USED TO WANT TO BE A COWBOY
(ACS ACS-14001)
1982
Produced by Al LeDoux
Recorded: Music City Music Mill, Nashville
1.
I USED TO WANT TO BE A COWBOY
(Bob Morrison - James Whitworth)
« © '82 Southern Nights Music, ASCAP »
I used to want to be a cowboy spent my childhood dreamin' that
Wearing spurs and boots and six guns and a big ten-gallon hat
Chasin' outlaws savin' ladies bustin' broncs at rodeos
Riding off into the sunset like they do in picture shows
I used to want to be a cowboy I dreamed about it until the day
That a green-eyed Texas lady smiled and stole my heart away
Now I'm trackin' down a livin' and as far as I can see
Right now I'm just as much a cowboy as I'm ever gonna be
Cause my round-ups at a truck stop the trails a super slab
I wear boots up in the saddle of my eighteen wheelers cab
Riding hell bent for the bunkhouse just across the Georgia line
Where tonight I'll see my lady and that little boy of mine
And he wants to be a cowboy and you know somehow I kind of expected that
Wearing spurs and boots and six guns I used to want to be a cowboy
And all my cowboy dreams are livin' in that little buckaroo
Cowboys often end up daddies you know I'm really glad they do
And he wants to be a cowboy just the way his daddy did
When he's on his broomstick pony he's Hoppy Roy and Sisco Kid
And he wants to be a cowboy just the way his daddy did
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2.
LIGHTS OF AMARILLO
(Tony Bessire)
« © '82 Hardwear Music, BMI »
The panhandle dust is blowin' hard tonight I can't even see across the road
I'm thankful for the wind it's a blessing in disguise
It keeps me from seein' the lights of Amarillo
Well I can't really blame her for leavin' me here
I couldn't leave papa all alone
She wanted those kinda things that I could never give her
She went to find them in the lights of Amarillo
The lights of Amarillo shines so bright across the plains they became her guiding light
I can see them in the distance on a clear panhandle night
She's out there somewhere in the lights of Amarillo
Well each night I'm so warn out from workin' all day long
Hoein' those endless cotton rows
Bout the time I'm layin' down her dancin' shoes are going on
Going out with some cowboy in the lights of Amarillo
The lights of Amarillo...
**********
3.
THIS COWBOY'S HAT
(Jake Brooks)
« © '82 Brooks Bros Publishers, BMI / Careers Music, BMI »
Well there's always been groups of people who couldn't see eye to eye
And I always thought if they'd get the chance to sit down and
talk face to face they'd see we all have a lot in common
I was sittin' in a coffee shop havin' a cup and passin' time
Swappin' rodeo stories with this cowboy friend of mine
When some motorcycle rider started snickerin' in the back
And started pokin' fun at my friend's hat
One ol' boy said hey Tex where'd you parked your horse
My friend just pulled his hat down low but they couldn't be ignored
One husky dude said maybe I'll just rip that hat right off your head
And that's when my friend turned around and said
You'll ride a black tornado across the western skies
You'll rope an ol' blue norther and milk it till it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi and pin its ears down flat
Long before you take this cowboy's hat
He said pardener this ol' hat is better left alone
It used to be my daddy's hat but last year he passed on
My nephew skinned the rattler that makes up the hatband
But in sixty nine he died in Vietnam
I got this eagle feather from an Indian friend of mine
Somebody ran him down close to the Arizona line
And a real special lady gave me this hat pin and I don't know if I'll see her again
Now if your leather jacket means to you what this olkd hat means to me
Then we understand each other and we'll just let it be
But if you still think it's funny then my back's against the wall
But you touch my hat and you'll have to fight us all
Well I caught a little sadness in that gangleader's eyes
Then he turned back to the others and they shuffled on outside
And when my friend turned back towards me
I noticed that his brim was turned like a big ol' Texas grin
**********
4.
HOBO DREAMS
(Jake Brooks - Tony Bessire)
« © '82 Brooks Bros Publishers, BMI / Hardwear Music, BMI »
Pouring rain has grounded all the planes out of Louisville Kentucky
So I bought me a railway ticket I had to close a deal in New Orleans
When a hobo by the track said he was going to ride the rails to Arizona
I had to fight the tears that weld up in me
Cause a ragged old hobo is really better off than me
He ain't nothing but a hobo but he's livin' his hobo dreams
I got a brand new car and a house a good ol' job in the suburbs of St Louis
And the woman in the gateway to the west she made me everything I am
But my three-piece suit is gettin' tight the walls are closin' in down at the office
Lord I've been too cautious with all my best laid plans
Cause a ragged old hobo...
Said son you outta come along and watch the eagle's fly in Arizona
You'll never see an eagle fly with neon light reflecting off his wings
As he climbed into the rail car his last words echoed back like crashing thunder
Lord if I was younger well I'd ride me a different train
Cause a ragged old hobo...
**********
5.
LAST COWBOY IN TOWN
(Jimmy Helms)
« © '82 WB Music, ASCAP »
In a little Texas town at a bar by the rodeo grounds
You can see him ridin' in every Saturday night
Well there ain't no hitchin' post but his horse has got so old
He'd stay in front of that bar if he stayed all night
He sits on the same ol' stood watchin' the boys play pool
Holdin' a can of Pearl beer in his calloused hand
We don't know how old he is he never had no wife or kids
But they say he never back down from any man
He once had spurs that jingled jangled he once had girls that loved to tango
With a handsome young cowboy so long and so tall
Well it's been years but I'm sure he recalls them all
He's never owned a suit and there's holes in both his boots
And he don't give a damn unless it rains
Well he lives his life that way but he still recalls the days
When every cowboy in Texas knew his name
And holdin' up his faded jeans is a belt we've all seen
It's the only thing he owns that still looks new
He just wears it Saturday night so that belt buckle still shines bright
It says All Around Cowboy 42
He once had spurs...
Now midnight he's always stoned and most of the crowd's gone home
And he rides his old horse to the rodeo grounds
Well he closes his eyes and hears a million rodeo fans cheer
But he don't know he's the last cowboy in town
He once had spurs...
**********
6.
YOU BRING OUT THE BEASTS IN ME
(Chris Ledoux)
« © '82 Lehsem Songs, BMI »
Well way down inside every man there's an animal
He's hiding somewhere deep in his soul
Well most of the time well he's hard to find and I can keep him under control
But when the sun goes down and the moon comes around
Starts shining down thru the trees
One look in your eyes and it's hello mister hyde well you you bring out the beast in me
Now could it be the moon or maybe your perfume
That affects me the way that it does
Or could it be your eeys in star lit Summer skys make this wild man fall in love
I'ed like to play it cool don't want to look like a fool
Cause a man has got to have some dignity
But you go walkin' by and Lord I lose my mind you bring out the beast in me
It seems everytime I get myself back together
And I've got him back down where he belongs
I climb down from a tree and get back on my feet well that's when you come along
Then my heart goes to beatin' and my knees start to weaken
And I tremble and I can't hardly breath
Well I can't hold him in cause here he comes again you bring out the beast in me
**********
7.
HE'S A TRYER
(Billy Bob Shane)
« © '82 Mountain Wood Music, BMI »
He's a rider keeps ridin' all he can cause he's a tryer
Keeps tryin' all he can cause he never seems to know
Hhe's had enough and it gets rough
He's been boozin' he ain't a drunk he's just forgettin' that he's losin'
Forgettin' pain his mind and body feels and he needs a meal
He'll keep tryin' cause he still recalls the days when it paid off
When he was winning you can bet he won a lot more that he lost
He ain't no quitter no one can talk him out of movin' on
Cause he's a tryer and he's damn sure his second chance'll come before to long
He's a cowboy he's country bred and strong yeah he's a cowboy
And he'd rather take the pain than face the shame
And face the judge deep down inside well it's just pride
So he'll keep goin' keep tryin' hard to ride instead of throwin'
Cause he just won't admit he's growing old the thought's too cold
Yeah he's a tryer and he's damn sure his second chance'll come before to long
He'll keep tryin'...
**********
8.
DESPERADO
(Don Henley - Glenn Frey)
« © '73 Cass County Music, BMI / Red Cloud Music, BMI »
Desperado why don't you come to your senses
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh you're a hard one but I know that you've got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you can hurt you somehow
Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy she'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts is your best bet
And it seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get
Desperado well you ain't gettin' no younger
Your pain and your hunger they're drivin' you wild
And freedom oh freedom well that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone
Don't your feet get cold in the wintertime
When the sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the nighttime from the day
You're losin' all your highs and lows ain't it funny how the feeling goes away
Desperado why don't you come to your senses
Come down from your fences open the gate
I know it's rainin' but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you before it's too late
**********
9.
EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES
(Rodney Crowell)
« © '77 Happy Sack Music, ASCAP »
She's a rounder I can tell you that she can sing 'em all night too
She'll raise hell about the sleep she's lost but even cowgirls get the blues
Especially cowgirls they're the gypsy kind and need their reins laid on 'em loose
She's lived to see the world turned upside down hitchin' rides out of the blues
Even cowgirls get the blues sometimes bound to don't know what to do sometimes
Get the feelin' like she's too far gone the only way she's ever been
Lonely nights are out there on the road motel ceiling stares you down
There must be safer ways to pay your dues but even cowgirls get the blues
Even cowgirls get the blues...
Even cowgirls get the blues...
**********
10.
BUSTED
(Harlan Howard)
« © '62 Tree Publishing, BMI »
All the bills are all due and the baby needs shoes but I'm busted
Cotton is down to a quarter a pound and I'm busted
Got a cow that went dry and a hen that won't lay
A big stack of bills that gets bigger each day
The county's gonna haul my belongings away and I'm busted
Well I went to brother Bill to get me a loan I was busted
But I hate to beg like a dog for a bone I'm busted
Brother Bill said you know there's not a thing I can do
My wife and my kids are all down with the flu
And I was just thinkin' on callin' on you cause I'm busted
Lord I'm no thief but a man can go wrong when he's busted
The food that we canned last summer's all gone and I'm busted
All the fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow
Me and my family's got to pack up and go
Where I'll make a livin' the Lord only knows I'm busted
All the bills are all due...
**********
11.
RED HEADED STRANGER
(Edith Linderman - Carl Stutz)
« © '59 Robbins Catalog, ASCAP »
Now the redheaded stranger from Blue Rock Montana rode into town one day
Between his knees was a raging black stallion walkin' behind was a bay
Now the redheaded stranger had eyes like the thunder his lips were sad and tight
Cause his little lost love lay asleep on the hillside and his heart was heavy as night
So don't boss him don't cross him
He's wild in his sorrow he's riding and hidin' his pain
Don't fight him don't spite him
Just wait 'til tomorrow maybe he'll ride on again
Now the yellow-haired lady leaned out of her window
And watched as he passed her away
She drew back at fear at the sight of the stallion but cast greedy eyes on the bay
But she didn't know that the dancin' bay pony meant more to him than life
Cause this was the horse that his little lost darlin' had ridden when she was his wife
So don't boss him...
Now the yellow-haired lady went down to the tavern and looked up the stranger there
When he bought her some drinks and he gave her some money
But she just didn't seem to care
She followed him out as he saddled the stallion
And he laughed when she grabbed for the bay
Well he shot her so quick, they had no time to warn her she never heard anyone say
So don't boss him...
Now the yellow-haired lady was buried at sunset the stranger went free of course
Cause you can't hang a man for shootin' a woman who's tryin' to steal your horse
Now this is the tale of the redheaded stranger and if he should pass your way
Stay out of the path of the raging black stallion and don't lay a hand on the bay
**********