Cowboy From Catarina
By Max Stalling

       C                     F  C
He was born on a bright day, 1908
          C                        G  
Must have made up his mind that he just couldn't wait
    C                F            C
The labor came on so quick and so fast
C                           G             C
They rushed to town but she just couldn't last
   C                          F             C
He entered the world with his daddy playing doctor
  C                             G
A horse for a nursemaid, cattle milling about
C                       F             C
Born in the back of his daddy's ranch wagon
         C                            G       C
Into the tools of the trade there was never a doubt


Chorus:
F                      C
He loved the wide open spaces the best
          F                         C
He looked east every morning, every evening he looked west
          F                        C      G
Loved his cowboying ways more than anyone knew
   F            C               G          C 
Cowboy from Catarina, it's open spaces for you
   F            C               G          C
Cowboy from Catarina, it's open spaces for you


Spent whole days on horseback just explaining the country
Skipped school when he could cause it kept him inside
Took his supper on the back steps so he could see the sun setting
Stood up in his stirrups to watch the sunrise
He'd ride through the draws where the rock faces whistle
Sit there amongst the mesquite shrubs and the thistles
He'd smell the whitebrush that the breeze carried by
And he'd thank the angels for his cowboy life

Chorus

The second great war called him down from his horse
They asked will you serve and he answered of course
So he rode a troop ship across the great wide
And he fought the Axis with one thought in mind
Get back to Catarina, get back to his life
Get back to his fencelines and the south Texas sky
Get back to his cattle, his pastures, his land
The cowboy from Catarina, he wore a very deep brand

Chorus


Change key to D
    D                              G                 D 
The eighties rolled around and his skin was wrinkled leather
    D                         A 
The hearing had faded and his balance had been better
             D                       G           D
But he could still spot a buck three fencelines away
    D                             A               D
And cowboy from Catarina I wonder where you are today
        D                          G          D 
Are you down in the draw where the rock faces whistle
        D                   A
Are you sitting amongst the mesquite shrubs and thistles
        D                             G              D
Can you smell the whitebrush that the breeze carries by
            D                            A         D
And are you thanking the angels for your cowboyin' life


Chorus 2:
      G                       D            
Cause you loved the wide open spaces the best
           G                         D                      
You looked east every morning, every evening you looked out west
               G                        D      A
You loved your cowboying ways more than anyone knew
   G             D              A          D
Cowboy from Catarina, it's open spaces for you
   G             D              A
Cowboy from Catarina, it's open spaces
          G                    D 
It's them wide open spaces for you