She’s a taker; takes her time
Makes me believe that she is mine
But the Salmon River never ends
Will she come back again

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
And it’s a lonesome drive on Sunday night
Back to Missoula by first light
There’s a river runnin’ through my mind
And a girl I long to find

Final Chorus

Chorus 1:
Over two under two lay pull again
I will teach you reata my friend
Only good as what you will put in
Over two under two lay pull again

Verse 1:
Scrapin’ hair off of hide he had skinned stretched and dried
To cut braidin’ strings narrow and thin
He taught me the trade in the cool Sunday shade
The wisdom of more years than I’d been
For decades he practiced the skill of the craftsmen
For usable art he would strive
His whisper to a world where nothing seems to last was
Slow down no one gets out alive

Chorus 2:
Over two under two lay pull again
I will teach you reata my friend
Like a spirit they fly on the wind
Over two under two lay pull again

Verse 2:
I spent most of my Sundays in his school of life
He’d share of the things that he knew
And I found that most guys that I had long idolized
Learned their rawhide under him too
Prepare the hide well the keep your blade sharp as Hell
Damper the strings almost dry
Take time to lay every string tight and straight
And make somethin’ that’s worthy of pride
That will live long after you die

Final Chorus:
Over two under two lay pull again
I will teach you reata my friend
One day we are all dust in the wind
Over two under two lay pull again

Verse 1:
The cold November chill
Followed me at will
Down the hall into my room
That fateful night I first met you

Now a warm Alaska sun
Lights the night and makes us one
I can’t believe I’m here with you
But you believed in me and I believe it’s true

Chorus 1:
There were Angels in my room
To show the way
To get me through
I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d do
Without the Angels in my room
One of them was you

Verse 2:
Let me feel the Kenai wind
Let me dance with you my friend
Let tonight go on and on
From the midnight sun to the break of dawn

Chorus 2:
There’ll be Angels in this room
To show the way
To get you through
I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d do
Without the Angels in this room
One of them was you

Bridge:
Can you believe how time flies?
You’ll always be an Angel in my eyes

Repeat Chorus 1

Verse 1:
I can’t think about my work today
Even though I’m barely hangin’ on
There’s a voice inside says “Run away…
They won’t even know you’re gone”

I’m a wildcat in a cage today
Thinkin’ ‘bout the places I could be
I don’t know how I can break away
All I know is that I’ve got to break free

Chorus:
To the High Country
Like the Mountain Lion
In the Land of Eagles
Let my soul unwind
It’s my Rocky Mountains
That you can’t take from me
Let me find myself
In the High Country

Verse 2:
There’s a trail up Granite Peak
Hidden by the sagebrush and the wind
You can hear the mountain speak
It says welcome back my long lost friend

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
And the future is uncertain for me
For the places that I go
Like the River of No Return you see
Where the lost wind blows clean through your soul

Verse 3:
It’s a lonesome dream I know
You might think I’ve lost my mind
But there’s a hole inside your soul
There’s a peace you long to find

Final Chorus

Hey Dawson let’s ride again
Up the old red dugway and around the aspen bend
Up on top of Timberfork and down the other side
Let’s count our blessings as we ride

Chorus:
For the time’s a changin’ the city’s closin’ in
Across that old cattle guard our troubles all begin
My heart is broken I need a friend
Hey Dawson let’s ride again

Verse 2:
Hey Dawson where the Hell you goin’
Huntin’ season’s comin’ and there’s talk of early snow
These old red canyons they won’t ever be the same
Just by the mention of your name

Hey Dawson I’ll write you a song
But this time where you’re goin’ I can’t ride along
From old Hunt’s Meadow to the dusty Echo side
Those were the best times in my life

Repeat Chorus

Final Verse:
Hey Dawson let’s ride again
Paradise can’t hold a candle to the places we have been
Beneath the endless shadows of majestic Lewis Peak
Until They set my spirit free

Final Chorus

Chorus:
Courage in the saddle
Face into the wind
You ride each time like you won’t live again
If you’re gonna ride to win son it’s gonna be a battle
You better have a heart of steel
And courage in the saddle

Verse 2:
Anna Dial was ten to one in ’64 on May the 9th
We were twenty-five-large richer when she crossed the finish line
Night races at Bay Meadows ’68 to ‘73
There never was a jockey who had won as much as me
We were back at Alamitos in May of ‘84
Thick fog down the straightaway, mud on the racetrack floor
John Critter on “Face in the Crowd” turned left in front of me
And the bottom side of runnin’ hooves was all that I could see

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3:
Crushed my foot and ankle, my shoulder, and my face
But my longin’ for the racetrack no surgery could replace
So as a twenty year Outrider I’ll finally retire
From the course at Alamitos the place I first caught fire
And the years have passed right through me I’ll never be the same
And the changin’ times and politics we ought to be ashamed
For we’re short of field and horses Midwest jockeys they’re all through
Where the story starts and ends is where you find the dream comes true

Final Chorus

For sixty years we did our best to make a house a home
A woman’s life as a cowboy’s wife is too much time alone
But down the trail I rode each night you waited here for me
Now sittin’ here without you near ain’t how it’s supposed to be

Chorus:
And would you be a cowboy’s wife again
The hard times and lonely days and nights that never end
‘Cause Eileen I still love you as the Good Lord only knows
It’s time to say goodbye now with this single winter rose

Verse 2:
The kids are gathered round me now their children and our friends
We’re singin’ songs and memories I hope it never ends
There’s still so much we have to say about you and your love
Lookin’ back I can’t help feel I never said enough

We’ll put up your old saddle now your spurs hang on the wall
The picture of our wedding day that I love most of all
Little things I should’ve done Lord how the time it goes
I honor and I love you with this single winter rose

Repeat Chorus

Tag
The trail up Girtsen Canyon is covered in with snow
I never dreamed that such a day would be your time to go…

Chorus 1:
They all say, “Hey Finnigan, it’s always good to see you again
I still remember when you were drillin’ for coal
You’re one helluva sawmill man so put a cold one in your hand
And by the way Old Finnigan, Blake says hello”

Verse 2:
The fair at Emory County good folks all around me the conversation drowns me
When he walks in
The old rough coal miners and the dry land farmers young ‘uns and the old timers they all turn and
say, “Hey there’s Fin!”

Chorus 2:
And they say, “Hey Finnigan, it’s always good to see you again
I still remember when you were drillin’ for coal
You’re one helluva sawmill man so put a cold one in your hand
And by the way Old Finnigan, Brenn says hello”

Bridge:
I’ve been all around this wild and crazy world
I’ve met folks from every walk of life
The rich the poor the Jew the gentile boys and girls
I’ve only met one woman I could ever call my wife

Chorus 3:
And there’s only one Finnigan it’s always good to see him again
I’ve heard all the stories of when he was drillin’ for coal
He’s one helluva sawmill man so put a cold one in his hand
Then you tell Old Finnigan I said hello, Brenn says hello,
You tell Old Finnigan, I said hello

Woke with the sunrise in the mornin’
Desert sparrows singin’ through the brush
I saddled Jasper in the lantern light
And prayed I would make a hand that he could trust

Chorus:
In Bruneau Canyon
Springtime brandin’
Lonesome as the windy ‘Wyhee plains
North of Elko
Southeast Idaho
The cold gray sky that never rains
I thank God some things never change

Verse 2:
Ten thousand acres to a pasture
We gathered heifers until noon
With their babies a bawlin’ ‘long beside them
They’d feel the brandin’ iron soon

Owyhee Mountains on the skyline
Horse sweat and leather on the wind
Lone buckaroos driftin’ through the sagebrush
I prayed the day would never end

Verse 3:
We branded through the afternoon
Ate lunch out on the dusty desert ground
Then me and Elvin trailed some old dry heifers
Back to the old Sheep Creek corrals

I loaded Jasper in the Sooner
And bid my new found pardners Adios
And I think about them to this day
But it’s the deep, dark Bruneau Canyon I miss most

I walk the woods there behind your son my lucky rifle in my hand
We laugh and wander like soldiers on the run
Huntin’ down an outlaw Indian band
To where they made their final stand

Chorus:
And Charlie can we talk about the war tonight
Did you really kill 500 men
Did their eyes glisten in the mortar light
Would you go back there again
With that damned old Agent Orange in your blood
And that twisp of Old Montana in your scar
Will you dig out that old Colt 45
Your Purple Heart and Bronze Star

Verse 2:
Years on the mountain mappin’ out the Bob Morgan horses on the trails
Them old canvas wall tents don’t hold out Grizzler Bears
But that old pistol never failed
And the best outfitter never tells

Repeat Chorus

Final Verse:
Gotta go now I make my livin’ singin’ songs of men like you
But this music business it’s like a war man
They’ll kill a million ‘fore they’re through
But my bullets fire red white and blue

Final Chorus:

Chorus:
But I want this suit and tie
And I want these little shoes
Cause when we say goodbye
I want him wearin’ somethin’ new
And you ask if you can help me
Maam you can’t help me enough
I’m here today to redefine
A Mother’s Love

Verse 2:
He was so much like his Daddy but so much more like me
And he fought ev’ry day for ev’ry breath he took and now he’s fin’ly free
And tonight I’ll dress him up just one last time for family and friends
One door closes one door opens they say death is not the end

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
And there’s nothin’ you can say I’ve heard it all before
Just ring me up I’ll pay now and then be out the door

Final Verse:
And you can go home to your family and kiss them all goodnight
And know they’ll be there in the mornin’ and everything will be alright
And when you send them off to school remember I’ll be sendin’ mine
Back to his home in heaven and yeah I will be just fine

Final Chorus:
Cause I’ve got this suit and tie
And I’ve got these little shoes
So when we say goodbye
He’ll be wearin’ somethin’ new
And you ask if you can help me
Maam you’ve helped me here so much
I’m here today to redefine
A Mother’s Love

Chorus:
And that Rodeo Heaven that’s where I’ve already been
New York in ’57 and I’m a goin’ there again
So don’t expect to find me teary eyed and broken hearted
The Doc might say I’m dyin’ son
Hell I’m just gettin’ started

Verse 2:
I been ridin’ broncs and bulls for damn near fifty years
I’ve lived all your cowboy poems and I ain’t got time for tears
They say rodeo will kill ya’ leave ya’ a broken down tired old man
I been dyin’ for years I guess cause ridin’ bulls son is who I am

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
And all them Honky Tonk Angels I almost hear them now
And all my rodeo buddies are gonna carry me out
Carry me out

Final Verse:
So when you feel one start to buckin’
Dig a big spur in for Junior
Me and the boys from the RCA
Are gonna sit right back and join ya’

Final Chorus:

Chorus:
Life is a gamble for any and all
Sometimes you turn out
Sometimes you fall
Sometimes the best you can do is hang on
Rodeo Heaven’s where Angels belong

Verse 2:
Mommy and Daddy are takin’ it hard
Though deep in their hearts they know where you are
So stop for a moment as you’re passin’ through
Cadillac Cowboy a flyin’ through the blue

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3:
Take your wings with you sweet little child
Jesus will hold you so meek and so mild
Then when you hear that old Rodeo bell
Climb on that wing-bronc and spur him like Hell

Repeat Chorus

Sweetwater stories of Great Basin Buckaroos
I’m lost in the tales that you tell
Life is a dusty trail you wouldn’t always choose
A little bit of heaven and a little bit of hell

Chorus:
Benny can you take me to the top of the world
The Eastern Sierras where the mountains and the sky
Come together forever like old friends in the wind
Benny can you take me there again

Verse 2:
Don’t get your lead-rope caught beneath that horse’s tail
Don’t rein him up hard if you do
This is the canyon I remember oh so well
When I was a wooly buckaroo

My Basquo Father was New Mexican clean through
He taught us horses all along
I love my Linda and my baby Bonnie too
Maybe you can put them in a song

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
Benny I don’t understand the changin’ of the times
Why little boys get cancer why the Hell did mine
Benny I don’t think I ever want to go back home
I wanna ride here with you til the river turns to stone

Final Chorus:

Chorus 1:
Then you ride on through the meadow
Where the real free world begins
And it’s cold out here on the Buckaroo fringe
Yeah it’s still cold here on the Buckaroo fringe

Verse 2:
Settle in to the old long trot
There’s a summer ahead ‘til you see what he’s got
In the brandin’ pen on the black-rock slide
And the trail and the gather on the long divide
Green buds on the aspen stand
Feel the tension rise with a loop in your hand
Now you turn back to the state line cross
With a fire in your heart and a pretty good hoss

Chorus 2:
And you ride back through the meadow
Cleansed of all your sins
And it’s cold out here on the Buckaroo Fringe
Yeah it’s still cold here on the Buckaroo Fringe

Bridge:
We come alive in the early Spring when we’re tired ridin’ circles in a little round ring
And it’s in the blood of the Buckaroo heart to be out in the world when it makes a new start

Final Verse:
Sun settin’ down the Centerline Road
With a mud-track freezin’ in the twilight glow
And a Dunn colt kickin’ on the last bend home
At the end of his first ride out alone
Turn him out in the stone corral
Where he kicks and knickers at his long lost pals
Then you close the gate and let the night begin
And it’s cold out here on the Buckaroo Fringe
Yeah it’s still cold here on the Buckaroo Fringe

Carissa I waited the whole winter long
For you to come back and sing me a song
The Spring and the Summer they beckoned you home
You left me lonesome a singin’ alone

Chorus:
Carissa I carry your song in my heart
I’m a survivor
We’ve both come so far
And now you are married I know he loves you
Always remember that I love you too

Verse 2:
Carissa I’m ridin’ my horses again
I walk on my own though I fall now and then
They say that miracles happen you know
Hold onto my memory never let go

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3:
Carissa I love you I’m lettin’ you go
Go make your life now while I learn and grow
And someday I’ll marry a sweet girl too
Carissa I hope that she’s so much like you

Final Chorus

Chorus 1:
That if there are horses in heaven
Dapples and Sorrels and Bays
Quarters and Ponies
Trotters and Paints
Round ones and skinnies
Short ones and tall
If there are horses in heaven
You won’t have to miss me at all

Verse 2:
Mommy this is your song
Sing when you need me
I’ll sing a long
Like a cool breeze across your sweet face
Or sun on your shoulder
That once was my place

Chorus 2:
And if there are puppies in heaven
Fast ones and shy ones and strays
Spaniels and Collies
Boxers and Goldens
Round ones and skinnies
Short ones and tall
If there are puppies in heaven
You won’t have to miss me at all

Bridge:
Maybe some days
Days that we all used to love
Christmas and birthdays
That will be more than enough

Final Chorus:
Cause if there are horses in heaven
Dapples and Sorrels and Bays
Quarters and Ponies
Trotters and Paints
Round ones and skinnies
Old ones and new
If there are horses in heaven
I’ll be here waiting for you

Verse 1:
Stormy throws her head
She don’t like the sound of lead
Rippin’ through the sky on a cool clear autumn morn’
She high trots back home
She can’t stand to be alone
And she’s been that way since the day that she was born

Chorus 1:
But I love her anyway and I wouldn’t trade a single day
Of ridin’ for another day to be alive
The wind in her long black mane
She’s the only thing that keeps me sane
The only way today a cowboy can survive
Equine…

Verse 2:
A mind all his own
Old Bud was as hard as a stone
And he threw me to the ground a dozen times or more
Runnin’ down the road
Cussin’ cause I’d just been throwed
All the way back to the old brown double barn door

Chorus 2:
But I loved him anyway and I wouldn’t trade a single day
Of ridin’ for another day to be alive
The wind in his long gold mane
He was the only thing that kept me sane
The only way today that a cowboy can survive
Equine…

Bridge:
There’s a fire burnin’ in me still
And a cold, hard-iron will
To get back on no matter how hard I fall
And I think of them days sometimes
To ease my troubled mind
Ev’rytime my back’s up against a wall

Verse 3:
He’s one tired, old paint
He’s a little less can than can’t
And I see the hesitation in his eyes
I lift a little saddle on
He kicks him in the sides and they’re gone
And Lord I can’t believe how the years go by

Chorus 3:
And how I love that little boy
Ridin’ high like Gene and Roy
Fadin’ like a hero into that western sun
The wind in his thick gold hair
I close my eyes and for a moment I’m there
The only way today a cowboy can survive
Equine…

Hays up in the fields
Needs cuttin’ before the rains
Your wife’s knocked up
And your tractor is broken down
Your Old Man feeds your horses
And cusses you on the phone
Says you oughtta find a steady job in town

CHORUS:
So turn ’em out
And dig ’em in
I pray the Lord tonight you win
Yer missin’ teeth, yer busted arm and all
No guts
No glory
A hundred years and it’s the same old story
You’re at your best when your back’s against the wall<

VERSE 2:
Remember those good times we had
Sellin’ beer for Rick Makris
He always had a case inside his truck
Then you went straight for a mission
And I cried at your farewell
All I could say was goodbye and good luck

Now we’re both pushin’ thirty-five
Lucky we’re both still alive
For the rank horses and the
Crazy women we’ve knowed
I’ve seen you down and out before
And then come back to win
But I wish I could help you shoulder your load

Repeat Chorus

FINAL VERSE:
Well some might call that ride damn lucky
But I know you’re the best
That little mare can buck
But she can’t fly
A thousand dollars don’t go very far
Health insurance and a second car
But somethin’ tells me somehow you’ll get by

Repeat Chorus

Verse 1:
The oldest of three
And it’s plain to see
That his life ain’t been hard
But it sure ain’t been easy
The little gray mare
She started to buck
He came up off the ground
And called it hard luck

Chorus:
‘Cause Casey’s a cowboy
Right down to the core
He’s blood, sweat, and grit
No less and no more
And the times might get tough
As tough are the times
But Casey’s a cowboy
And he’ll do just fine

Verse 2:
His daddy don’t say much
If it comes to a fight
The old family quarrels
The wrongs and right
And the twelve hour days
And hay on the ground
And the family troubles
They don’t get him down

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
I don’t wonder why you worry long
He holds it all in-he won’t say what’s wrong
I don’t doubt that you’d take all his pain
To make it alright
And I’d do the same

Verse 3:
But there’s an unwritten code
He’s lived all his life
He’ll shoulder this load
And still love his wife
And horses and troubles
They get broken with time
And Casey’s a cowboy
And he’ll do just fine

Final Chorus

Verse 1:
There’s a whole lot of holes in Sweetwater County
The jackrabbits and the coyotes run
The Red Desert rolls on forever
Blood red in the settin’ sun
The marijuana and the cocaine highway
Federales couldn’t keep it clean
State troopers start off the right way
But big money’s just a lawman’s dream

Chorus:
And there’s a whole lot of holes in Sweetwater County
One lone deputy upheld the law
He was a black-belt in Quan Do Karate
And a master of the old quick draw
He gave ’em hell
Ed Cantrell

Verse 2:
Was a long drive down to the Silver Dollar Bar
He said take it slow Sargeant Callas you drive
He saw a crooked smile in the rear view mirror
Or he might have made it home alive
But as Rosa reached down for his ankle gun
Cantrell saw the flash through the thunder head sky
He was spitten lead before the crash of thunder
A thirty-eight special right between the eyes

Repeat Chorus:

Verse 3:
The jury found Ed Cantrell not guilty
Though some say he should’ve died in jail
He went back to Sweetwater County
Ready to take on the whole cartel
The cattle rustlers and the low-dive dealers
Sweat bullets when they heard his name
The money and drugs quit runnin’
He was one for the lawman hall-of-fame

Repeat Chorus:

Verse 4:
So to all of you criminals and two-bit outlaws
You drug runners and murderin’ thieves
You might go scott-free in this life
But you better watch out when you leave
Cause if you’re headed where the brimstone burns and boils
At the hot, black, gapin’ jaws of hell
There’s a five-star standin’ with a thirty-eight pistol
It’s gold-badge deputy Ed Cantrell

Final Chorus

Tag:
There’s a whole lot of holes in Sweetwater County…

Verse 1:
Another high water summer
I feel her again
A rush of passion and wonder
Like a warm summer wind
The taste of high mountain rain
Fallin’ sweet off her cheeks
Somewhere between pleasure and pain
When that old memory speaks

Chorus 1:
And when the days turned to evenin’
And the hot August sun fell down
We’d drive to that place in the canyon
And make love to the sound
Of the Wild Weber River

Verse 2:
It was the summer from heaven
How could I think it would end
I went on back to Wyomin’
She went to college with her friends

Chorus 2:
But when the days turned to evenin’
And the hot August sun fell down
I’d think of that place in the canyon
Where we made love to the sound
Of the Wild Weber River

Bridge:
So much time gone
I’m still livin’ on the edge
All I see lookin’ down from this bridge

Verse 3:
Is just the high rollin’ water
Catchin’ the high mountain rain
It disappears down canyon
I’ll never see it again

Chorus 3:
But when the days turn to evenin’
And the hot August sun falls down
I drive to this place in the canyon
Think of love; hear the sound
Of the Wild Weber River

Verse 1:
Ten years ain’t a very long time
When it’s all that you’ve had
And there’s no easy way to break that kind of news
You take the good with the bad
She took the reins of a strong, fast horse
She let his hair be her own
And through the hardest of times he was there
She was never alone

Chorus 1:
And the days ran long sometimes
And the nights longer still
Her Daddy lifted her up to ride
But it was her iron will
That cancer couldn’t kill

Verse 2:
Tonight she has turned twenty-five
One good cowboy at her side
And he thanks God that she made it through alive
And together they will ride
In a little house on an acre of land
Old rose bushes ’round the yard
She takes the reins of that same strong horse
But she don’t ride him quite so hard

Chorus 2:
And the days will go by so fast
The future God only knows
I close my eyes and I think about the past
When I see Rachel’s Roses
When I see Rachel’s Roses

Verse 3:
I have my own cross I must bear
I have my own twist of fate
Doubt like cancer grows in my mind
Sometimes I feel so afraid
I take the reins of a strong, fast horse
I let her will be my own
And through the hardest of times she is there
I am never alone

Final Chorus:
And the days will go by so fast
The future God only knows
I close my eyes and I feel so blessed
When I see Rachel’s Roses
When I see Rachel’s Roses

Verse 1:
Watched my buckskin and my saddle and my day bags and my gun
Rollin’ ass over tea-kettle down into the mornin’ sun
She was bent and she was twisted she was bruised up in the back
We were half-an-hour scoutin’ down the hill for broken tack
We were halfway up Red Mountain we were full of grit and oil
And I was bound and stone determined not to let that roundup spoil
So I kicked her in the gizzard and I pulled up on the reins
And climbed back up into the saddle ‘spite of all her aches and pains

Chorus 1:
And it ain’t that I don’t love ‘er ’cause the Good Lord knows I do
And I’ll be on her or beside her right up ’til my days are through
But if you’re gonna be a cowboy better heed your inner forces
‘Cause it’s hell on yer women and it’s harder on your horses

Verse 2:
She was cradlin’ my baby she was in her rockin’ chair
And he was noisily a nursin’ ‘neath the tendrils of her hair
And I just had to break it to her I was out o’ job again
When I get back from buckarooin’ I will find some more work then
‘Cause we were off and we were runnin’ Heiner Canyon in the fall
Tall, dark timber golden aspen ‘neath the red rock canyon wall
Cattle rollin’ down the meadows mamas-babies hear ’em cry
Brings a burnin’ to your bosom and a tear drop to your eye

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
I can stand here before you I can look you in the eye
And say I’ll never be a rich man and I know the reason why
‘Cause I’d trade fancy trucks and money
I’d trade power, I’d trade fame
For one more day of buckarooin’ on a horse that’s halfway lame

Final Chorus:
And it ain’t that I don’t love ’em cause the Good Lord knows I do
And I’ll be on ’em or beside ’em right up ’til my days are through
But if you’re gonna be a cowboy better heed your inner forces
‘Cause it’s Hell on yer women and it’s harder on your horses

Verse 1:
Hey, Hey little Isaac/Carry that old shed horn
All the way to the cabin/Where your Grandpa was born
Down in Heiner Canyon/’Neath that red rock wall
And the sortin’ pen/Where you saw your Daddy fall
It’s a cool spring mornin’/It’s a far, far cry
From the world that’s changin’/Fast as the days go by
Better cinch your saddle/Better hold your reigns
Better ride like hell/Through the winds of change

Chorus:
Hey little Isaac there’s a family brand/On a runnin’ iron passin’ into your hand
Six generations that depend on you/Gonna be some hard times
Gonna be a wreck or two

Verse 2:
When you fall down hard/And your life goes by
And you’re layin’ on a rock/Lookin’ through the sky
With a son of your own/Fightin’ back his tears
Holdin’ onto your hand/Will you have no fear
For the life you’ve lived/Ridin’ tall and true
On the sacred land/That the Lord gave you
Can you take what comes boy/Can you pass it on
Can you be who you are son/And let the world move on

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
It ain’t so much he’s livin’ right as he’s got more to do
Hey Little Isaac he depends on you

Final Chorus

Verse 1
It’s a long way from Saddleback to Sunset Boulevard
And the bright lights of the city hide the stars
And there’s always somethin’ pressin’ you; someone you need to call
But Daddy I’d give anything to be there where you are

Chorus
In Colorado
It doesn’t seem like long ago
I rode beside you
And Daddy I love you
Now California
The weather’s so much warmer
But tonight I miss you
And Daddy I love you
I’m down here on top of the world
But Daddy I am still your little cowgirl

Verse 2
You’re a long way from the little girl that you once used to be
But you always said my dreams could all come true
I always hoped that Steamboat Springs had all you’d ever need
Now after all this time I feel there’s more for me to do

Repeat Chorus
Bridge
City lights
Hollywood Hills
You are there
But my heart is still
Final Chorus

Verse 1:
One foot in front of the other
One day at a time
Another round of chemo comin’
It gets to be a grind
The sun’s out
The springtime’s comin’
He wants to go outside
He may never walk again
But he will ride…
A little sorrel mare called Jessie
A long way from home
The little boy she used to carry
Has left her all alone
The sun’s high
Over Franklin Canyon
She wants to go outside
He may never walk again
But he will ride…

Chorus:
And they are two hearts in need of somethin’
That only they can provide
A cowhorse and her little cowboy
Waitin’ to reunite
The will to live
The will to ride
It’s a powerful force
There’s nothin’ in this life worth doin’
That you can’t do on a horse

Verse 2:
I don’t have a crystal ball
I’m not a PhD
You won’t get to be rich and famous
Hangin’ around with me
But I believe that
God’s a cowboy
And that He understands
A little boy so sick and tired
Needs a special friend

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3:
Stem cells and radiation
Another second chance
They say that life is that which happens
While makin’ other plans
My story has a happy ending
For all the tears we’ve cried
You don’t have to walk my friend
To be able to ride

Final Chorus

Verse 1:
Show me the ways of horsemen
Rope halter, snaffle, and bosal
Screw me down tight on the buckers
I wanna ride this colt through hell
Tell me the Roughrider’s secrets
How to 9-1-1 your latigo
To cross her feet in a tussle
When to hang on when to let go

Chorus:
You are a modern contradiction
You hold to the ways of yesterday
You wooly buckaroo
I wish I was you
You say all there is to say
With a whisper

Verse 2:
Soft-mouthed and always lookin’ for you
I see obedience in her eye
Her ears are ever-leanin’ forward
Between the desert and the sky
With a fancy wild-rag ’round your neck
Jingle-bobs are singin’ outta tune
Just you and her until the sun sets
Here upon the far Owyhee moon

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3:
Show me the ways of horsemen
Rope halter,snaffle, and bosal
Teach me the Roughrider’s secrets
I wanna ride this colt through hell

Verse 1:
Where the high meets the lonesome with my face into the wind
Lookin’ out across the canyon I remember what has been
In the sky like the eagle on the mountain like the deer
When I’m longing for freedom I can always find it here

Chorus:
And the distant thunder echoes
Like the troubles in my soul
We turn tail to the wind
And listen to it roll

Verse 2:
Where the high meets the lonesome I am looking in the mirror
And my sins and my burdens wash away when I am here
In the sky God is watching o’er the mountain where I stand
It is here we can commune and I know He understands

Chorus 2:
And when the distant thunder echoes
Through the canyons of my soul
I can feel His sweet embrace
And we listen to it roll

Verse 3:
Where the high meets the lonesome I look the devil in the eye
He is deep in the canyon; he is always standing by
But I fly like the eagle and I run like the deer
Where the high meets the lonesome he can never touch me here

Verse 1:
Damned old cowboy you’re broken again
Just a quiver and a change on the wind
And you’re pullin’ out leather and cussin’ in vain
Tryin’ to stand through the pain
Damned old buckskin all full of the fire
She’s like moonlight aglow on the wire
Soft in the round corral gentle and light
Then she decides to fight

Chorus:
And all that you are comes down to horses
Old childhood dreams and unexplained forces
Sometimes you’re the bottle that holds lightin’ bolts
But you’ll be a dead man if you don’t quite ridin’ them colts

Verse 2:
One good woman and two little boys
Still its horses that bring you true joy
Now you’re down on your back again perkeset high
Stoned like the look in your eye

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
Man can you feel that burn in your shoulder
When will you realize that you’re gettin’ older

Final Chorus

Verse 1:
Listen up
I’ve rode this mountain seventy years I’ve been alive
Choked on rocks and rattlesnakes a wonder I’ve survived
Don’t think I haven’t had a bronc like you try me
Ev’rytime he thinks a monster is hidin’ ’round a tree

Chorus 1:
Well the monster’s on your back son better try to understand
The cowboy that you’re fightin’ now was born to this here land
One day you’ll earn your scars and all the fearlessness you lack
Don’t worry ’bout the things that you can’t see
The monster’s on your back

Verse 2:
Now hear this
I’ve rode through howlin’ hell and wind and snow and rain
I am oblivious to misery and pain
That iron in your gizzard it will never go away
So long as you got work to do today

Chorus 2:
And there’s a monster on your back son get your guts up off the trail
We got a job to do I promise we won’t fail
One day you’ll earn your scars and all the fearlessness you lack
Don’t worry ’bout the that ornery Charlais bull
The monster’s on your back

Bridge:
You think that if you buck me off that I won’t get back on
You could stomp me in the ground and I’ll be gone
You think that this old man ain’t tough like he once used to be
Try me one more time and you will see

Final Chorus:
There’s a monster on your back son better start to understand
The cowboy that you’re fightin’ now was born to this here land
One day you’ll earn your scars and all the fearlessness you lack
‘Til then you’re gonna have to trust in me
The monster’s on your back

Verse 1:
It’s hard to imagine at this very place and time
But there are better days ahead
I’ll sing you a song to try to ease your troubled mind
Take you far from this hospital bed
When September comes again this will all be far behind you
And nothin’ out there to remind you

Chorus:
And we’ll saddle up in the golden sun
With miles to ride before the day is done
We’ll bring your Mommy but you won’t need her
We’ll shoot a badger in the Carter Cedars

Verse 2:
It’s hard to believe all of the hell that you have seen
All of the pain you have endured
You’re probably the toughest little boy there’s ever been
You are an army with the Lord
But when September comes again I’m gonna take you by the hand
Do all the things that we have planned

Chorus:
And we’ll saddle up in the golden sun
We’ll trade your pain in on a whole lot of fun
Good things happen to the true believers
We’ll shoot a badger in the Carter Cedars

Bridge:
You been my little shadow since the day you said my name
Until you’re well I’ll be the same

Verse 3:
I’ve never loved someone the way that I love you
I see the world straight through your eyes
I’ll never hurt again the way I’ve hurt for you
I’ll never understand just why
Though September is a long way down this dark and dusty road
And you’ve got such a heavy load

Chorus:
We’ll saddle up in the golden sun
And ride side by side though we will be as one
Mother Nature can be kind if that’s how you treat her
We’ll shoot a badger in the Carter Cedars
We’ll skin a badger in the Carter Cedars

Verse 1:
Of all of my dreams
The one that means the most to me
In a hospital bed
Scared half to death
And all of my life
Goes dark as the night and I finally see
What matters the most
I hold him up close
All of my fears
Runnin’ like tears from the sides of my eyes
He asks, “Daddy what’s wrong?
You been cryin’ so long.”
But all I can say
Is buddy lets lay right here for a while
But I’m dyin’ inside
With nowhere to hide

Chorus:
But the Power of Prayer
Is stronger than fear
It’s deeper than love
Its message is clear
When all hope is lost
And you believe you can’t live any longer
The Power of Prayer is stronger.

Verse 2:
He looks in my eye
I’m not gonna lie to you this isn’t good
Won’t know ’til we’re through
How much we can do
We’ve seen this before
And there’s nothin’ more that I want for your son
Than to keep him alive
But sir my hands are tied

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
When the question is burning inside of your soul like a light through the dark
Let the answer bring peace to your mind with a voice that you hear in your heart
In your heart

Final Chorus

Then meet me in McCall
And make it early fall
Bring a good horse and a rifle and that’s all
We’ll ride the golden aspen trail
‘Neath timber dark and tall
So meet me in McCall
In the early fall

Thought I heard your voice
Out on the oak brush rim
Cold rush upon my face
But it was just the wind
And a bugle down the draw
From somewhere in the pines
Like twenty years ago
Branded on my mind

Somewhere above McCall
And it was early fall
Good horses and our rifles and that’s all
We rode the golden aspen trail
‘Neath timber dark and tall
Somewhere above McCall
In the early fall

And I wish I could disappear
Every now and then
Not a day goes by that I don’t wish you were here
So I could tell you once again

To meet me in McCall
And make it early fall
Bring a good horse and a rifle and that’s all
We’ll ride the golden aspen trail
‘Neath timber dark and tall
So meet me in McCall
In the early fall
Meet me in McCall

But baby caffeine, caffeine
Pour me a cup of that gasoline
Caffeine, caffeine
Tonight I’m flyin’ lean and mean
And it’s killin’ me, savin’ me, or somewhere in between
But I’m like a machine
On caffeine

When the white lines start to fade
My eyes get heavy as lead
And it feels like a hundred days
Since I last saw my bed
I’m lookin’ for that neon sign like an angel in the night
To help me lose these old highway blues
‘Til the mornin’ light

It’s caffeine, caffeine
Pour me a cup of that gasoline
Caffeine, caffeine
Tonight I’m flyin’ lean and mean
And its killin’ me, savin’ me, or somewhere in between
But I’m like a machine
On caffeine

Take it hot, take it cold
Swallow it in a pill
I’ll be back out on the road
Just as soon as I get my fill

Caffeine, caffeine
Pour me a cup of that gasoline
Caffeine, caffeine
Tonight I’m flyin’ lean and mean
And its killin’ me, savin’ me, or somewhere in between
But I’m like a machine
I’m flyin’ lean and mean, baby
I’m like a machine
On caffeine

Now a hundred years gone by you still can see their sign
Way out on the Boulder Road that leads down to the old mine
I came for the first time when I was just sixteen
Now twenty years have passed and I’m still just a refugee

‘Cause I feel somethin’ when I ride that rocky trail
I hear voices in the tall dark pines
And I don’t feel nothin’ when I drive these city streets
So I think I’ll leave this city behind
And head for the onyx mine

Father told the story about drivin’ that old road
In a 1941 Ford the day after it snowed
A downed-log through the fender and a busted-out headlamp
By the early mornin’ light they made it to the old mine camp

When my world turns dark and cold and the gold in life don’t shine
I gather up my family and we head up to the old mine
We sit around a campfire and look up at the full white moon
And listen to the coyote howl an old ghost miner’s tune

‘Cause I feel somethin’ when I ride that rocky trail
I hear voices in the tall dark pines
And I don’t feel nothin’ when I drive these city streets
So I think I’ll leave this city behind
And head for the onyx mine
For the onyx mine

And they left him young
In a California rush
He was livin’ in the mesquite brush
When a rancher took him in
And he learned how to ride
With a lasso in his hand
He rode for the Leventhal brand
In the cold West Kansas wind

But the world it can be hard on a Cherokee’s son
Learnin’ how the west was lost and won

And Buffalo Brogan
Hard as the Gyp Hill stone
You were born to ride alone
And your name will carry well
Just a castaway
‘Til Mother Nature took you in
There’s a lesson that I spin in the story that I tell

Just a rancher’s daughter
Pretty as a full white moon
Born with a silver spoon
Tom Leventhal’s only girl
And she fell in love
With that half-blood Cherokee hand
Half devil and half man
They fit together like a hand in a glove

Soft silhouette
Against a gold sun goin’ down
Of her legs through a cotton gown
It took him by surprise
He stood down off his mount
And he took her by the hand
And they fell to the Gyp Hill sand
‘Neath the troubled Kansas skies

And love was a taste he’d never known
Sweet as any loop he’d ever thrown

And Buffalo Brogan
Hard as the Gyp Hill stone
Got tired of bein’ alone
Livin’ in a cold dark shell
Got cast in her arms
And though he knew it was a sin
There’s a lesson that I spin in the story that I tell
She told her Mama ’bout the baby growin’ inside
She told Old Brogan he should run away and hide
But he said I love you and I’ll stay and make my stand
‘Cause I have been true to your Daddy and his brand

But the world it is so hard on a Cherokee’s son
Learnin’ how the west was lost and won

Now there’s a wanted sign
For a man named Buffalo
Most everywhere you go
From here to Oklahome
They say he pulled a knife
In a fight with Leventhal
He had his back up against a wall
Now he wanders all alone

And there’s a baby boy
With his Daddy’s cold dark eyes
Troubled as the Kansas skies
Tight against her breast
He’s the heir to the brand
And one day he’ll learn to ride
With his Mama by his side
The girl with no regrets

But the world it is so hard on a Cherokee’s son
Learnin’ how the west was lost and won

And Buffalo Brogan
Hard as the Gyp Hill stone
You were born to ride alone
And your name will carry well
You’re just a castaway
I pray Mother Nature takes you in
There’s a lesson that I spin in the story that I tell

Indian Summer days runnin’ from school
A green-eyed angel and a reckless fool
The taste of her lips and the sun on her cheeks
Were sweet as my memories of Sweetwater Beach

But I can’t go back and I can’t be still
I loved her then and I always will
I close my eyes and it’s just out of reach
Like the love we made on Sweetwater Beach

When you’re seventeen you’ve got nothin’ to lose
Just freedom to run and freedom to choose
And lessons that only love can teach
Siftin’ like sand on Sweetwater Beach

But I can’t go back and I can’t be still
I loved her then and I always will
I close my eyes and it’s just out of reach
Like the love we made on Sweetwater Beach

Innocence drifted on the soft warm breeze
Now it’s just a memory

There’s a blue lake shinin’ in my dreams tonight
Green eyes sparkle in the gold moonlight
And two young lovers run wild and free
Where the whitecaps break on Sweetwater Beach

But I can’t go back and I can’t be still
I loved her then and I always will
I close my eyes and it’s just out of reach
Like the love that we made on Sweetwater Beach
The love we made on Sweetwater Beach
Sweetwater Beach
Sweetwater Beach
Sweetwater Beach
Sweetwater Beach

There’s a Greyhound Station with a midnight ride
That’d take him back home before dawn
And he could pick up that phone and hear her voice on the line
And like a flash of wild lightnin’ be gone
But another bus leaves for Laredo at sunrise
As he fights back the tears fallin’ down from his blue eyes
He whispers her name and a prayer to get through
‘Cause he just don’t know what to do

It’s a hundred year story of struggle and strife
It’s the pain and the glory of every cowboy’s life
When there’s just enough money to ride or go home
You fall down for good or you get back on

There’s a chute flyin’ open down in Laredo Texas
The crowd comes alive with the rush
There’s a cowboy spinnin’ and a Brahma-cross buckin’
He’s ridin’ all out or bust
He’s fightin’ and spurrin’
They’re twistin’ and turnin’
And inside the fire it just keeps on burnin’
And he calls when it’s over to say I love you
But a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do

And I’ve got these sheep and cattle
They don’t seem like all that much
Ten thousand dusty acres of
That old gray-brown oak brush

It eats your chaps and saddle
And your tapaderos too
Puts a red burn on your face and hide
And scuff marks in your boots
It’s porcupines and falcons
And a brand new mule deer fawn
It was here before the day I came
It’ll be here when I’m gone

And these sheep and wild damn cattle
Don’t seem like all that much
For forty years of fightin’ through
That old gray-brown oak brush

But I don’t know where I’d be if I wasn’t here right now
A farmer in a valley cussin’ at my plow
Or in some damned old city starin’ at the wall
Up in a high rise building wishin’ it would fall
And I know my time’s a comin’
‘Though I ain’t in any rush
They’ll plant my bones six feet below
That old gray-brown oak brush
They’ll plant my bones six feet below
That old gray-brown oak brush

I forgot her birthday
And our anniversary
I spent all of our money
Buyin’ stuff for me
I told her I was sorry
But what could I say
She loves me anyway

Is it my cowboy charm
The muscles in my arm
Or the way that I look in my BVDs
Is it the jokes I tell
The way I scream and I yell
When she tries to watch one of her DVDs
Like Pretty Woman or Notting Hill

I didn’t make the bed
Left the seat up on the john
I drank all of the OJ
And the Lucky Charms are all gone
Last night I fell asleep
I thought I heard her say
I love you anyway
Honey I love you anyway

My partner William Pogue
He fell that day with me
A straight and honest lawman
As fair as he could be
His good name put on trial
We watched in disbelief
As the system we relied on
Set a killer all but free

But with every freedom comes
An even greater cost
The answer seldom easy
The question sometimes lost
For though our lives were shortened
Our work was not in vain
And given one more chance
I’d wear that badge again

Now many years gone by
Our families carry on
Though our lives have been lost
Our legacy grows strong
And every man must answer
For the things that he has done
We find our peace in knowing
The judgment day shall come

Convictions forged in campfires
For the work we live and breathe
Let the burden be to those
Who live farther on than me
The Owyhees to the Sawtooths
Let the Boise run its miles
And let our memory’s stand
For all that there lives wild…

For with every freedom comes
An even greater cost
The answer seldom easy
The question sometimes lost
For though our lives were shortened
Our work was not in vain
And given one more chance
I’d wear that badge again

Given one more chance
I’d wear that badge again

Down at the Casa Blanca
Cold Blue Hawaiians by the pool
Down at the Casa Blanca
Lovin’ and laughin’ like a fool
Baby all I really need
Is you lyin’ next to me
Down at the Casa Blanca
That’s where I want to be

Real life’s so unromantic
And the weather’s so damn cold
We run around here like we’re frantic
Doin’ only what we’re told
I kiss you goodbye in the mornin’
I’ll see you when the sun goes down
Let them take this as their warnin’
Find us at the lost and found

Down at the Casa Blanca
It’s a desert paradise
Down at the Casa Blanca
Pour our troubles over ice
Beneath the Virgin River sun
Just like two lovers on the run
Down at the Casa Blanca
I think it’s time we have some fun

Down at the Casa Blanca
Cold Blue Hawaiians by the pool
Down at the Casa Blanca
Lovin’ and laughin’ like a fool
‘Cause baby all I’ll ever need
Is that one sweet memory
Down at the Casa Blanca
That’s where I want to be
Down at the Casa Blanca

‘Cause I’m in debt up to my nose
I make a lot of money but I don’t know where it goes
My friends they look at me and they think I’m doin’ fine
But I take my paycheck and send it on down the line
‘Cause I’m in debt
I’m only 29

Well I kiss my wife ev’ry mornin’ and I watch her drive away
And there ain’t no time for lovin’ when you got big bills to pay
But she sure looks sexy drivin’ in her luxury sedan
Just last night she told me she wants to have a baby again

Now we’re in debt up to my nose
I make a lot of money but I don’t know where it goes
My friends they look at me and they think I’m doin’ fine
But I take my paycheck and send it on down the line
‘Cause I’m in debt
I’m only 29

I think a lot of folks are livin’ just like me
Waitin’ for the day they can break free

From all this debt – it’s up to my nose
I make a lot of money but I don’t know where it goes
And my friends they look at me and they think I’m doin’ fine
But I take my paycheck and send it on down the line
‘Cause I’m in debt
I’m only 29
Yeah I’m in debt
I think I’m fallin’ behind

When all the girls in rodeo town
Heard that he had fallen down
You could almost hear the sound
Of them fallin’ to their knees
The way night falls through the trees

There was a full moon shinin’ bright
Down at the old fairground one night
Breakin’ out of chute #1 was that old gray line-back dun
The only bronc that Jeremiah never won

You couldn’t hear a single breath
Eight seconds was all he had left
The one that threw him to his death
Saw the crowd one more time

And I was only nine years old
Still I shivered in that cold
For I knew that he had sold his soul
And left the rest of us behind
Like beggars in the welfare line

Then they turned out all the lights
Down at the old fairground that night
The gate shut like the bullet of a gun
On that old gray line-back dun
The only bronc that Jeremiah never won

There were tears of joy and pain
They’d never see that bronc again
They’d never see the boy he killed
Though I believe he’s ridin’ still

And where that old gray dun is now
Nobody ever talks about
But I think about him when they turn me out
And my spurs sink in again
When I ride I ride for him

When there’s a full moon shinin’ bright
And it hits the old fairground just right
Breakin’ out of chute #1
It’s Jeremiah and that old gray dun
The only bronc he never won

I’ve seen seventy-one years through an old trail hosses’ ears
And I’ll tell you son that’s livin’ well
And I’ll lead my pack string
Straight through the gaping jaws of hell

Take you to the badlands down in South Dakoteo
And I’ll tell you ’bout the good old days of the rodeo
Or take you to the grand land north west of Codyo
Leave behind your cell phone and your radio

‘Cause there’s nothin’ to fear
God lives up here
And I’ll tell you son He’s livin’ well
Leadin’ me and my pack string
Straight through the gaping jaws of hell

Tell me I got cancer
Here’s your answer
Black cowboy coffee ’round the fire
This old mustang runs on pure desire

I’ve seen seventy-one years through an old trail hosses’ ears
And I’ll tell you son that’s livin’ well
And I’ll lead my pack string
Straight through the gaping jaws of hell
Yeah I’ll lead my pack string
Straight through the gaping jaws of hell

Son this is where you separate
The cowboys from the men
Hard times have come before
And they’re gonna come again
So you can turn that horse and ride back home
And wait until it ends
Or just grit your teeth, bow your head
And ride into the wind

He said it’s Man and Mother Nature
She tells us who we are
The strength to keep on ridin’
It’s a never-ending war
And the right thing’s never easy
And the good don’t always win
But it’s the memories of days like this
That you cherish in the end

It’s times like these you separate
The cowboys from the men
Hard times have come before
And they’re gonna come again
So you can turn that horse and ride back home
And wait until it ends
Or just grit your teeth, bow your head
And ride into the wind

And as I watched him ride away
Headlong into the storm
I think I finally figured out what we were ridin’ for
So I turned up my own collar
Pushed down my hat and then
I took a deep seat in my saddle
And spurred on into the wind

It’s times like these you separate
The cowboys from the men
Hard times have come before
And they’re gonna come again
So you can turn that horse and ride back home
And wait until it ends
Or just grit your teeth, bow your head
And ride into the wind

Like a baby when he smiles
For the first time in his life
Cradled gently in the arms
Of my beautiful wife
Growin’ stronger by the day
And the change that every morning brings
He is here but for a while
To learn to love the simple things

And it’s so easy to lose track
And never take the time to see
All the simple things we have
Are gifts from God for you and me

Like the memories we share
Years and miles cannot erase
Like the sound of your sweet voice
Like the smile on your face
Like the promise of tomorrow
In a land where freedom rings
We are here but for a while
To learn to love the simple things
Learn to love the simple things

In a one-ton Ford
In a cloud of dust
Down the gravel road
Headin’ straight for us
We’re by the home corral
In the mornin’ sun
We’ll all be in love
Before the day is done

‘Cause steppin’ down that rail
In her tight blue jeans
A silver Stetson hat
And her well-worn chinks
She throws the gate out wide
On a Featherlite
Brings a roan horse down
And pulls the cinch up tight

She can rope and ride
A little better than me
She sure is a sight
For a cowboy to see
And she don’t come down
Until the hard work’s through
But take it from me don’t ask to see
The buckaroo tattoo

She’s a daddy’s girl
And she really don’t care
That he’s an oil tycoon
A multi-millionaire
‘Cause she’ll be right on time
When it’s time to brand
When it’s time to prove
That a girl can make a hand

She’d never give her heart
To some rodeo wrangler
Or the college boys
That keep tryin’ to change her
‘Cause she’s in love with her horse
And her cow dog too
And take it from me don’t ask to see
The buckaroo tattoo

I really don’t know where
But it’s gotta be there
Around the back of her somethin’
Around the side of her somethin’ else somewhere
Some say it’s a rumor
But I’m bettin’ it’s true
And take it from me don’t ask to see
The buckaroo tattoo

You didn’t hear it from me don’t ask to see
The buckaroo tattoo

A hundred thousand smokin' cars
Ev'ry single day
All bumper to bumper
Better build another highway
Right through the wetlands
And the farmland way out west
Then take a dagger
Sink it in my chest
And call it

The Legacy Highway
Right along the flyway
Right through the farmland and fields
Don't forget to tell the children about the way it used to be
When you take them for a ride down a road called Legacy

Well there ain't no way to stop
The sunrise or the wind
Changes and chances
They never come back again
Some will remember
Some will forget
Someday our children
Just might regret
We built that

Legacy Highway
Right along the flyway
Right through the farmland and fields
The children might wonder 'bout the way it used to be
When you take them for a ride down a road called Legacy

Don't forget to tell the children about the way it used to be
When you take them for a ride down a road called Legacy

Talk about the weather
And the prices of cattle
Your wife’s worthless brother
And his brand new saddle

Talk about women
The heart-breakin’ kind
And lay it all on the table
Get it off your mind

Down at the Pickup Truck Café
We drink coffee here every day
We sit and talk the morning away
Down at the Pickup Truck Café

‘Cross the county line
And out on the very edge of town
You’ll never see the sign
Facin’ down on the ground

The world’s movin’ on
The mornin’ radio
Twenty years long gone
Nobody knows where they go

Down at the Pickup Truck Café
We drink coffee here every day
We sit and talk the morning away
Down at the Pickup Truck Café

It don’t matter what you wear
It don’t matter who you are
Cuz most things they don’t care
But don’t you dare drive a car

Down to the Pickup Truck Café
We drink coffee here every day
We sit and watch the time just fade away
Down at the Pickup Truck Café

I never was good at goodbye
I couldn’t stand to see her cry
Lookin’ out at the river all alone
Cody stood behind me like a stone

While she said goodbye to the last of the red rock riders
She said you’ll never see the mornin’ sun
One last ride into the sunset
One last midnight run

We followed tracks down through the canyon
To two lame horses they’d abandoned
The river shinin’ ‘neath that ghost-white Texas moon
I could feel the gunfight
Knew it was comin’ soon

And I said a prayer for the last of the red rock riders
For we might never see the mornin’ sun
One last ride into the sunset
One last midnight run

I felt the shot ring through the black
Cody fell when I looked back
In a silhouette against the silver midnight lightnin’
I pulled the trigger
And I stopped the fightin’

To say goodbye to the last of the red rock riders
I knew he’d never see the mornin’ sun
One last ride into the sunset
One last midnight run

I never was good at goodbye

The canyon road
Tall dark trees
The cabin glow
Smoke on the breeze

It’s a cold autumn night
Rain turns to snow
In the warm firelight
I’m watchin’ you glow

And I bought you a rose and a bottle of wine
There’s a picture of you only in my mind
You let down your hair and I’m lost in desire
When you dance like the fire

It’s dark outside
The shadows play
I’m feedin’ the flames
To chase the cold away

And I gave you the rose and a bottle of wine
A picture of us only in my mind
You let down your hair and I’m lost in desire
When you dance like the fire

We’re curled up tight
And the wind sings its song
In a quiet so deep
In a feelin’ so strong
We’re two lovers lost in each other
These hours before the dawn

And you loved the rose
And we drank the wine
There’s a picture of you always in my mind
I run my hands through your hair and I’m lost in desire
When you dance like the fire

Dance like the fire

Rode down Wolf Creek pass
In the white autumn lightnin’
October twenty-third
Nineteen thirty-five
I was one mounted rider
I was ridin’ alone
On a gray line-back dun
He was the color of stone

On a company saddle
On a company horse
I give him the name
For Chief Joseph Nez Perce
And down Davenport Canyon
Pushin’ seventeen head
I swore to the foreman
They’d come back alive

That night in the canyon
Was windy and black
Except for the lightnin’
That cursed through the sky
The cattle wild and restless
I fought at my fear
Swore to finish the job
Only Pierce could hear

We came to the rocks
And it was too dark to see
The storm flashed around me
Through the cold, pourin’ rain
And the cattle got scattered
Where the cedars hung low
I prayed they would gather
In the canyon below

So I just closed my eyes
And waited to die
In a white flash of light
Down the wet canyon wall
I gave Pierce the reins
And he found us a trail
When we came to the bottom
I took rein once again

Gathered the cattle
And trailed them to town

Now I’m 91 years
And ol’ Pierce is long gone
I’ve seen my last winter
I’ve sung my last song
Still remember the ranges
Still remember the sky
Still remember the darkness
Still see Pierce’s eye

And he’ll come for me
This dark rainy night
Through the white autumn lightnin’
We’ll ride once again

Where the oil road meets the gravel
The grass is turnin’ green
It’s a far cry from the city
And the places I’ve just been
Comin’ up the home road
I see a front yard full of toys
A pretty blonde-haired Mama
And a handsome little boy

And there’s my old Chevy
All covered up in dust
Sittin’ in the driveway
Waitin’ there for us
To load up our horses in the twilight before dawn
You know I always miss you while I’m gone

We’ll ride out through Wyomin’
Cross the Great Divide
And the highway’s not so lonesome
When you’re sittin’ by my side
And we’ll find some misty mountain
And a dusty gravel road
Pull out off the highway
And finally unload

And we’ll leave my old Chevy
All covered up in dust
Sittin’ in the tall grass
Awaitin’ there for us
Shinin’ in the shadows
The whole afternoon long
And you can say “we’ll miss you while we’re gone”

A little part of me that I can pass along to you
Like the aspen and the sagebrush and the sky of endless blue
And a dusty worn-out pickup truck
The day you turn sixteen
And a prayer you’ll understand what it means

To drive my old Chevy
All covered up in dust
Seldom in the driveway
Showin’ a little rust
But it’ll still haul all your troubles
Down whatever road you’re on
And son I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone
But next time we don’t have to ride alone

There’s a brand new gold
Palomino colt
Knee-high in the Colorado grass
And a note by the bed
He reads it again
‘Cause it all happened way too fast
Now he’s drivin’ around
Lookin’ all over town
For her ’66 hardtop Mustang
But her cell phone keeps ringin’
Like the dreams he’s been dreamin’
And it looks like it just might rain

And she’s drivin’ like lightnin’ down I-25
She’s tired of fightin’ and she’s gettin’ restless
She’s leavin’ him sleepin’ while she’s still alive
And by sundown she’ll be back in Texas

He called from the road
From the last rodeo
And said you don’t make it easy on me
To listen to you cry
And try to answer why
I’m the way I just have to be
So she hung up the phone
And packed all her things
In the back of that ’66 Ford
When he came home that night
She turned out the light
And said it won’t be goodnight anymore

‘Cause she’s drivin’ like lightnin’ down I-25
She’s tired of fightin’ and she’s gettin’ restless
So she’s leavin’ him sleepin’ while she’s still alive
And by sundown she’ll be back in Texas

He didn’t really think
She meant what she said
As he drifted off to sleep

Now the sun’s gone around
On that front range town
It’s startin’ to settle in
He reads it again
In the note by the bed
She won’t ever be back again

‘Cause she’s drivin’ like lightnin’ down I-25
She’s tired of fightin’ and she’s way past restless
She’s leavin’ me sleepin’ while she’s still alive
And by sundown she’ll be back in Texas

Lock the world outside the door
We don't need it anymore
Make it all just go away
Until some cold gray rainy day

You and I we are the same
Both victims of the game
But that's all part of the past
And tonight will go so fast

Light the candle by the bed
Come and rest your weary head
Outside the night wind cries
I see the golden candlelight
In the mirror of your eyes

In the mirror of your eyes
There's a truth that never lies
And I get lost inside the love
And I can never get enough

Dancing on the bedroom walls
Risin' up until it falls
I feel you breathe and hear your sighs
I see the dying candlelight
In the mirror of your eyes

And mornin's comin' all too fast
Gotta make these moments last
I just can't say goodbye
To the mirror of your eyes

To the mirror of your eyes

Mirror of your eyes

I got bucked off down in Prescott
And I’ve been drivin’ half the night
Down this long and lonesome highway
It seems there ain’t no end in sight
I didn’t make the short-go
But if I make it to Cheyenne
There’ll be another bronc to ride
And I just might have a chance
If I keep

One hand in the riggin’
And one hand on the wheel
No matter how far down the road I go
There’s always one more rodeo
She’d like for me to settle down
But long as I’m still livin’
I’ll keep one hand on the wheel
And one hand in the riggin’

What it is that keeps me goin’
Sometimes I just don’t know
For the years that I’ve spent ridin’
I don’t have much to show
While she waits all alone
Hopin’ I’ll come back to stay
But there’s always one more mile to drive
Down another lonely highway
And I keep

One hand in the riggin’
One hand on the wheel
No matter how far down the road I go
There’s always one more rodeo
She’d like for me to settle down
Long as I’m still livin’
I’ll keep one hand on the wheel
And one hand in the riggin’

One hand on the wheel
And one hand in the riggin’

From the cold Alberta plain
You’re a drifter passin’ through
I know you’ll be back again
You disappear into the blue
I think I’m a lot like you

But just a dreamer on the ground
Only wishin’ I could fly
How I long to hear the sound
Of your wings upon the sky
Your hello and your goodbye

Ooahh
Ooahh
Ooohhh
Ooahh
Ooahh
Ooaye
I wish that I could fly

Will you reach the desert shore
Or the California coast
Of all the places that you soar
Do you love Canada the most
Or are you just another ghost

Ooahh
Ooahh
Ooohhh
Ooahh
Ooahh
Ooaye
I wish that I could fly

And is there somethin’ you are searchin’ for
The love you lost along the way
A southern wind down in old Mexico
A golden stubblefield of hay
For your safe return I pray

Ooahh
Ooahh
Ooohhh
Ooahh
Ooahh
Ooaye
See you in the April sky

Little John the hobo taught me how to ride the rail
As he told me of the days he spent wranglin’ on the trail
From the canyons of north Texas to the rail yards on the plain
I learned half the his’try of the west there on that train

And Little John he told me ’bout the rivers he did cross
‘Bout ridin’ through the dust storms on the back of his old hoss
‘Bout bandit pistoleros and the cattle that they stole
And the hundred mile ride to the desert water hole

As we rode out to Memphis lookin’ for a better life
He told me ’bout the past while I thought about my wife
And the miles and years between us seemed like only yesterday
As Little John the hobo taught me how to run away

Little John drank whiskey through the night as we did ride
He said it chased the demons from the canyons deep inside
And Little John he told me that the whiskey eased the pain
So Little John drank whiskey I just drank the rain

While we rode out to Memphis lookin’ for a better life
He thought about the past while I told him ’bout my wife
And the miles and years between us seemed like only yesterday
As Little John the hobo taught me how to run away

When we finally rode into the yard at Tennessee
I looked up at Little John and he looked down at me
He said that he was headed for a town called New Orleans
Said somethin’ ’bout a daughter that he hadn’t ever seen

So we parted ways in Memphis lookin’ for a better life
He’s goin’ to find his past I’m goin’ back home to my wife
For I never will forget him walkin’ down that street alone
Little John the hobo taught me how to go back home
Little John the hobo taught me how to go back home

Out on Highway 84
Forty miles outside of town
Down the old gravel road
You can hear the lonely sound
Of buffalo soldiers fallin’ down

Some who try to run away
Some run away to try to hide
Some are runnin’ from the law
Law don’t ever come inside
Lookin’ for the children of the night

And I sing for the lonely and forgotten
The wounded hearts that need a song the most
And the buffalo soldiers who fought and died
Outside of that old Lost River outpost

The lonely desert buckaroos
They ask for the Little Wrangler Joe
Soldiers like gospel and the blues
Songs from the war that I don’t know
Places in the heart that I don’t go

And the good old boys just out of prison
They like songs about the train
But when I sing a song about their mamas
You know I can feel their pain
Sometimes the tears fall like rain

And I sing for the lonely and forgotten
The wounded hearts that need a song the most
And the buffalo soldiers who fought and died
Outside of that old Lost River outpost

And the wind can make you crazy
Blowin’ through the cracks in the walls
Sounds like the chorus of a thousand demons
Trapped here inside these halls
Buffalo soldiers one and all

So sing for the lonely and forgotten
Sing for the hearts that need it most
And the buffalo soldiers who fought and died
Outside of that old Lost River outpost

And the buffalo soldiers who fought and died
Outside of that old Lost River outpost

Bald eagles
And the grizzly bear
Blue heron
Clean air
And open gates
On open ranges
One and all
Endangered

And the gray wolf
And the whooping crane
Atlantic salmon
All the same
All we have done
They still remain
In a word
Endangered

Reaching out for someone
And holdin’ on to nothin’
In a world
Torn by changes
Like me
Endangered

The white tiger
And the blue whale
The redwood forest
We cannot fail
We must fight
To sustain them
For we may all be
Endangered

Reachin’ out for someone
And holdin’ on to nothin’
In a world
Torn by changes
Like love
Endangered

And we have come
This far alone
Now we must find
A way to go on
We fell in love
We were perfect strangers
Now here we are
Endangered

Reachin’ out for someone
And holdin’ on to nothin’
In a world
Torn by changes
You and I
Endangered

Endangered

The blue autumn sky is turnin’ colder by the day
Its time to get this roundup party underway
So buckle on your leggings get your saddle cinched up tight
For the roundup fire burns tonight

Cattle on the skyline
Cattle through the trees
Riders close behind them
And freedom on the breeze

This way of life is gettin’ older by the day
Its time to get this roundup party underway
So resin up your ropes and spur your pony quick and light
For the roundup fire burns tonight

I spent the summer waitin’ workin’ on the land
I’ll spend the winter waitin’ for the time to brand

And I’ll spend a lifetime
Ridin’ through the sage
Its burnin’ in my blood
There is no other way

You can call me crazy say whatever you will say
But its time to get this roundup party underway
So buckle on your leggings get your saddle cinched up tight
For the roundup fire burns tonight
Yeah the roundup fire burns tonight

I said goodbye to the state line of Wyoming
And four hundred miles of friends along the way
I know tomorrow I’ll wake up feelin’ lonesome
‘Cause there’s a part of me that’s wishin’ I could stay
From the sage of Cheyenne on up north to Cody
I’ve drifted like a rollin’ tumbleweed
And a thousand pair of eyes and smiles that know me
Are cryin’ every time I turn to leave

And though I’ve heard New Mexico is magical
Chicago town can make you fall in love again
You can keep your beaches in Hawaii
I’ll take the Wyoming Wind

Sometimes I dream of life out on the range
Pushin’ cattle ‘cross the Great Divide
And every time I smell that springtime sage
I get this wild feelin’ deep inside
And I long to be where I can see the mountains
Stretchin’ ‘cross that never-ending sky
Or standin’ on the banks along the mighty Bighorn River
Listenin’ to the water roll on by

And though I’ve heard the sun sets over California
The Smoky Mountains seem like an old friend
You can keep your dusty Texas plains
I’ll take the Wyoming wind

Can you hear that lonesome coyote howlin’
I think I know just how he feels

Because it’s down the road and far from here I wander
But I know I’ll be comin’ back again
‘Cause all I am and all I ever hope to be
Is somewhere in that Wyoming wind
Somewhere in that Wyoming wind

I smell it a little bit
In the air tonight
I feel it a little bit on the wind
I turn my collar up
For the evenin’ ride
Sad to see the summer’s gone again

CHORUS:
But tonight it’s more than autumn
Chillin’ in my blood
And tonight it’s more than summer
Goin’ down and gettin’ gone
For tonight I feel a loneliness
Deeper than the mud
And I feel the fall comin’ on

There wasn’t anything different
In the way she said goodbye
But it was somethin’ missin’ in her kiss
Somethin’ turned cold
When she looked me in the eye
And I shivered like an aspen in the whisper of the wind

CHORUS

And I could fight like a warm wind blowin’ on the breeze
Driftin’ like our summer memories
But a cold rain starts a blizzard that goes blowin’ through the leaves
That keep fallin’ like me

So I’ll keep my eye
To the western sky
Try to find shelter from the rain
And hope that she believes
That I believe her when she lies
Make my getaway before the pain rushes in

CHORUS

And I feel the fall comin’ on
And I feel the fall comin’ on

Muddy boots and slammin’ chutes
Lyin’ in the dust of old Cheyenne
Just another day
Gettin’ on and gettin’ gone
He’s gonna make the next go-round any way he can
He’s sure it’s gonna pay

And though he plays an old guitar
And he writes a song or two
He don’t think he’s Johnny Cash and he don’t want you to
He’s just a workin’ man
Doin’ the best he can

CHORUS:
And we gotta hold it on the road
‘Cause these old hills are gettin’ higher
We gotta hold it on the road
‘Cause these old eyes are gettin’ tired
So saddle up it’s time to go
Man we just keep gettin’ older
Just another rodeo
Just another cowboy show
We gotta hold it on the road

I write country songs about the rights and wrongs
And the broken hearts healin’ up on the old dance floor
In three-quarter time
Swingin’ doors and sawdust floors
And every night’s the same as the one before
I never save a dime

And though I love the rodeo
And my cowboy hat and boots
I don’t think I’m Casey Tibbs and I don’t want you to
I’m just a workin’ man
Doin’ the best I can

CHORUS

Just another rodeo
Just another cowboy show
We gotta hold it on the road

Where the water is clear as a river runnin’ down from heaven
And the air is pure as a midnight sky
And the moonbeams dance like a gypsy woman to the music
Through the timber swayin’ as the wind goes by

There’s a part of me that might stay here forever
But I must follow this voice inside my heart
And I don’t know how but I know I was born to wander
I follow that one bright shinin’ star

Down a highway callin’ like a dancin’ gypsy girl
To another corner of the world
I find another corner of the world

It’s a buckaroo spirit it’s the feelin’ of forever
To go fadin’ into that distant blue
And once you hear it you know you can turn back never
‘Cause this road becomes a part of you

If I roam too far know that I’ll love you forever
I leave a little piece of my heart
And I don’t know how but I know I was born to wander
I follow that one bright distant star

Down a highway callin’ like a dancin’ gypsy girl
To another corner of the world
I find another corner of the world

Well I can’t stay long ’cause this road rolls on forever
But I will always come back where you are
And I don’t know how but I know I was born to wander
I follow that one bright northern star

Down a highway callin’ like a dancin’ gypsy girl
To another corner of the world
I find another corner of the world
I find another corner of the world

Around the rim on Cottonwood
There stands a cedar shack
And a pole corral to pen a bronc
And a shed to hang your khack
Beneath the peak of lodgepoles
Between an aspen stand
Behind the crest of cedars
That stretch the broken land
Between the sage and the timber
Where cattle often hide
Where I ride to each December to curl up inside
And look up at the windy peaks
And feel the fire’s glow
Then trot out through the morning
‘Cross the dusted winter snow
Around the rim on Cottonwood
A brand new lion track
That dots a line up through the draw
And slowly circles back
Where somewhere in the bitter night
He drifted like a spirit
Beyond the realm of vision
Not I nor horse could hear it
But yet the proof that there he crept
Cut fresh into the snow
And still I shiver at the thought
Of where and why he goes
Around the rim on Cottonwood
Where deep the canyon cuts
Into the mountain’s very bowels
Its twisted winding guts
The frozen rivers down below
And warm springs on the hill
At minus seventeen and more
The water’s running still
And running deep are shadows now
For day does not stay long
Soon the full moon rises high
And I can hear the song of one lonely coyote
Singing farewell to the sun
Sending out the call that finally evening time has come
Around the rim on Cottonwood
My fire’s burning down
My cabin warm
My ride was good
My sleep is sweet and sound

‘Tis the age of the educated cowboy
Though it ain’t the wage of an educated man
And you can change Cowography a thousand ways
But you can never change this jagged land

‘Tis the place where the past and the future collide
Computers weigh the heifer in the pen
But the squeakin’ of the leather beneath me as I ride
Gets me longin’ for the good old days again

CHORUS:
And just another day
Over Deseret
And you can tell me how but I’ll punch these cows my own way
I don’t need a PHD to tell me when the sun will rise and fade
Over Deseret

‘Tis the way that the wind blows through the aspen
And the freedom of an endless sky and range
And when it comes to movin’ on I’ll be the last one
But then again I guess that some things never change

CHORUS

Well it’s hard to find a night horse
That one sure-footed right horse
To ride a cowboy safely through the dark
The finest one I ever rode
Was a short-leg bay named Little Joe
When I signed on with this outfit in South Park
Well the night was still and the moon went down
Through the herd there was not a sound
That’s the time an old hand knows a cow might run
Sure enough they jumped and ran
Went crashin’ through the smooth strand
And twenty buckaroos knew what was to come

CHORUS:
They’re runnin’ boys, they’re runnin’
You all go run along
Don’t try to turn ’em back ’til they tire
Just let ’em run their course
Turn it over to your night horse
Let him bring you back on home to the fire

Well a lot of things that night happened
That later got us laughin’
‘Though in the moment we were all strung out pretty tight
Joe Petty thought a clump of chimeeza
Was a bedded down herd of cows
So he circled around ’em singin’ ’til daylight
Then his night horse stolen by the cook
Old Bill Jim got set afoot
Cussin’ out that cook as they rode away
But they didn’t go far and they had a bad wreck
Bill’s horse died of a broken neck
And the cook stumbled through the night in a daze

CHORUS

Well it’s gopher holes and steep ravines
That in the night cannot be seen
So he must use somethin’ other than his eyes
Whatever birds fly south on
I guess that’s what he counts on
Little Joe could carry me through to sunrise

CHORUS

Just let ’em run their course
Turn it over to your night horse
Let him bring you back on home to the fire

Apache mama gave her up when she was three weeks old
She didn’t have a dime or any other place to go
So some white folks came and took her away to a house up on the hill
Now a little girl won’t remember what the Reservation will

CHORUS:
Now she’s livin’ in a white man’s world
As a white man’s little girl
But when she looks in the mirror she don’t know how to feel
‘Cause she’s pretty as a blood red rose
And I wonder if she’ll ever know
What a little girl won’t remember is what a Reservation will

They taught her all about freedom and the good old USA
They put her up in curlers and told her all the right things to say
And what she really don’t know can’t hurt her like the past ain’t really real
‘Cause a little girl won’t remember what a Reservation will

CHORUS

They can’t hide forever and I wonder if they know
They can’t change the color of her soul
Even though

CHORUS

We have gathered here tonight
A meeting of the heart and the mind
The answer clearly in sight
We must leave this world behind

For I believe there’s land that a man has never seen
Where the mountains reach the never-ending sky
Where the waters in the rivers are still deep and pure and clean
And you can still see the eagle as she flies

CHORUS:
Somewhere beyond the edge of the world
Farther than any man has dreamed
Where the grass is deep and green and a life of wandering
Is waiting there beyond the edge of the world

We have all that we will need
For our journey through the sky
And once our spirits are free
The rest is up to you and I

And we will ride like a ranger on this very last frontier
Where the mountains kiss the never-ending sky
Where the waters in the rivers are still deep and pure and clear
And you can feel like the eagle as she flies

CHORUS

And if only in our dreams
We will remember all the country we have seen

CHORUS

Is waiting there beyond the edge of the world

Ten wheels, one road, and five hundred miles
One horse, one saddle, and five thousand smiles

CHORUS:
You better keep it on the highway
And hold it on the road
You’re a high rollin’ cowboy
Ridin’ to the rodeo

There’s a lot of girls, a lot of money and a whole lot of fame
It’s a dirty job but you gotta do it, man ain’t it a shame

CHORUS

Some people wake up in the same town every day
Drive to an office and they’d die to get away
Same people turn their head ’cause they don’t understand
The ramblin’ spirit of a rodeo man

So saddle up, time to ride, time to turn out that steer
And fuel the fire that’s burnin’ inside and then get the hell on outta here

CHORUS

The star of the rodeo
Legend of the rodeo

No more than a boy when he died like a man
We stood around his grave with our hats in our hand
Leanin’ first on one foot and then on the other
Wishin’ we’d a knowed what to say to write to his mother

CHORUS:
But there ain’t much to say when a man dies young
Before he can do what he should have done
Leastways the cowboys that knowed him swore
Sammy done his damnedest
Angels can do no more

We stared at our boots and nobody spoke
‘Til the trail boss coughed, cleared his throat
And said to the cook, “Tear a plank off the chuckwagon
And bring it here to mark the grave of our young companion.”

So the wranglers made a fire out of dry prairie coal
The wind fanned the flames ’til the brandin’ iron glowed
Then we burned in the wood the words we should’ve been sayin’
Down on our knees like a bunch of growed men prayin’

CHORUS

Sammy rode hard and never complained
Two long years on the Rockin’ Chair range
Chasin’ them steers down the salt fork of the Red River
Angels’ and cowboys’ work goes on forever

And as for myself when it’s my time to die
I hope there’s a cowhand or two standin’ by
To pack down the dirt and carry the news to the family
And say over me what we should’ve said over Sammy

CHORUS

CHORUS

Sammy done his damnedest
Angels can do no more

When the sun sets down and the shadows rise
And the wind has wandered home
And the song of sleep pulls on your eyes
I shall set out alone
Along the trapper’s trail we’ll trot
Up to the timberline
Through glow upon the snow that’s brought
Fluorescent by moonshine
Across the snow-blue snowshoe flats
Until the trail goes thin
To check the line of coyote traps
Along the rocky rim
The rim where they each stop to cry
Their sighs into the dark
Across the valleys far and wide
‘Tis winter’s meadowlark
And I can hear one calling now
From somewhere further on
So empty does it drift
And how his chorus carries on
The sound that sometimes even I
Will welcome as a friend
The mournful dead cold cry that sometimes
Tests the wits of men
Along the rim we wander
By the light of stars and moon
And time not ours to squander
For the day is rising soon
As here atop the palest ridge
We stop to watch the dawn
The glow above the Eastern Ledge
Says soon the night is gone
And gone am I
Along the draw
Before the shadows fade
And confident that no one saw
The midnight ride I made
Just tracks along the trapper’s trail
And two coyotes less to wail