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