Goodbye Dusty
April 19, 2012
A Good Way to Grow
April 12, 2020Ain’t No Cowboy Yet
Growing up on TV
It was all black and white
Roy Roger's, Hopalong, Lone Ranger
An’ other westerns on the site
Later came on Gunsmoke,
Maverick, Rawhide and such
'Twas important formative time
Setting young values so much
Heroes such as The Duke
The right ways all entailin'
Forged the ethics of this lad
With honor and pride prevailin'
A long time I've followed cowboys
Purt' near all my days
And with my following, tried
Honoring their good ways
Many years I spent a' horseback
Strugglin' through my teens
Grew fond of hats and pearl-snap shirts
Plus well worn ‘ol bluejeans
My first pair of cowboy boots,
I saved up for when thirteen,
Were made of tough black goatskin
That had a wet, black-ink sheen
Fitted with undercut riding heels
At first I walked unsteady
‘Bout like a newborn colt, but,
A’fore long, I’d the hang of it already
Discovered a shinin' storyteller
They called him Louis L'Amour
I read each book he ever’ wrote
He Cowboyed me up for sure
But I never learned to rope
Nor got bucked off an ornery cayuse
Never ate dust ridin’ drag all day
Didn’t ever take all that abuse
Still I know my way ‘round horses
And I can saddle them and groom
Picked up those cowboy lessons
Many a summer at the Desert Moon
I ranched my own cattle some
I tried the cow-calf thing
Ya know, buy high, sell low
An do it all agin’ next spring
Once had a little 40 acre spot
I called it the smilin’ “G”
Sweet little spread; coulda been right
If I had m’Darlin’ Audie
Even had me a brandin’ iron
Used it on heifer and steer
Now it languishes here in Montana
A neglected reminder so dear
Rodeo has always called to me
I 'tend ever’ one I can
Once built beside a saddle bronc rider
Our boss a bull ridin’ man
I've spent my life in Cowboy boots,
My toes are all side-bent to show it
But that don't make me near “Cowboy”
An' it humbles me some to know it
See I've clocked time with weathered men
Havin’ bowed legs and metal joints
They’d earned scars ‘n got hitchy-limps
While earnin’ their cowboy points
Talkin' straight and fearin' little
I watched how a gent behaves
From time o' understandin'
Clean through to boothill graves
Like keepin’ yer word and showin' up
When there's chorin’ to be done
An tippin' yer hat fer wimmenfolk
Their “you’ll do” titles won
I lift my hat to all those heroes,
Cowboys in one form or other
They shaped my ways and nudged me
To wanna call 'em brother
So, sure I've dabbled at it
Even played with their big toys
But that just ain't near enough
To be counted with real Cowboys
So, no, I'm not a real cowboy
Though I have hankered long to be
Those men have earned the handle
Not just a’wishin’ here like me
Of traditions ‘n right ‘n wrong
Of honoring our free country
And standing to keep her strong
Their simple virtue of honesty
Demands me humbly tell
I've only been a wannabe
‘Spite wantin’ to so well
So here's the truth I speak aloud,
“I ain't no cowboy yet”
I never fully paid my dues
‘Round those I’m proud to’ve met
Still, when I get up yonder
And the bell rings time fer grub
I hope you boys say, “Light n set”
'Stead ‘a givin’ me the snub
It’d shine to share yer bunkhouse too
I'll take the coldest cot
Cuz in my heart, I'm one of you
And your backside’s what I’ve got
photo by Audrey Goodell
