When I started writing The Cowboy Cabaret, I felt it was important to put it into context. Many people have different ideas about cowboys, and I wanted to make sure people who came to the show understood the archetype I was describing. So if you come to a show, this is the way I introduce what my Cowboy is all about…
Before we get too far into this here deal
let me tell you a little bit of my story
I’m one of those fellas that’ll risk everything
for a little bit of glory.
I’ve worn a variety of faces
and seen hands mangle all sorts of time
and I’ve existed in some way, shape, or form
since man first learned how to rhyme.
I’ve gone by a number of names,
like Dirty Steve, Wild Will, and Ole Roy.
Y’all can call me anything you want,
but I prefer if you just call me Cowboy.
I’m the spirit of civilization
for better or for worse
and you can blame the spread of nations
on my humble little verse.
I’m the one who heads out alone
to see what’s beyond the horizon.
Blazing trails for spreading wealth
is a great way to watch the sun rising.
As a guy whose seen Mother Nature with her bloomers off
and seen plenty more in your cities,
I wanna offer a little perspective
on where you’re headed with all your insanities.
Now y’all don’t get your dander up.
I speak gospel truth and blatant lies
and if y’all don’t yet know the difference yet,
I’m here to help open your eyes.
Before we look to the future
let’s talk a bit bout the past
when things were a might bit different
and we had different kinds of pains in our ass.
There were those of us who’d ride the range
out lookin’ for adventure.
These days all your ranges are fenced,
and now you wanna wall up the border.
I’ve ridden through much more simpler times
than all you got going on now,
and how we got from that to this
I’m not quite really sure how.
And though my favorite company
has often been herds of cows
I also know something about humans
and the way we get aroused.
We’ve always been a pretty emotional bunch,
and we don’t always act with reason,
but it’s a good thing this world keeps spinning ’round
cuz we can change with every season.
There were times quite long ago
that we all got along a lot better.
We looked out for each other a whole lot more
and felt like we were in it together.
Somewhere along the way,
we added more “us”es and “them”s.
Things got more complicated and separated,
then we started fighting to the death.
One of the problems that most of us have
is that we take ourselves way too serious.
How often we attach ourselves to ideas and to things
tends to make us pretty delirious.
What I’m really hoping you take from these words
is a little break from the life that you know.
I wanna teach you a little about the cowboy way
and maybe even offer some hope.
