My Heros Used To Be Cowboys Poem by JAMES T. ADAIR

My heros used to be cowboys
Daddy was up at dawn and on the bus
into the city
Momma uaed to sleep late
And I was imagining the nitty-gritty
I was in the high plains and sierras
or with banditos with sombrerras
confronting cheaters at the gambling table
slipping a sugar cube to my palamino horse Mable
Watching the Westerns whenever I was able
My heros were cowboys

Gene Autry, Dale Evans and the Duke
Gunsmoke, Will Rogers and Tom Mix
that's how I used to get my kicks
before I opend up my box of Trix
I had to get my cowboy fix
I suppose that's where I formed my values
and my hopes and aspirations
cowboys were my heros and inspiration
not like today's overnight sensations
cowboys used to reflect the heart of our nation
but somewhere I realize it all faded into lies
today you can't look a cowboy in the eyes
I realize

I wouldn't jump you or rob a bank
If I help you, you needn't thank
I tip my hat to the ladies
and I'm the silent type
I smoke a cigar out on the trail
I can handle a gun and be as hard a nail
I don't own a horse but some day I might
I feel alone in the night
and love camping out and seeing the stars bright
I don't run away from a fight
I have a heart that believes in right
I'd rob from the rich to help the poor
my intentions are always pure
If I found you bleeding I'd help mend and cure
and wouldn't accuse if I wasn't sure
If we're friends I'd have your back
when we're outnumbered and under attack
my wit and humor can be as sharp as a tack
and I sing and play guitar, on top of that
If the wagon needed fix'n alng the trail
there ain't nothin' I can't fix or mend
only on myeslf it seems I can depend
suddenly I realize, to my surprise
somewhow there's a cowboy inside of me

Today a cowboy is just a dandy
with western wear, Wrangler jeans
Boot Scootin Boogie
The Marlboro Man in magazines
Clint Black on Donald Trump, came off like a chump!
That tool that's dating Jewel, nah..I wont be cruel
Kenny Chesney and the like.. Somethings just not right
Now cowboys drink wine coolers and BUD LITE
Something was lost in translaton along the way
Even Johnny Cash and Bronson have passed away
Men where more true blue back in the day
and I'm feeling a blue too..
The last cowboy I tipped my hat to
drove the black #3
and the day he died I cried
'cause I lost a part of me
Cowboys aren't true anymore
like they used to be.
But those cowboys of old
are still a part of me
as I get closer to the heart of me