This Cowboy's Hat

Well, I was sittin' in a coffee shop, just havin' a cup to pass the time Swappin' Rodeo stories, with this ol' cowboy friend of mine When some motorcycle riders started snickerin' in the back They started pokin' fun at my friends hat And one ol' boy said, "Hey, Tex, where'd you park your horse?" My friend just pulled his hat down low, but they couldn't be ignored One husky fella said, "I think I'll just 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 You'll rope an ol' blue northern, and milk it 'til it's dry Bulldog the Mississippi and pin its ears down flat Long before you take this cowboy's hat" He said, "Partner, now this ol' hat it's better left alone You see, it used to be my daddy's, but last year he passed on My nephew skinned the rattler that makes up this ol' hat band But back in '69, he died in Vietnam" "Now the eagle feather was given to me by an Indian friend of mine But someone 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 You'll rope an ol' blue northern, and milk it 'til it's dry Bulldog the Mississippi, pin its ears down flat Long before you take this cowboy's hat" "Now if your leather jacket means to you what this ol' hat means to me Then I guess we understand each other, and we'll just let it be But if you still think it's funny, my back's against the wall But if you touch my hat, you gotta fight us all" Right then I caught a little sadness in that gang leader's eyes He turned back to the others, and they all just shuffled on outside But when my friend turned back towards me, I noticed his ol' hat brim Well, it was turned up, in a big ol' Texas grin You'll ride a black tornado 'cross the western sky You'll rope an ol' blue northern, and milk it 'til it's dry Bulldog the Mississippi, pin its ears down flat Long before you take this cowboy's hat You'll ride a black tornado 'cross the western sky You'll rope an ol' blue northern, and milk it 'til it's dry Bulldog the Mississippi, pin its ears down flat Long before you take this cowboy's hat You'll ride a black tornado 'cross the western sky You'll rope an ol' blue northern, and milk it 'til it's dry