This Cowboy's Hat
Well, there's always been groups of people that never could see eye to eye
But I always thought if they ever had a chance to sit down and talk face to face
They might realize they got a lot in common
Well, I was sitting in a coffee shop, just having a cup to pass the time
Swapping rodeo stories with this old cowboy friend of mine
When some motorcycle riders started snickering in the back
And started poking fun at my friend's hat
One old boy said, "Hey Tex, where do you park your horse?"
My friend just pulled his hat down low, but they couldn't be ignored
And one husky fellow said "I think I'll rip that hat right off your head"
That's when my friend turned around, this is what he said
"You'll ride a black tornado, cross the western sky
Rope an old Blue Northern and milk it 'til it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi, pin it's ears down flat
Long before you take this cowboy's hat"
"Now, part of this old hat, is it's better left alone
You see it used to be my daddy's, but last year he passed on
My nephew's skinned the rattler that makes up this ol' hatband
And back in '69 he died in Vietnam
Now, the eagle feather was given to me by an Indian friend of mine
But somebody ran him down, somewhere around that Arizona line
And a real special lady gave me this hat pin
But I don't know if I'll ever see her again"
"You'll ride a black tornado, cross the western sky
Rope an old Blue Northern and milk it 'til it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi, pin it's ears down flat
Long before you take this cowboy's hat"
"Now if that old leather jacket means to you, what this hat means to me
Well, I guess we understand each other, and we'll just let it be
But if you still think it's funny, and you've got my back up against the wall
And if you touch my hat, you're gonna have to fight us all"
Right then I caught a little sadness in that gang leader's eyes
And he turned back to the others and they all just kinda shuffled on outside
But when my friend turned back toward me, I noticed his old hat brim
It was turned out, in a big old Texas grin
You'll ride a black tornado, cross the western sky
Rope an old Blue Northern and milk it 'til it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi, pin it's ears down flat
Long before you take this cowboy's hat