This Cowboy's Hat

(album: Lambs & Lions - 2017)

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 lost cause

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
One husky fellow said "I think I'll rip that hat right off your head"
That's when my friend turned around, and this is what he said:

You'll ride a black tornado, cross the western sky
Rope an old Blue Northern, and milk it 'till it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi, pin it's 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
But 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
And 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 'till it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi, pin it's 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
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 'till it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi, pin it's down flat
Long before you take this cowboy's hat