When The Rodeo Is Over (Where Does The Cowboy Go?)

He got down out of the cattle truck in the Amarillo night

He looked up at the Texas sky and thought of his last ride

He'd trade all his tomorrows for eight seconds one more time

He coulda made World Champion Cowboy back in 1969

He thanked the driver for the ride and he closed the semi door

And limped across the parkin' lot to another liquor store

He held onto the bottle as he counted out his change

And he felt like some old saddle bronc who'd been turned out on the range

When the rodeo is over, where does the cowboy go?

Never thought it'd be his last ride 'til the last time he got throwed

When your heart can't take the losin' and your knees can't take the blows

When the rodeo is over, where does the cowboy go?

Where does the cowboy go?

Whiskey on his breath and the age in his eyes

He'll hitch a ride on the interstate and fade into the sunrise

Now, Sedona, she's a vortex, but she's sweeter than the coast

He smokes cigarettes he can't afford and whistles to a ghost

His boots belong to memory and his spurs belong to rust

He'll be pickin' up his turquoise and leave the buckles in the dust

When the rodeo is over, where does the cowboy go?

He never thought it'd be his last ride 'til the last time he got throwed

When your heart can't take the losin' and your knees can't take the blows

When the rodeo is over, where do the cowboys go?

When the rodeo is over, where does the cowboy go?

Up where the small roads grow bigger

Somewhere on Music Row

A cowboy was a-takin' his chances

Hopin' that Tanya will show