D / / 2 / / 3 / / 4 / /
I grew up a-dreamin' of bein' a cowboy
G                 D
Lovin' the cowboy ways
Pursuin' the life of my high-ridin' heroes
  E            E7        A7
I burned up my childhood days
  D
I learned all the rules of the modern-day drifter
          G                     D
Don't you hold onto nothin' too long
     G                           D
Just take what you need from the ladies
     G              D          A7          D
Then leave them the words of a sad country song

CHORUS:
   G                       D
My heroes have always been cowboys
E         E7            A7
 And they still are, it seems
G                   D               G
Sadly in search of, but one step in back of
    D                A7          D
Themselves and their slow-movin' dreams

Verse 2:
Cowboys are special with their own brand of misery
From bein' alone too long
You could die from the cold in the arms of a nightmare
Knowin' well your best days are gone
Pickin' up hookers instead of my pen
I let the words of my years fade away
Old worn-out saddles, old worn-out memories
With no one and no place to stay

(chorus)