When I Was A Cowboy by Ralph McTell
Key: GG | Capo: 0fr |  Left-Handed 

    


Intro
G   G   G   G
Verse 1
        F  G               F  G
I was a cowboy, out in the alley.
          F   G        Am         D    G
Me and my six-gun keep law on the prairie.
              F           G                       F    G
I remember my first horse well. He was lean but a fast one.
                  F    G   Am           F  G
We traveled miles together until he got stolen.
Chorus
        D
And the sheriff said, "Get early to bed
    A      Am        C              G
and always keep your hat screwed on real tight,
                       Em
n' case you get into a fight."
             C          D               G    C
Well, that's one of the tricks that you must employ
       D             G
if you wanna be a cowboy,
Verse 2
           F        G                 F       G
I traveled far from home, even jumped freight trains.
                    F G          Am         F    G
Threw stones in the ocean, slept out in the cold rain.
                    F        G                      F   G
It was down in some southern town and the music was playin'
                    F          G                   Am          F  G
and the people were talkin' so loud. They heard no words I was sayin'.
Chorus
        D
And the sheriff said, "Get early to bed
    A      Am        C              G
and always keep your hat screwed on real tight,
                       Em
n' case you get into a fight."
             C          D               G    C
Well, that's one of the tricks that you must employ
       D             G
if you wanna be a cowboy,
Verse 3
               F   G                       F  G
I dreamed of a mountain, with one lonesome rider.
                  F  G            Am        F G
He was ragged and tattered and he carried a saber.
                    F  G                             F G
And all through the canyon, you could hear his bones rattle.
                 F G                    Am          F G
He was dead on a dying horse and he was tied to the saddle.
Chorus
        D
And the sheriff said, "Get early to bed
    A      Am        C              G
and always keep your hat screwed on real tight,
                       Em
n' case you get into a fight."
             C          D               G    C
Well, that's one of the tricks that you must employ
       D             G
if you wanna be a cowboy,
Verse 4
        F  G              F   G
I was a cowboy out on the prairie.
             F  G            Am          F G
Life is much easier now back home in the alley.
Chorus
        D
And the sheriff said, "Get early to bed
    A      Am        C              G
and always keep your hat screwed on real tight,
                       Em
n' case you get into a fight."
             C          D               G    C
Well, that's one of the tricks that you must employ
       D             G
if you wanna be a cowboy,