The Cowboy's Last Ride

The Cowboy’s Last Ride
Doug Jackson, 010409


Starin’ out over the hills of the prairie
A cowboy keeps eye on his herd for the night
Off in the distance he hears some coyotes
And, wonders if they’ll come callin’ ‘fore light

The moonlight softens a long hard day’s sun
The wind gently whispers a familiar ol’ song
Seems pretty quiet, but the night still ain’t done
He shifts in his saddle, right where he belongs

He’s not what he is, to not be forgotten
Just an ol’ cowboy, who lives a hard life
His fate and his plans, don’t have much in common
But, he thinks they’re waitin’, at the end of his ride

His thoughts turn to trails, he made in his day
Towns with hot meals, some card games he won
And, there was a woman, who begged him to stay
But, his saddle kept callin‘, so he up and rode on

You ask him his dreams, he prob’ly won’t say
You tell him a tale, he’ll see through the lie
You ask him who won, ‘tween the blue and the gray
He’ll un-strap that Colt, that hangs by his side

Many a campfire the ol’ cowboy’s known
Many a sunset, spent ridin’ the line
Many hard rains, that he rode out alone
Many regrets, that he left h-e-r, behind

Now, he’ll never know, he’s a dime novel hero
And, every kid’s dream, how a man ought’a be
Stories of his time, will someday be told
Of legends of his kind, who made history

And, as to that woman well, he still kept the ring
He just couldn’t see, past the long trail ahead
He never put stock in what next year might bring
For all that he knew, he might just end up dead

He’s not what he was, to not be forgotten
Just an ol’ cowboy, who lived a hard life
His fate and his plans, never had much in common
But, he thought they would, when he made - his last ride...

Yea, he thought they would, when he made... his last ride...