Well there's always been groups of people that never could see eye to eye
And I always thought if they ever had a chance to sit down and talk face to face
They might realize they had a lot in common
Well I was sitting in a coffee shop just having a cup to pass the time
Swapping rodeo stories with this old cowboy friend of mine
When some motorcycle riders started snickerin' in the back
Started pokin' 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 fella said "I think I'll 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 across a western sky
Rope an old blue norther' and milk it 'til it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi, pin its ears down flat
Long before you take this cowboy's hat
Now partner, this old hat'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 old 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 give me this hat pin
And I don't know if I'll ever see her again
You'll ride a black tornado across a western sky
Rope an old blue norther' 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 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 man you got my back up against the wall
And if you touch my hat you're gonna have to fight us all
Well right then I caught a little sadness in that gang leader's eyes
He turned back to the others and they all just kind of shuffled on outside
But when my friend turned back towards me I noticed his old hat brim
Well it was turned up in a big old Texas grin
You'll ride a black tornado across a western sky
Rope an old blue norther' and milk it 'til it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi, pin its ears down flat
Long before you take this cowboy's hat
