This Cowboy's Hat

I love the lyrics to this old country song. It was written by Jake Brooks and first released by Porter Wagoner in 1983. But I think the most popular version (certainly for my family) was Chris LeDoux’s 1991 version. For those who are not familiar with Chris LeDoux, he was a very famous rodeo champion (bareback), later to become a country singer legend. And I do mean legend. He has quite the following, even after his death from cancer in 2005. His legacy remains strong - especially in our neck of the woods. I did get to see him in concert before he died - probably 1993 or 94.

A meme with some of the lyrics from "This Cowboy’s Hat" came into my Facebook Feed this morning. I smiled. That’s true poetry to me… But it reminded me of something from when my son was little. 

My son has had a cowboy hat since the time he was two years old...usually a little straw hat, at that age. But about the time he turned 7 or 8 we bought him a nice, but rather expensive (for an 8 year old) felt hat. It was black, shaped perfectly and he wore it a lot...usually for going out to the store, or church, or family gatherings. He took care of it well. My husband an avid hat wearer, himself, taught our son how to take care of a good cowboy hat.

There is an old saying that you "don’t touch a cowboy’s hat". It’s a personal item, you just don’t do it. Everyone knows that. Don’t they? 

Well when you are 7 or 8, no, you don’t; you have to be taught. Perfectly understandable. Also, entirely necessary.

Like all kids, my son often had other little kids come to play. This particular bunch loved to dress the role and play cowboys. Seems my son’s new black cowboy hat, became a popular item. The kids would pull it from his head, treat it disrespectfully; and sometimes just be kids...but honestly, it kinda became a pain in the neck. They also ignored my warnings and the abuse of the new hat continued.

So I had no choice but to take it to the kids’ mama. I told her my son had head lice. Lol hahaha NOT REALLY! But she interpreted my comment that way.

I didn’t actually tell her he had head lice; but rather, I told her kids shouldn’t be wearing each other’s hats as a standard practice - in case of head lice…. It just seemed like a common sense thing to me. Head lice is known to plague kids at times- in EVERY generation. In EVERY area. (So please don't go there!) Everyone knew when I was growing up not to share combs, brushes, or hats….it was kind of like being taught not to share your toothbrush….kind of a no-brainer. Simply personal etiquette and health.

Anyway, when I explained my thoughts to this mama...she didn’t really listen, I guess. She just ASSUMED that I said my son had head lice. Lol NO. He didn’t! 

But ya know what? Those kids never disrespected his cowboy hat again. lol Sometimes ya gotta “bulldog the Mississippi”. And sometimes a little trip down memory lane is fun...

Here’s the lyrics:

You know what
No matter how different we dress
Or look or talk, we all have a lot of things in common
That's what this song's about

I was sittin' in a coffee shop
Having a cup to pass the time
Swappin' Rodeo stories
With this ol' Cowboy friend of mine

When some motorcycle riders
Startin snickerin' in the back
Started pokin' fun at my friends hat

One ol' 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 the western sky
Rope an ol' Blue Northern
And milk it 'til it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi
And pin its ears down flat
Long before you take this Cowboy's Hat

Partner, this ol' hat's better left alone
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

The eagle feather was given to me by an Indian friend of mine
Someone ran him down somewhere around that Arizona line
And a real special lady gave me this hat pin
But I don't know if I'll ever see her again

You'll ride a black tornado
Across the western sky
Rope an old Blue Northern
And milk it 'til it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi
And 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
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

Right then I caught a little sadness
In that Gang leader's eyes
He turned back to the others
And they all just kinda shuffled on outside

When my friend turned back towards me
I noticed his ol' hat brim
Well it was turned up
In a big ol' Texas grin

You'll ride a black tornado
Across the western sky
Rope an old Blue Northern
And milk it 'til it's dry
Bulldog the Mississippi
And pin its ears down flat
Long before you take this Cowboy's hat

And here's the video.