Reluctance and Gratitude

Having spent of much of my life in one career or another, working too-much solo, I tend to crave teamwork. When my amigo, Dan McCorison, called me asking for ideas for a song, I jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with this man whom I so admired. Dan is a highly-awarded singer-songwriter with a singular talent of marrying lyrics to a tune he has mysteriously, to musically-ignorant me, cobbled together in his head.

Dan had been invited to attend the Durango Cowboy Gathering. Having been invited myself the year before, I was familiar with their custom of encouraging poets and songwriters to be inspired by the year’s poster art to write a song or poem. At Dan’s request, I dashed together some verses after having studied the painting, “Storm on The Mountain,” by Tim Cox.

Dan liked what I had written. He massaged it, shortened it and added some words of his own. The end result was an amazingly good song that I am humbly proud to have had a hand in. Dan performed the song at the Toh-Atin gallery in Durango where Mr. Cox, was present. Even though I wasn’t physically present at the 2024 Durango gathering with all my friends, it still felt as if I had made an appearance.

Thanks Dan, and thank you Tim Cox. The poem below is a final version, somewhat different from the lyrics I had originally dashed off to Dan.

Reluctance and Gratitude

Fall was settlin’ in, leaves turnin' color
Those heifers had preg-checked bred
Time was to move ‘em south a ways
Where foreboding clouds were spread

My blood was still summer-thin
It was turnin’ cold way too soon
My bones were complainin’ their age
A’ wishin’ it was still June

It ain’t all roses bein’ boss
That title comes along with age
And the need to example-lead
Responsibilities  engage

God is still the Ramrod
Changin’ seasons do point out
So I’ll face that brewin’ storm
Trustin’ it’ll all work out

The rest of the boys were gathered
In the corral fixin' to go
Those eager young pups did not care
That it was lookin’ 'bout to snow

The sun had cleared the horizon
Our ponies saddled and waitin'
Me slow-draggin’ my spurs hopin’
That ugly storm was abatin’

Since my horse had broken a leg
And I got frostbit bad last year
I’d come to dread all snow and cold
I reckon I had winter-fear

But they still called me the ramrod
I was sure 'nuff drawin’ that pay
So it was clear my job to do
'Twas time to ride off into that gray

Now, I'd best be gettin’ to it
“Come on boys step-up off the ground
Them cows ain’t movin’ on their own
Why are y’all just hangin’ around?”

Yep I sure ‘nuff love the seasons
Remindin’ me  Who’s  the real Ramrod
So let's face that brewin’ storm
Knowin’ we're ridin' out with God.

by Rik Goodell
© 2024 All rights reserved

This  fine painting, by Tim Cox, was selected as the poster for the 2024 Durango Cowboy Gathering. It inspired this poem.

For more of this artist's work, go to his website:

https://www.timcox.com/