Behind the Grindstone: Cowboy Romance

He thought he’d load her up
And take her for a ride
After all for more than twenty years
She had been his bride

So they loaded up in the pickup
She says “Where are we gonna go”
He said “Other than an empty place
I reckon I don’t know”

Oh, she was a real beauty
And he took lots of pride
To be seen with her
Right there by his side

But right now what he wanted
Was a place all their own
A place where the two of them
Could spend some time alone

So he found a lonesome road
That wandered here and there
Where it wound up wanderin’ to
He really didn’t care

Because it cut across the prairie
So wide and so immense
There were miles between houses
With not a sign of a fence

With coyotes and antelope
And always a persistent raven
It seems there on the prairie
They always make their haven

He stopped at a pull off
Said, “This spot aught to do
Maybe we can spend some time
Just me and you”

They watched a coyote wander
Lookin’ for a meal
And he was feelin’ the feelin’
He was beginning to feel

Words and rhymes and rhythms
In his mind began to dance
And drifted down to his heart
Which was soon filled with romance

And his heart begin a swellin’
Just about to explode
Right there on the prairie
Beside that country road

And he spoke to his bride
Who was leaned right near
Listenin’ for those sweet nothins’
That she longed to hear

He said “If I were a coyote
Here on this prairie wide
I’d wander through the moonlight
With you right by my side”

“We’d become critters of the night time
And sleep away the day
We’d dance under the moonbeams
When the bats came out to play”

“I’d yodel from the ridge top
And sing to the stars above
A song about your beauty
A song about our love”

“We’d lay on our backs on the prairie
You tryin’ to count the stars in the skies
I layin’ there watchin’
Their reflection in your eyes”

“And listen to the mockingbird
Singin’ into the night
At peace here together
Knowin’ all is right”

“Yes if I were a coyote
I’d walk through the night with pride
Cause I’d have no one but you
Walkin’ by my side”

She raised up her head
And looked him in the eye
Says, “You’re such a romantic
It makes me want to cry”

After that comment
The romance seemed to fade away
And he just wasn’t sure
What she had meant to say

So he just started up the pickup
And they continued with their ride
He was settin’ high in the saddle
With her right by his side.

At least, that’s the view here from behind the grindstone.