I was sitting in a coffee shop
having a cup, passing time,
swapping rodeo stories
with this old cowboy friend of mine,
when some motorcycle rider
started snickering in the back
and started poking fun at my
friend's hat.
One old 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 dude said,
maybe I'll just rip that hat
right off your head.
And that's when my friend turned around and said,
You'll ride a black tornado
across the western skies,
You'll rope an old blue northern
and milk it till it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi
and pin its ears down flat
Long before you'll take
this cowboy's hat
He said, partner,
this old hat is better left alone
It used to be my daddy's hat,
but last year he passed on
My nephew skinned the rattler
that makes up the hat band
But in 69 he died in Vietnam
And I got this eagle feather
From an Indian friend of mine
Somebody ran him down
Close to the 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
Across the western skies
You'll rope an old blue northern
and they'll get till it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi
and pin its ears down flat
Long before you'll take
this cowboy's hat
Now if your leather jacket means to you
what this old hat means to me
Then we understand each other,
we'll just let it be
But if you still think it's funny
And with my back against the wall
Well, you touch my hat,
and you'll have to fight us all
Well, I caught a little sadness
in that gang leader's eyes
Then he turned back to the others,
and they walked on outside
And when my friend turned back toward me
I noticed that his hat brim
Was turned up like a
big ol' Texas grin
You'll ride a black tornado
across the western skies
You'll rope an old blue northern,
and milk it till it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi,
and pin its ears down flat
Long before you'll take
this cowboy's hat
Long before you'll take this
cowboy's hat
yeah