Talkin' Prairie Boy

"Talkin' Prairie Boy" Buddy's old man is back on the booze He's swinging a driver at a big bull moose That keeps getting on the goddamn property Or so he says Cigarettes are expensive and whiskey ain't cheap And winters are bitter, but the summers are sweet And you can get some modestly priced smokes over at the Rez If you're so inclined Most of my time's spent in a big blue van Just traveling the country with a five-piece band Pick a little for the folks and sing when I can Granted, I'm sober And other days are for meant for chorin' Just workin' at the ranch to stave off boredom And keeping the calves from finding new ways to keel over Just living the dream I was cooling my heels down in Tennessee Post 82, some buddies and me And we were shooting the shit 'till we ran out of ammunition Some dude overheard from across the room And instead of minding his own, he'd just as soon Sit down next to us and join in on the conversation Brought over some kinda beer Something called a I-P-A East Nashville kid in a cowboy hat And he couldn't tell a shoe lace from a lariat And the furthest West he'd ever been is Ohio He's talking at me, says he's looking for work And he don't mind getting some dirt on his shirt And would I be so kind as to hire him on, well, oh, my oh Surprised he didn't bring a resume He said but if you're doing fence, then I ain't for hire And if you're doing hay, then frankly, I wouldn't conspire To ask me about doing that either I said, "What are ya good for?" And he said, "Plenty" I could see this conversation wasn't going any which way And figured I'd do well just to leave here "So long buddy" "You can keep your IPAs" Yeah, this city life has sure got me tired And it's hard for a prairie boy to admire all the Concrete and the towering skyscrapers So just as soon as I'm able to find my hat I believe I'll leave and head on back home Where the tallest buildings are all grain elevators Long gone to Saskatchewan Yeah, I'm outta this place and bound for the farm And I'm not taking no greenhorn along I have a hard enough time just keeping track of myself But if you're down in Nashville, and you're trying to look cool But ya can't tell a pretty palomino from a mule Take my advice and leave the buckaroo hat on the shelf