“Mamas don’t let your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys”

This morning on my walk, I was listening to what I call my “eclectic, extensive” music library.  I have found it unusual that even though it is supposed to be random, the music seems to play in themed sets.  Sometimes, like this morning, the songs all remind me of a certain time and place or of certain people.

This morning was definitely cowboy day.

I have known what I would consider three “real” cowboys in my lifetime. More than just the hat, boots and jeans, they all at times lived the cowboy life. By the time I knew them, most of their cowboy days were behind them, but they were all great storytellers and it was easy to imagine them in the freewheeling, hardworking lifestyle.

I began to think about the things they had in common.  I knew them at different times in my life and they did not know each other.

They were all individualists and yet there is something that is hard to define that they had in common.  All of them were hard on the outside, but there was an inner soul that was very approachable and almost sweet. 

They all believed in God and all at some point in their lives had faced death and won.  I wonder if that is true of most of us, maybe just more defined in these three.

And then, as I thought about who they were and their lives, it became apparent it was the mindset, not the activities that made me consider them real cowboys.

They all three loved women.  Not just pretty women or talented women or young women, but just a genuine love of the female gender. 

On the outside they were all men of few words, but once you were considered a friend they could all talk for hours…and it was always hard for me to discern what was truth and what was just a campfire story.

They all loved to laugh but underneath there was a great sadness to each.

They all seemed unafraid of anything and when they were around, people felt safe and protected. 

They were all outdoor kind of guys and self-sufficient.  I don’t think any of the three really needed anyone.

They all at one point lived on a working ranch.

They all wore boots, cowboy hats and jeans.

And then there are the differences –

Two were Viet Nam Vets, One was a draft dodger who spent the Vietnam years in Canada.

Two had motorcycles, two had pickup Trucks, and one was a drag racer.

Two had been rodeo cowboys.

One was a writer, one was a golfer, and two were shade tree mechanics.

Two were heavy drinkers, one was a teetotaler.

And as I look at this list, I realize that probably if you took any three men of my age range, you would probably have the same list.

I have lost touch with all of these three, I think two of them are gone from this world and maybe all three. 

So to all three of them, wherever you are, thank you for the laughs and and the joy and the fun and even the sadness. But most of all for the friendship and the life lessons. I hope you found peace and love in this life…if not, I hope you have found it in the hereafter.

“Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys

Don’t let ’em pick guitars and drive them old trucks

Make ’em be doctors and lawyers and such

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys

‘Cause they’ll never stay home and they’re always alone

Even with someone they love

A cowboy ain’t easy to love and he’s harder to hold

He’d rather give you a song than diamonds or gold

Lonestar belt buckles and soft faded Levi’s

And each night begins a new day

If you don’t understand him and he don’t die young

He’ll probably just ride away

A cowboy loves smoky ol’ pool rooms and clear mountain mornings

Little warm puppies and children and girls of the night

Them that don’t know him won’t like him and them that do

Sometimes won’t know how to take him

He’s ain’t wrong, he’s just different and his pride won’t let him do

Things to make you think he’s right

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys

Don’t let ’em pick guitars and drive them old trucks

Make ’em be doctors and lawyers and such

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys

‘Cause they’ll never stay home and they’re always alone

Even with someone they love”

(Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson Lyrics originally by Ed Bruce)