“Why do you do it?” someone asked.
“The money doesn’t pay.
The work is long, the hours hard,
How can you live this way?"

“What makes you choose the cowboy life,
A life of dust and heat,
A life of sittin’ on a horse
In wind, and cold, and sleet?”

I pondered on it for a spell
Then answered that I thought
I did it cuz the things I like
Are things a cowboy’s got.

I like the way new leather smells,
I like the way it feels.
I like the ringin’ jingle of
The spurs behind my heels.

I’m kinda fond of wide-brimmed hats,
I like a pair of chaps.
I like to patch up worn-out gear
With saved-up leather scraps.

It’s fun to throw a perfect loop,
And dally to the horn.
There’s pleasure in the way I feel
When all the calves are born.

I like a brand new pair of boots.
I like old sheepskin coats.
I like the sound my horse makes
When he’s munchin’ on his oats.

There’s not much I like better than
A silver-inlaid bit,
Or hackamores, or horse-hair ropes,
Or saddles, built to fit.

I really like fine leather gloves,
And brandin’ in the spring.
I’d rather hear a bawlin’ cow
Than hear a choir sing.

And, to this list, add one thing more,
It’s more than like, it’s love.
A horse is what a cowboy has —
A blessing from above.

What cowboys are is what I am.
It’s all I care to be.
And all the things that cowboys have
Are good enough for me.


From Cowboy Poultry Gatherin’ (Guy Logsdon Books, 1993).
Used here with permission.