Cowboy Speak

He says a lot with just a few words
It’s the way of cowboy speech,
You might learn a lesson about life
That he wasn’t out to teach.

He has a certain way of sayin’ things
Makin’ you wonder what he said,
Maybe some simple pearl of wisdom
That leaves you scratchin’ yer head.

Like ‘feathers fly where the shot hits’,
He knows that’s a fact of life,
That’s when a word hits a sore spot
And he sees the flinch and strife.

Cowboy names are just three letters
Because he limits his words,
‘Cause it ain’t efficient to be verbose
So he makes good use of verbs.

Not wastin’ words on double syllables,
He uses the shorter names,
Like Lew and Ed and Ted and Ned
And cowboys like Will James.

No names like ‘The Marlboro Man’
On some perty cowboy poster,
But Matt and Tim or John Wayne
Imprinted on their holster.

No respectable outfit would ever hire
A cowhand named Bubba,
Or some Bartholomew or Oliver
Or a potbelly named Tubba.

Life’s just too short to use big words,
Gettin’ hoof and mouth disease,
So a cowboy’s careful what he says
‘Cause it puts his mind at ease.
Ed Keenan © 4-02

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