Cowboy Poetry

I've recently fallen in love with Cowboy Poetry.  I was always aware of its existence because I saw some greats like Waddie Mitchel and Baxter Black on the Carson Show.  Then I started listening to it, and it was like thunder in my chest!  Here's a famous cowboy poem that many feel is one of the top three poems.  It's called Tyin' Knots In the Devil's Tail, written by the great cowboy poet Gail Gardener.  He's not known as a cowboy poet, but a hell of a cowboy singer, Michael Martin Murphy did a version of the poem to music, which is quite good!  Check it out HERE.

Like anything that has its roots in the 19th century, cowboys and cowboying are becoming a thing of the past.  Many folks are not getting back to the land because of costs and the economy and western way of life are disappearing.  Cowboy poetry will have to adapt in order to keep the tradition alive.  

I have written my first poem.  The first piece of advice anybody gives a writer is to write what you know.  Well, I know my own life best, and since I did marry a gal from the plains of North Dakota whose family ranched and Eckroth Bulls had developed a name that's still going today.  I am fascinated by the ranching and farming experience.  I think about how my food gets to my table.  So I asked my wife if she could arrange for me to work cattle for a day.  She thought about it for a bit and then made some calls to family.  The next trip we took to North Dakota, I got to work cattle for a day.  I'll have to find my post-cattle working photo and show it to you.  I can wear the hat and boots without feeling too much like a dime store cowboy because the cowboys I worked with told me I earned them that day.

So, without further ado, I present to you my first cowboy poem entitled, The Rancher's Daughter.

I was standing at the bar in this downtown saloon

I nursed a beer under the chandelier

As the band played some tunes

It was a pleasant night; the stars were bright

I didn't think I was blocking the route

Then a gentle hand tapped me and said,

"Move that tush, or I'll move it with my boot.

She's the prettiest thing staring back at me

As she flashed that coy smile

Then, with a wink, she walked away with her drink

And I thought about her for a while

She invited me to sit at her table

She came on like a bull in season

I got to know that prairie girl

I found her rather pleasin'

After that day, we talked and chatted

That was before cell phones, you see

I tried to be cool; I didn't want to offend

But she was bearing down on me

She told me all about herself

How she came from North Dakota

Then sang her way across the U.S.A.

She was a rancher's daughter

It was then that I had these feelings

I hadn't had in a long, long while

My neck got warm; my guts rolled over

My heart felt like I'd run a mile

Then, one day, I went to the saloon

To see the rancher's daughter sing

I saw her up there; the world disappeared

I tell you what, love is a beautiful thing

And so it began a love so strong

It would outlast steel and chrome

So we tied the knot and kept it hot

As we built our newlywed home

It's been many years since that day

Our fire-forged love never stronger

I'm still in love today, and it won't go away

Because I married the Rancher's Daughter