WHEN I WAS A COWBOY

Ralph McTell
 
I was a cowboy, back in the alley
Me and my sixgun kept law on the prairie
I remember my first horse well, he was lean but a fast one
We traveled miles together, till he got stolen
 
Chorus: And the sheriff said get early to bed
And always keep your head screwed on real tight
‘Case you get in a fight.
That’s one of the tricks that you must employ
If you wanna be a cowboy.
 
I traveled far from home, even jumped freight trains
Threw stones in the ocean, slept out in the cold rain
It was down in some southern town, and the music was playing
The people were talking so loud, they heard no words I was saying.
 
Chorus
 
I dreamed of a mountain, with our ? rider
He was ragged and tattered, but he carried a sabre.
And all through that canyon you hear his bones rattle.
He was dead on a dying horse, he was tied to the saddle.
I was a cowboy, out on the prairie.
Life sure is easier, back home in the alley.