As long as that burger joint’s where all the teenagers haunt
and long as there’s steak on the menu in a fine restaurant…
Until all the world’s eatin’ tofu and greens,
and “meat” patties made out of soy,
there’s gonna be cattle
and cattle need keepin’
and this world will still need a cowboy.
There’ll always be horses, an’ they’ll always carry us where
a pick-up can’t go, ‘cause you know, cows’ll always get there.
While the price of grain’s climbin’ and people keep dinin’
and grass on the range is still free,
they’ll still need a hand
who will ride for the brand
and there’ll still be a place there for me.
Saddle up, sons, it’s a new day, but nothin’s much changed.
They’re still getting hungry and we’re still at home on the range!
While they’re drinkin’ French wine we’re ridin’ the fence-line
and cutting’ our hands on bob-wire,
eatin’ red beans and bacon
while our bodies are achin’,
an’ drinkin’ coffee that’s cooked on a fire.
“The job may be done“, my GrandDaddy said, “but it don’t end”.
A hard day’s work only means more work tomorrow, and then
head back to the wagon, so tired that we’re draggin’
our tails to the fire we crowd round.
We’ll chow down and roll out
our bedrolls. Ain't no doubt
we’ll sleep like logs, there on the ground.
So, Bobby-Joe, play us a tune on that mouth harp again,
an’ thank the Good Lord that we’re here, right where we’ve always been.
They might call us strange, even think we’re deranged
but this here is the life we enjoy!
We won’t shed any tears
for the fate of these steers.
They’re why the world will always need a cowboy.
© eric lee
Comments
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those unsung heroes that most of us take for granted when alot of us wouldn't know a day's hard work if it bit us in the butt!
Keep reminding of those unsung heroes my friend!
Keep penning on one stroke at a time!
Bill
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:-)
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*pops in quite unexpectadly*
Beware of nanotechnology. There may later be a day when all we eat is a pill for every meal. *shudders*
Tell me, do you ever regret raising cattle knowing full well that they'll die later on? Part of the food chain, yes. I don't think I could stomach the thought of little Daisy ending up in a meat grinder and spewing her guts all over the machinery. (I should join PETA, I'm sure they could use another maniac who says the most bombastic things.)
And good write. These lines for reason stuck out the most to me:
"“The job may be done“, my GrandDaddy said, “but it don’t end”.A hard day’s work only means more work tomorrow,"
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Frankly...no. I've never made the mistake of getting sentimental about an animal destined for a plate. (Daisy was a milk-cow. Big difference.)
I grew up with cattle and ranching, Simon; I'm not bragging when I say in another poem that I was damn near born in the saddle. Get too sentimental and never mind the killing, you can't even bring yourself to slap a branding iron on a calf.
What GrandPat actually said was "When cows eat, stables need sweepin', and cows get hungry every day. Just 'cause the job's done don't mean it's finished." ...but it wouldn't fit my meter.
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I'd love to hear you read this. It begs to be read.
And I agree. May there always be cowboys.
And down with the feedlots. Every creature, even those whose misfortune it is to end up eaten, deserve to roam free, at least for awhile in their short lives. Stupid me I suppose, but I like the notion that my food was at least happy for awhile...grazing the open range or at least some lovely back pasture.
A wonderful read, dericlee. Thank you for placing it neath my greedy nose.
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I promise to record a reading...as soon as I get my new teeth. Right now, I sound a bit weird.
(Don't feel stupid...miserable animals make miserable food.)
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Every culture needs legends and heroes; the Cowboy is one of America's best. We see honor, leadership, integrity, hard work, strength and freedom in the cowboy. We envy the simplicity of his long day's labor and the wide-open spaces he roams. America needs the Cowboy both to remind us of how far we have come and to bring us back to the simplicity of the values he represents. I have always loved hearing someone say the phrase, "He/she will do to ride the river with" which is a phrase that originates with the cowboy of days gone by. Surely you knew I would love this. It's great to see you writing Eric.
♥ Touchof1der
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I guess owing to the fact that we were a tad short of rivers in my neck of Texas, the phrase I grew up hearing (and thrilled to hear my grandfather apply to me) was "He'll do to take along."
Means just the same...an understated expression of admiration and a certainty that the cowboy in question would pull his own weight and take up any slack necessary for a buddy who, for whatever reason, might be falling behind.
(My dry spell is still charging right along...I wrote this back in '01. Just posted it to sorta keep my hand in, y'might say.)
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