Ballad of Big Dave

An old cowboy rode in from the range one day

He got down from his horse, an aging big bay

They’d been out since early that morning

Long before the first light was dawning

He thought of his life and how it did change

Yes it was that way, even on the range

He loosened the girth and undid the cinch

He then sat his old saddle up on the fence

A cowboys work is never done

He’s up every mornin, racin the sun

He rides all day, no matter the weather

With a worn out back, bowlegged, and skin like leather

And it’s a hard life for him, as you can see

But that was my Grandaddy, livin a cowboys dream

He gave his horse some oats, and a little bit of hay

He sure loved that horse, that old big bay

He sauntered to the house and hung his hat by the door

Kicked off his boots and placed em there on the floor

There was his old chair a little tattered and worn

But his place of comfort when he was sad and forlorn

As he sat down, a question from his head arose

One never answered in stories, poems, or prose

How among the treasures of gods green earth

Does one measure an ol cowboys worth

He prayed that night, as he always has

Thankful, for a good horse, a good woman, and another day past

A cowboys work is never done

He’s up every mornin racin the sun

He rides all day, no matter the weather

With a worn out back, bowlegged, and skin like leather

And it’s a hard life for him, as you can see

But that was my daddy, livin a cowboys dream

Outside a lone coyote raised his head to howl

An empty saddle sits on the fence in that broken down corral

A dusty old hat hangs above the worn boots on the floor

And that Ol big bay, sensed his cowboy would ride no more