Cowboy music isn’t restrained to the realms of country music. This playlist looks beyond the obvious choices, picking out some of the best songs about cowboys with a sound distinctly different to the old, plodding donkey vibe you’d expect!
Songs About Cowboys
1. Thin Lizzy – Cowboy Song
Cowboy Song by Thin Lizzy uses its high-speed, marching rock flairs to conjure the feeling of bounding forth on horseback. Thin Lizzy evoke a vintage country ambience within their lyrics, telling the tale of a cowboy reminiscing on his lost lover whilst attempting to flee his past;
“I am just a cowboy lonesome on the trail, a starry night, a campfire light, the coyote call, the howling winds wail, so I ride out to the old sundown.”
Thin Lizzy tie their track together with a cowboy’s metaphor for the tumult of life, shaping their song for those finding their best days stemming from adventure, chaos and change;
“Roll me over and turn me around, let me keep spinning ’til I hit the ground… Roll me over and set me free, the cowboy’s life is the life for me.”
2. Kylie Morgan – I Only Date Cowboys
Kylie Morgan’s pop-rock single, I Only Date Cowboys, is centred in a captivating blend of soul, punk rock and smoke-stained country blues elements, each as instantly addictive as the last.
This upbeat track lists the many types of men and heartbreakers encountered along a woman’s way, the narrator settling on a man who can match her wild side;
“I tried the clean cut, but I had to cut that off, I had the bad boy, but he wasn’t bad enough … Now I only date cowboys with the hat and boots that can back up a trailer like his truck’s on cruise.”
3. Kid Rock – Cowboy
Kid Rock’s hip-hop / rap track, Cowboy, brings the old-school rebel attitude into the current era. Woven with an array of bluesy, country rock riffs and retro Southern elements, Kid Rock draws the natural line between a cowboy’s reckless persona and a rapper’s;
“Give a toast to the sun, drink with the stars, get thrown in the mix and tossed outta bars… I wanna be a Cowboy, baby, riding at night ’cause I sleep all day, I can smell a pig from a mile away.”
4. George Michael – Cowboys And Angels
George Michael’s 1991 pop single, Cowboys And Angels, illustrates a complex love triangle between a straight couple and another man with whom the male partner is falling in love.
Set against a jazzy harmony, Michael’s title lyric is crafted as a metaphor showcasing the good and bad sides of love, the contrast of faithfulness and lawless lust, or purity & impurity;
“Take this man to your place, maybe his hands will help you forget, please be stronger than your past, the future may still give you a chance.”
5. Cash and Maverick – Space Cowboy
This pop track by Cash and Maverick adopts the dusty ambience of the old West, laying fresh beats upon their chokingly suspenseful, energy-raising atmosphere.
Reining tons of cowboy allusions into their lyrics spanning the eras of the lifestyle, from bull riding to fast cars, Space Cowboy is devoted to the ideals of freedom and gaining unstoppable potential;
“Can’t keep me contained, won’t get stuck in this cage, walk through the flames, don’t get hit by this train. I’ve got a brand new horse, pedal to the floor, space cowboy like Luke with The Force, feeling like I’m winning, this is the beginning, grab the bull by the horns, yeah this is how I’m living,”
6. Oliver Tree – Cowboys Don’t Cry
Oliver Tree’s eccentric indie pop track, Cowboys Don’t Cry, places the theme of lonesome cowboys in the modern age; devising a metaphor for inescapable loneliness after a break up;
“Just an outlaw who only had one friend, I wonder if I’ll ever see her face again, dark clouds hanging over, they follow where I’ve been, my Cowboy tears are still blowing in the wind.”
Embellishing his harmony with fresh country influences, Tree’s bright chorus hosts a wildly melancholic horse-themed metaphor surrounding the endless pattern of love and despair; “We’re riding around this carousel, getting dizzy ’til we’re sick, love is like a circle, there’s no easy way to end.”
7. Sad Lovers & Giants- Cowboys
Sad Lovers & Giants’ 1983 post-punk track, Cowboys, completely separates itself sonically from any sign of its cowboy inspiration, their soundscape soaked in synths and shoegazey guitar riffs conjuring a plush ‘80s ambience, rather than an old Western vibe.
This track transfers the arch-nemeses stance between cowboys and Native Americans, forming a metaphor for two lovers who are hopelessly against one another.
Alternatively, this piece relates to toxic masculinity, team rivalry and literal war alike, their lyrics reflecting the paranoid uncertainty of battle against an ageless landscape;
“Cowboys don’t love Indians, maybe they fight too well, they seem tough, but it’s just a bluff, some things are hard to tell. And who is brave? And who is strong? You think you are, you could be wrong.”
8. Kacey Musgraves – Space Cowboy
This Kacey Musgraves track turns its title phrase, Space Cowboy, into a metaphor for needing space away from a reckless relationship.
Musgraves threads her lyrics with an abundance of evocative imagery mirroring her old Southwestern theme, such as the gold-rush of new-found love and the idea of good guys and bad guys, found in both movies and relationships.
Amongst Musgraves’ most breathtaking sentiments are those mirroring heartbreak with wild, Western freedom, crafting a song for anyone letting their old lover run loose again;
“Well sunsets fade, and love does too, yeah, we had our day in the sun, when a horse wants to run, there ain’t no sense in closing the gate, you can have your space, cowboy.”
9. Paula Cole – Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?
Paula Cole’s 1997 release, Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?, is a pop rock track devoted to mesmerising lyrical illustrations of a happy ending, a cowboy husband and a simple life in the South;
“Why don’t we go sit down in the shade, take shelter on my front porch, the dandelion sun scorching like a glass of cold lemonade.”
Cole cuts through her daydream with the harsh reality of romance and the endless search for ‘the one’; “I am wearing my new dress tonight, but you don’t even notice me, say our goodbyes … Where is my Marlboro Man? Where is his shiny gun? Where is my lonely ranger? Where have all the cowboys gone?”