It's a bit ironic that I live in Nashville and am not a big fan of country music. I like a song here and there, and mainly ones that either are more pop-ish or ones with more bluegrass in them by artists like Alison Krauss or Lady Antebellum, but as a general rule I'm more of a hard rock kind of gal. But in my mind, cowboys have always been linked to country music. After a rodeo or a day of riding the range, they might put on their best boots, cowboy hat and pressed Wrangler jeans and head out to a country western bar for a few drinks and some two-stepping.
Imagine my surprise when I attended a PRCA rodeo in Corpus Christi, Texas last year to do research for next month's installment in the Codys continuity, Elly: Cowgirl Bride. In between riders and events, they played...rock music! I don't know if this is common, but it surprised me.
But back to country music. I think cowboy songs and country music are forever entwined. CMT even did a special called The 20 Greatest Cowboy Songs. Here's their list. See if you agree.
Happy Trails (Roy Rogers)
The Cowboy in Me (Tim McGraw)
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (Willie Nelson)
Cattle Call (Eddy Arnold)
Back in the Saddle Again (Gene Autry)
Amarillo By Morning (George Strait)
Shoulda Been a Cowboy (Toby Keith)
El Paso (Marty Robbins)
Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old) (Garth Brooks)
Don't Take Your Guns to Town (Johnny Cash)
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (EmmyLou Harris)
Rhinestone Cowboy (Glen Campbell)
Home on the Range (Gene Autry)
Ghost Riders in the Sky (several artists)
Cowboy Take Me Away (Dixie Chicks)
Cool Water (Sons of the Pioneers)
What'cha Gonna Do with a Cowboy? (Chris LeDoux)
The Streets of Laredo (Buck Owens)
I Can Still Make Cheyenne (George Straight)
Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys (Willie Nelson)
Here's a little tune to get you in a cowboy song kind of mood, Toby Keith's "I Shoulda Been a Cowboy."
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Herding Instincts
I have to admit, I was laughing out loud as I read Pam's post on horses a couple of weeks ago. So true, every last bit of it!
Horses do have their own agendas, but are usually willing to accept ours, if we ask the right way. Recently, my husband--a great guy but not a horseman--wanted to move my American Cream Draft horses from one place to another. He didn't have a lead rope handy, so he tried grabbing a fist full of mane and pulling. These ladies weigh about 1500 lbs each--not exactly portable! DH tried pulling one, then the other, without success.
I walked out and got behind the girls. "Sssssss," I said, waving my hands a little. "Walk on."
Lucy and Joy looked over their shoulders at me like, "Do we hafta?"
"Come on," I said, with a shooing motion. "Sssss. Walk."
You could see each of them give a sigh. And then they ambled, at their slow, steady draft horse pace, back through the gate and into the pasture.
"How'd you do that?" DH demanded.
I just smiled. There are some things only a horse lover knows.
*******
American Cream Draft Horses are a breed developed in Iowa from the foals of one mare--Old Granny. Her babies all had pink skin, a cream-colored coat, white mane and tail and golden eyes. Cream Drafts were used on farms in the Midwest and in Pennsylvania by the Amish in the first part of the 20th century. World War II and the advent of the tractor cut back the draft horse population severely, until now there are less than 400 Creams in the world. I'm hoping to breed my mares and build the numbers for these beautiful, peaceful horses.
Horses do have their own agendas, but are usually willing to accept ours, if we ask the right way. Recently, my husband--a great guy but not a horseman--wanted to move my American Cream Draft horses from one place to another. He didn't have a lead rope handy, so he tried grabbing a fist full of mane and pulling. These ladies weigh about 1500 lbs each--not exactly portable! DH tried pulling one, then the other, without success.
I walked out and got behind the girls. "Sssssss," I said, waving my hands a little. "Walk on."
Lucy and Joy looked over their shoulders at me like, "Do we hafta?"
"Come on," I said, with a shooing motion. "Sssss. Walk."
You could see each of them give a sigh. And then they ambled, at their slow, steady draft horse pace, back through the gate and into the pasture.
"How'd you do that?" DH demanded.
I just smiled. There are some things only a horse lover knows.
*******
American Cream Draft Horses are a breed developed in Iowa from the foals of one mare--Old Granny. Her babies all had pink skin, a cream-colored coat, white mane and tail and golden eyes. Cream Drafts were used on farms in the Midwest and in Pennsylvania by the Amish in the first part of the 20th century. World War II and the advent of the tractor cut back the draft horse population severely, until now there are less than 400 Creams in the world. I'm hoping to breed my mares and build the numbers for these beautiful, peaceful horses.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
The Show Saddle
BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN—OUT WHERE A FRIEND IS A FRIEND—
When I was a little girl listening to the radio, BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN, was one of my favorite cowboy songs sung by the great Gene Autry. My cousin Heidi was my age, and she loved cowboy music too. We’d play cowboys a lot using our cap guns. Oh boy did we have a lot of fun and a lot of caps. They were like golden treasure. I’d be Hopalong Cassidy, and she’d be Roy Rogers. We whooped it up in our back yards, climbed the apple and cherry trees and then pretended to jump onto our trusty steeds and take off for the bad guys.
Like most kids I went horseback riding once in a while either with family or a couple of friends. I just got on the horse that had been saddled for me and off we went, the horse often leading the way, of course. I had only a general knowledge of horses and equipment.
My great awakening came when I was asked to write the first book for the CODY’S FIRST FAMILY OF RODEO series. Did I ever have my work cut out! A ton of research goes into writing a novel at any time and a novel about rodeos and ranch life was no exception. Needless to say I came across so much fascinating information, I often got sidetracked and forgot to write. (It’s a hazard of being a writer.)
The guys in the Cody series are all headed to win at the World Championship Professional Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada. In Walker Cody’s case, he’d already won his World Champion Gold Buckle in steer wrestling before he left for military service. After coming back from the war, he starts training again for the Cody Roundup in Wyoming. When he goes to the tack room on the Cody ranch, the saddle he’d won is still hanging in there.
After doing so much research, I got to thinking about his saddle. It wasn’t just ‘any’ saddle.
Do you know I never realized how many kinds of saddles there are? I’m talking types for a specific use. You know, like a woman who needs black, brown, white, tan, pink or red shoes for that certain occasion.
Would you believe all these?
Western Pleasure or Trail Riding saddle—
Reining saddle—
Cutting saddle—
Roping saddle—
Barrell Riding saddle--
Flexible Tree saddle—
Show saddle--
Take a close look at a couple of these and you’ll see differences.
The Reining Saddle
The Roping Saddle
The Barrel Racing Saddle
The Pleasure Riding or Trail Saddle
The next time you get on a horse, take a look and make an educated guess. You’ll impress everyone!
Until next time, see ya at the CODY ROUNDUP for the next novel in the Cody Series!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Horses & Cowboys
They're like salt and pepper. Oil and water. Chocolate and vanilla. Something that just goes together. A cowboy and his horse.
Since I happen to love horses it's never a problem for me to write about them. I'm lucky. We own five. A lot of authors have to rely on research books in order to get their facts straight, but I think I'm the human equivalent of a walking Wikipedia when it comes to the animals I love. And so when I run across the occasional book that, well, seems a wee bit unrealistic, I always have to chuckle. Since this blog is geared toward all things cowboy, I hope you don't mind me taking the opportunity to vent.
First of all, Sex on a horse would NOT be fun. Let's look at this anitomically. A horse's back is only a couple of feet wide. The place where you sit is maybe three feet long. And so, not only would you have a tiny little area in which to, um, conduct your business, you would have to do so while perched five feet off the ground. On something that moves. Sometimes quickly. Sometimes not all that comfortably, either. Nope. Not going to happen.
Sex in a saddle is impossible. Saddles--be they english or western--only have room for one butt. One. That's all. No other butts allowed. If you sat two butts in a saddle, one would hang off the back. Or be elevated thanks to the saddle's cantel. Try to, ah, connect the dots. Go ahead. Try it. I dare you.
And speaking of sex...hay is not a good place to conduct connubial relations. Holy guacamole, that'd be like having sex atop a pile of nettles. Hay is as brittle and prickly as cacti. It will give you slivers. Just the thought of a heroine's bare bottom being pounded into a pile of hay gives me the heebie jeebies. I can only imagine the medical bill.
Not all men ride stallions. This one always makes me shake my head. Stallions are not nice animals. They are rotten, stickin', testosterone-laden, opinionated JERKS. Granted, there is the rare exception. My trainer owns one--a perfect gentleman (on most days). But those animals are few and far between. Most of the time they're nasty little pills that require the use of leather and chains. Just ask the gal that led our own stallion to a turn out pen. He bit her in the boob. Yes, the boob. Can you imagine our hero asking the heroine to mount his magnificent, steed only to have said horse turn around and CHOMP. 'Nough said.
A palomino is not a breed, it's a color. Referring to a palomino as a breed is like using the word "white" in place of Poodle, or "tan and black" in place of German Shepard. Don't do it.
Galloping off into the sunset might take awhile. It takes a very well-trained horse--years of training, really--to scoot off into a run at the drop of a hat. Out of all our horses, only one will do this upon command, and he does so because he's been trained to do so; it's necessary for horse shows. But my husband's ranch horse? Or his rope horse? Get one of them out into the wild blue yonder and it's trot, trot, trot, faster and faster, and then faster still; until they absolutely. Must. Canter. In other words, horses are lazy. Most won't gallop off ala The Lone Ranger--not unless you make them.
Whatever you do, don't drop the ball. I see this one in movies all the time. You know the scene: Our hero will canter up to the heroine, dramatically stopping in front of his all-time love, jump off his horse, fly into the heroine's arms and kiss her senseless. Meanwhile, off camera, our gallant steed has decided now might be a good time make a run for the hills, you know, since the human that'd been riding him was stupid enough to drop the reins and leave him standing there. Alone. Truuust me. Most horses will run off at the first sign of freedom. If you look closely, you can sometimes catch this phenomena in action. Pay attention the next time you see a cowboy in a movie. Every once in awhile the camera doesn't pan away quickly enough. The cowboy's horse will spin around before s/he makes a strafing run in the opposite direction, usually bucking and a snorting the whole way. Cracks me up every time.
I'm sure I can think of more, but I'll just bet there are other horse experts out there that have similar pet peeves. Feel free to share them!!!
Since I happen to love horses it's never a problem for me to write about them. I'm lucky. We own five. A lot of authors have to rely on research books in order to get their facts straight, but I think I'm the human equivalent of a walking Wikipedia when it comes to the animals I love. And so when I run across the occasional book that, well, seems a wee bit unrealistic, I always have to chuckle. Since this blog is geared toward all things cowboy, I hope you don't mind me taking the opportunity to vent.
First of all, Sex on a horse would NOT be fun. Let's look at this anitomically. A horse's back is only a couple of feet wide. The place where you sit is maybe three feet long. And so, not only would you have a tiny little area in which to, um, conduct your business, you would have to do so while perched five feet off the ground. On something that moves. Sometimes quickly. Sometimes not all that comfortably, either. Nope. Not going to happen.
Sex in a saddle is impossible. Saddles--be they english or western--only have room for one butt. One. That's all. No other butts allowed. If you sat two butts in a saddle, one would hang off the back. Or be elevated thanks to the saddle's cantel. Try to, ah, connect the dots. Go ahead. Try it. I dare you.
And speaking of sex...hay is not a good place to conduct connubial relations. Holy guacamole, that'd be like having sex atop a pile of nettles. Hay is as brittle and prickly as cacti. It will give you slivers. Just the thought of a heroine's bare bottom being pounded into a pile of hay gives me the heebie jeebies. I can only imagine the medical bill.
Not all men ride stallions. This one always makes me shake my head. Stallions are not nice animals. They are rotten, stickin', testosterone-laden, opinionated JERKS. Granted, there is the rare exception. My trainer owns one--a perfect gentleman (on most days). But those animals are few and far between. Most of the time they're nasty little pills that require the use of leather and chains. Just ask the gal that led our own stallion to a turn out pen. He bit her in the boob. Yes, the boob. Can you imagine our hero asking the heroine to mount his magnificent, steed only to have said horse turn around and CHOMP. 'Nough said.
A palomino is not a breed, it's a color. Referring to a palomino as a breed is like using the word "white" in place of Poodle, or "tan and black" in place of German Shepard. Don't do it.
Galloping off into the sunset might take awhile. It takes a very well-trained horse--years of training, really--to scoot off into a run at the drop of a hat. Out of all our horses, only one will do this upon command, and he does so because he's been trained to do so; it's necessary for horse shows. But my husband's ranch horse? Or his rope horse? Get one of them out into the wild blue yonder and it's trot, trot, trot, faster and faster, and then faster still; until they absolutely. Must. Canter. In other words, horses are lazy. Most won't gallop off ala The Lone Ranger--not unless you make them.
Whatever you do, don't drop the ball. I see this one in movies all the time. You know the scene: Our hero will canter up to the heroine, dramatically stopping in front of his all-time love, jump off his horse, fly into the heroine's arms and kiss her senseless. Meanwhile, off camera, our gallant steed has decided now might be a good time make a run for the hills, you know, since the human that'd been riding him was stupid enough to drop the reins and leave him standing there. Alone. Truuust me. Most horses will run off at the first sign of freedom. If you look closely, you can sometimes catch this phenomena in action. Pay attention the next time you see a cowboy in a movie. Every once in awhile the camera doesn't pan away quickly enough. The cowboy's horse will spin around before s/he makes a strafing run in the opposite direction, usually bucking and a snorting the whole way. Cracks me up every time.
I'm sure I can think of more, but I'll just bet there are other horse experts out there that have similar pet peeves. Feel free to share them!!!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Family Brawls
When the editors told me that the hero in my book, Dexter, and his twin, Dusty, team-roped together I knew what team roping was—I've been to a few rodeos in my day and had watched the event several times. But I wasn't as familiar with the difference between the header (Dusty) and the heeler (Dexter) http://rodeo.about.com/
gives a brief overview of the event.
Team roping is the only team event in rodeo. It grew out of ranch chores from the past. Larger cattle would have to be immobilized for branding and doctoring by two ropers due to their strength and size. Today, team roping is a timed event that relies on the cooperation and skill of the cowboys and their horses. The two cowboys involved in team roping have unique goals. The first, known as the header, does just what the name implies and ropes the head of the cattle. The other cowboy, known as the heeler, ropes the heels or legs. Team roping is great event to watch due to the amazing coordination and cooperation of all the competitors. Team members must work well with each other and with their horses respectively.
American Romance is all about family. When family dynamics suddenly change in a dramatic way, everyone's lives are thrown into chaos. What made writing Dexter: Honorable Cowboy (July 2010) so much fun was knowing that while the twins were supposed to cooperate and work together to prepare for their next rodeo, the exact opposite was happening. Dusty split and left town after his old flame returned and dropped a bombshell on him. Dexter was so ticked off at Dusty and confused about his feelings for his brother's old flame that any practicing they did was ripe with tension and frustration. Of course, any cowboy story worth its salt includes an all-out brawl.
In the end Dexter and Dusty butt heads and throw a few punches. Like true brothers, especially twins, they resolve their differences and make nice.
So how about you….do you like an occasional family brawl in your western romances?
Marin
Marin
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Codys, Behind the Scenes
Have you ever wondered how Harlequin romance novel covers come into being? Well, now you can get a glimpse via the new Love That Cowboy page on Harlequin's website. Here you can see some shots from the photo shoot for Merry Christmas, Cowboy, the sixth and final installment in our currently releasing Codys: First Family of Rodeo continuity series. As I looked through the photos, it was interesting to see how everything came together to make Lynnette's gorgeous cover.
And if you look at the next-to-last photo, next to the small shot of the cover, you'll see our fabulous editorial team at Harlequin American. To the very nice-looking cowboy's left are Johanna, Kathleen and Laura.
~~~
I did a bit of searching online to see if we'd be fortunate to have any westerns coming out anytime in the near future and found out that Christmas day will see the release of the remake of True Grit by the Coen brothers. The original was a John Wayne film, but news accounts say the new version will be truer to the novel by Charles Portis and be told from the point of view of the 14-year-old heroine, Mattie Ross. I don't believe there's a trailer yet available. The new film has some big names in Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. The lead will be played by a young actress named Hailee Steinfeld.
And if you look at the next-to-last photo, next to the small shot of the cover, you'll see our fabulous editorial team at Harlequin American. To the very nice-looking cowboy's left are Johanna, Kathleen and Laura.
~~~
I did a bit of searching online to see if we'd be fortunate to have any westerns coming out anytime in the near future and found out that Christmas day will see the release of the remake of True Grit by the Coen brothers. The original was a John Wayne film, but news accounts say the new version will be truer to the novel by Charles Portis and be told from the point of view of the 14-year-old heroine, Mattie Ross. I don't believe there's a trailer yet available. The new film has some big names in Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. The lead will be played by a young actress named Hailee Steinfeld.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Cowboy Songs
Welcome to Wednesday!
I'm Lynnette Kent, and I'm one of those authors who can't write with noise in the background--that includes music as well as TV and conversation. Like Becky said last week, I'm watching a movie in my head as I type out the words. I want silence around me so I can hear the tone of each voice and see the look in a character's eyes as they speak. Rather than making things up, I feel like I'm transcribing a scene in my head that's happening independent of me as the writer. The least distraction messes with my attention to details.
But when I'm not actively writing, I love to have music going that reflects my vision of the story. My first book for Harlequin was a rodeo story--One More Rodeo, in which the heroine, Mickey, was a champion bareback rider and the hero, Jeff, was a veterinarian. I spent hours watching rodeo on TV, went to as many live events and talked to as many authentic cowboys as I could find. And since I was living in the Washington, D.C. area at the time, hunting up cowboys wasn't easy!
I drew on that research again for Jesse: Merry Christmas, Cowboy, the last of the Cody Family series. I also pulled out the music I listened to for my first rodeo tale. Garth Brooks was the biggest name in country music then (it was 1994) and I loved his big hit, "Rodeo."
His eyes are cold and restless, and his wounds have almost healed.
And she'd give half of Texas, just to change the way he feels.
But she knows his love's in Tulsa, she knows he's gonna go.
Hell, it ain't no woman of flesh 'n blood, it's that damned ol' rodeo!*
I discovered Chris LeDoux at the same time and enjoyed his many rodeo tunes, including "Hooked on an 8-Second Ride." Chris, in case you've never heard of him, was a rodeo star himself, and winner of the National Finals Championship in Bareback Riding. He started making tapes of his music to sell at the shows where he competed, then retired from rodeo and took up music full time. Garth and Chris did a duet I love: "What You Gonna Do With a Cowboy When He Don't Saddle Up and Ride Away?"
In fact, Garth used Chris in one of his earliest songs, "I'm Much Too Young to Feel This Damned Old," about a cowboy driving to his next rodeo. Garth says..."A worn-out tape of Chris LeDoux, lonely women and bad booze seem to be the only friends I've left at all."* And Chris didn't even know about the song until he heard it one day on the radio in his truck! Of course, after that, everybody started looking for Chris LeDoux.
Some of my favorite country music tunes turned out to be songs that didn't get much airplay, including more Garth Brooks--"The Cowboy Song," "Night Rider's Lament," and "Cowboy Bill". That last one still makes me cry. Trisha Yearwood was always good for some cowboy inspiration, especially during "The Song Remembers When." I can't leave out Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, with "Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" and "Good-Hearted Woman, Lovin' A Good-Timin' Man," "Luchenbach, Texas," and "Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain." Or Kris Kristoferson--"Help Me Make It Through the Night" and "Me and Bobby McGee."
Of all the songs I love to hear while I'm writing western stories, the best is probably one of the very earliest I encountered, another Willie Nelson classic. I saw "The Electric Horseman," with Robert Redford, when it first came to theaters in 1979, and the main song has been with me ever since...
I grew up dreamin' of bein' a cowboy, and lovin' the cowboy ways.
Pursuin' the life of my high-ridin' heroes, I burned up my childhood days.
I learned all the rules of the modern day drifter--Don't you hold on to nothin' too long.
'Just take what you need from the ladies then leave them' were the words of a sad country song.
My heroes have always been cowboys.
And they still are it seems.
Sadly in search of and one step in back of
Myself and my slow-moving dreams.***
Man, what a portrait. Listening to the music, I can see him out there, riding his favorite horse as he checks out the fenceline or herds the cattle. Despite all the outfits bought up by big business and all the machines they use to do the ranching these days, he's still out there, if you look hard enough--a bonafide American hero. As Chris LeDoux reminded us:
He's still out there ridin' fences.
Still makes his livin' with his rope.
As long as there's a sunset, he'll keep ridin' for the brand.
You just can't see him from the road.****
And I hope to keep writing about him for just about that long.
Happy Reading!
Lynnette
So I won't get sued:
*"Rodeo" written by Larry Bastien, performed by Garth Brooks on "Ropin' the Wind," 1991.
**"Much Too Young" written by Randy Taylor and Garth Brooks, performed by Garth Brooks on "Garth Brooks," 1989.
***"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys," written by Sharon Vaughn, performed by Willie Nelson for the film "The Electric Horseman," 1979.
****"You Just Can't See Him From the Road," written by Donnie Blanz, Ed Bruce and Judith Bruce, performed by Chris LeDoux, "The Capitol Collection, 1990-2000," 2002.
I'm Lynnette Kent, and I'm one of those authors who can't write with noise in the background--that includes music as well as TV and conversation. Like Becky said last week, I'm watching a movie in my head as I type out the words. I want silence around me so I can hear the tone of each voice and see the look in a character's eyes as they speak. Rather than making things up, I feel like I'm transcribing a scene in my head that's happening independent of me as the writer. The least distraction messes with my attention to details.
But when I'm not actively writing, I love to have music going that reflects my vision of the story. My first book for Harlequin was a rodeo story--One More Rodeo, in which the heroine, Mickey, was a champion bareback rider and the hero, Jeff, was a veterinarian. I spent hours watching rodeo on TV, went to as many live events and talked to as many authentic cowboys as I could find. And since I was living in the Washington, D.C. area at the time, hunting up cowboys wasn't easy!
I drew on that research again for Jesse: Merry Christmas, Cowboy, the last of the Cody Family series. I also pulled out the music I listened to for my first rodeo tale. Garth Brooks was the biggest name in country music then (it was 1994) and I loved his big hit, "Rodeo."
His eyes are cold and restless, and his wounds have almost healed.
And she'd give half of Texas, just to change the way he feels.
But she knows his love's in Tulsa, she knows he's gonna go.
Hell, it ain't no woman of flesh 'n blood, it's that damned ol' rodeo!*
I discovered Chris LeDoux at the same time and enjoyed his many rodeo tunes, including "Hooked on an 8-Second Ride." Chris, in case you've never heard of him, was a rodeo star himself, and winner of the National Finals Championship in Bareback Riding. He started making tapes of his music to sell at the shows where he competed, then retired from rodeo and took up music full time. Garth and Chris did a duet I love: "What You Gonna Do With a Cowboy When He Don't Saddle Up and Ride Away?"
In fact, Garth used Chris in one of his earliest songs, "I'm Much Too Young to Feel This Damned Old," about a cowboy driving to his next rodeo. Garth says..."A worn-out tape of Chris LeDoux, lonely women and bad booze seem to be the only friends I've left at all."* And Chris didn't even know about the song until he heard it one day on the radio in his truck! Of course, after that, everybody started looking for Chris LeDoux.
Some of my favorite country music tunes turned out to be songs that didn't get much airplay, including more Garth Brooks--"The Cowboy Song," "Night Rider's Lament," and "Cowboy Bill". That last one still makes me cry. Trisha Yearwood was always good for some cowboy inspiration, especially during "The Song Remembers When." I can't leave out Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, with "Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" and "Good-Hearted Woman, Lovin' A Good-Timin' Man," "Luchenbach, Texas," and "Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain." Or Kris Kristoferson--"Help Me Make It Through the Night" and "Me and Bobby McGee."
Of all the songs I love to hear while I'm writing western stories, the best is probably one of the very earliest I encountered, another Willie Nelson classic. I saw "The Electric Horseman," with Robert Redford, when it first came to theaters in 1979, and the main song has been with me ever since...
I grew up dreamin' of bein' a cowboy, and lovin' the cowboy ways.
Pursuin' the life of my high-ridin' heroes, I burned up my childhood days.
I learned all the rules of the modern day drifter--Don't you hold on to nothin' too long.
'Just take what you need from the ladies then leave them' were the words of a sad country song.
My heroes have always been cowboys.
And they still are it seems.
Sadly in search of and one step in back of
Myself and my slow-moving dreams.***
Man, what a portrait. Listening to the music, I can see him out there, riding his favorite horse as he checks out the fenceline or herds the cattle. Despite all the outfits bought up by big business and all the machines they use to do the ranching these days, he's still out there, if you look hard enough--a bonafide American hero. As Chris LeDoux reminded us:
He's still out there ridin' fences.
Still makes his livin' with his rope.
As long as there's a sunset, he'll keep ridin' for the brand.
You just can't see him from the road.****
And I hope to keep writing about him for just about that long.
Happy Reading!
Lynnette
So I won't get sued:
*"Rodeo" written by Larry Bastien, performed by Garth Brooks on "Ropin' the Wind," 1991.
**"Much Too Young" written by Randy Taylor and Garth Brooks, performed by Garth Brooks on "Garth Brooks," 1989.
***"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys," written by Sharon Vaughn, performed by Willie Nelson for the film "The Electric Horseman," 1979.
****"You Just Can't See Him From the Road," written by Donnie Blanz, Ed Bruce and Judith Bruce, performed by Chris LeDoux, "The Capitol Collection, 1990-2000," 2002.
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