I've lived long enough to see it all,
at least I thought it so.
'Till a rainy day at the ranch last Spring,
when they started servin' espresso.

The west is changin', so they say,
a fact I cannot hide.
Cowboys used to stand apart
with tradition, guts & pride.

Now we got men who call themselves ropers
wearin' tennies and baseball caps.
Serious breeders carryin' papers
on bushy-tailed, spotless Apps.

Why, I've seen boots without manure,
sombreros with no sign of sweat.
and punchers ridin' 4-wheelers,
is about as low as a man kin get.

An espresso bar at the horse ranch?
Why, it purtneer broke my heart.
Let them city folks drink their fill
by the two-bit pony at Wal-Mart.

I reckon he ain't sold his saddle, boys,
but it's not that far to go...
When a cowboy forsakes boiled coffee,
and starts sippin; that there espresso!

Cowboy Poetry ©  Stephen Bly