Song For Ian Tyson
Echoes of Dust and Whiskey: A Ballad for Vanishing Cowboys
Lyrics
Well them old cowboys don't sing too much no more
Old cowboys don't sing as much as they used to
They've been singing to the wind
They've been expressing themselves without being heard
And their throats are sore
Resulting in sore throats from unacknowledged efforts
And every love they rode away
The loves they left behind haunt them
From makes them walk the floor
Those past loves cause emotional distress
Them old cowboys don't sing too much no more
Reiteration of old cowboys' diminishing inclination to sing
Like an old wolf in a leg trap
Similarity drawn between a trapped wolf and an old cowboy facing limitations
They'll stand up fierce when you come
Old cowboys stand defiantly despite their challenges
They want to be counted but their time hasn't come
They desire recognition but haven't had their moment
Just an old man drowning in a ten gallon hat
An old man feeling overwhelmed in his grand appearance
Like an old wolf caught in a leg trap
Repeated analogy of an old cowboy constrained
Dry and dusty, dry and dusty
Describing the dry and dusty environment
Whiskey makes the guitar rusty
Alcohol affects the guitar negatively but eases singing temporarily
But soothes the voice like honey for a while
Whiskey provides a momentary relief for the voice
Raise a glass to the cowboy friend
Toasting to the memory of the forgotten cowboy
Who's life we'll never see again
Remembering a life now lost to history
Who's songs run on like water for all time
The songs endure through time
Well way out on the prairie the cowboy wrote his songs
Describing the cowboy's creative process in a remote location
Long have grown the grasses
Grasses have grown tall around where the cowboy once sat
Round the spring where he sat long
Implies a lengthy duration since the cowboy's presence
Who's crystal shattered
His clarity of expression has been broken
Fettered souls of all who listened long
His music has impacted the souls of listeners profoundly
As the cowboy strummed in time alone
His solitary musical performance in that environment
Dry and dusty, dry and dusty
Reiteration of the dry and dusty setting
Whiskey makes the guitar rusty
Whiskey's negative effect on the guitar reiterated
But soothes the voice like honey for a while
Alcohol soothes temporarily but damages in the long run
Raise a glass to the cowboy friend
Toasting again to the forgotten cowboy
Who's life we'll never see again
Reflecting on a life lost to time
Who's songs run on like water for all time
Reinforcing the endurance of the cowboy's songs through history
Who's songs run on like water for all time
Continuing the notion of the songs' lasting impact
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