“Cowboy’s Toast” – Dick Gibford

 

Here’s to the best of the good

And the worst of the bad,

All them old horses I rode

Since I was a lad.

 

To the do’s and the don’ts

And the why’s and the not’s,

And all them round-up cooks

A-scrubbin’ out their iron pots,

 

And the blizzard that bites,

And the sun that grows grass,

And the saddle that wears a hole

In your pants,

 

To the high lonesome deserts

And timbered peaks,

And the smell of your hide

When you ain’t bathed for weeks,

 

To the warm summer breeze

At first light of day,

And the wild nights in town

When you gather your month’s pay,

 

To the ladies that dance

To the tune of the juke,

And the sight of the pickup

All stained with dust,

 

And the rough, rocky road back to camp,

Tobacco that’s spilt,

And the papers that’s damp,

And the long hot dry circle

You ride the next day,

A-thinkin’ real hard on changin’ your ways.

 

And here’s to your health

When you’re back on your feet,

All the ridin’ and ropin’

Done up so neat.

 

Way out in the brush

Where no one can see,

To the burnin’ hair

At the brandin’ bee.

 

And those oysters that’s et

Direct from the fire,

All flavored with ashes

And sagebrush smoke.

And here’s to your life-long desire

Whether you’re rich

Or whether you’re broke,

 

To the peace in your mind

When you reach your goal,

To the truth in your heart

And the wealth in your soul.

 

And let’s toast to the trail blazers,

Wherever they be,

Their genius and courage

That made us so free.

 

And the greatest artists

Down through the years,

The Russells and the Phippins,

And last frontiers.

 

And here’s joy to the present

And to the future with hope,

And the quick dally velta*

At the end of the rope.

 

Found in “Cowboy Poetry – A Gathering” available in our Bookstore