Don Edwards - The Old Cow Man lyrics

I rode across a valley range I hadn't seen for years The trail was all so spoilt and strange It nearly fetched the tears I had to let ten fences down The fussy lanes ran wrong And each new line would make me frown And hum this mournin' song Mhm, hear 'em stretchin' of the wire! The urban brand is on the land I reckon I'll retire While progress toots her greedy horn And makes her motor buzz I thanks the Lord I wasn't born No later than I was 'Twas good to live when all the sod Without no fence or fuss Belonged in partnership with God Mother Nature and to us Where skyline bounds from east to west And room to go and come I loved my fellow man the best When he was scattered some Mhm, closer and closer crawls the wire There's hardly place to step away And call a man a liar Their house has locks on every door Their land is in a crate These ain't the plains of God no more They're only real estate When my old soul hunts range and rest Beyond the last divide Just plant me in some stretch of West Sunny, lone and wide Let cattle rub the tombstone round And coyotes mourn their kin Let horses come and paw the moun' But don't you fence it in! Mhm, far and farther flings the wire To crowd and pinch another inch It's all their heart's desire The world is overstocked with men And some will see the day When each must keep his little pen But I'll be far away While progress toots her greedy horn And makes her motor buzz I thanks the Lord I wasn't born No later than I was