The Deer Hunter back in the day

Today’s guest post was written by Paul.

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A few weeks back, a lady was nice enough to comment on “Wreck of Old Number Nine” that my singing reminded her of Marty Robbins. I don’t quite hear that myself, but I take it as a great compliment because Marty is one of the most talented singers of all time.

That got me to thinking as to whether or not we ever did any Marty Robbins songs. There’s “Little Green Valley, ” which we uploaded to the channel years ago and and then there’s “All Around Cowboy” that I found on an old VHS tape.

The camera angle and quality aren’t all that good, but of course we weren’t thinking other people would ever be viewing the tape.

All Around Cowboy is an award or trophy that is sometimes given at rodeos for the cowboy who performs the best overall in various roping and riding competitions. The song tells the story of a stud of a cowboy who met his match in the form of a cowgirl whose affection he couldn’t win.

Pap and I typically sang more mountain style songs, or Appalachian music, but on this song, Pap sang his part so well you would have thought that he was a Glaser Brother :-).

I saw Marty sing this song on Austin City Limits one night on PBS, and that’s where we learned it. I botched the middle part of the guitar break because I forgot that we were in D flat, rather than D.

In later years we recorded this song on a CD called “Lamp Lighting Time.” You can go here to see the cd’s song list as well as purchase a copy if you’re interested.

Lyrics:

Well, All Around Cowboy, I’ve won it six years in a row. All Around Cowboy means champ of the big rodeo. Made me some money, had me some good times. Falls that I’ve had have been few, Till a Rodeo Queen made the All Around Cowboy Look like an all around fool.

I was the cowboy who said he would never be broke. I even bragged how I’d never be branded or roped. I was doing right well till this blonde little fille rode into my life like a dream, Then the All Around Cowboy fell head over hills in love with the Rodeo Queen.

The moment I looked in her blue eyes, I knew I was gone. I tried to hide it, but the feelings I had were too strong. She showed the world what an all around cowboy can do. She showed the world how an all round cowboy can look like an all around fool.

She made me feel like a bronc without any fire. Too late I realized breaking me was her desire. She rode me and raked me with spurs that left such a hurt, Then she left me broken and she left me crying out there in the rodeo dirt.

The moment I looked in her blue eyes, I knew I was gone. I tried to hide them, but the feelings I had were too strong. She showed the world what an all around cowboy can do. She showed the world how an all round cowboy can look like an all around fool. All around fool.

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I hope you enjoyed Paul’s post and the video. Marty Robbins was for sure one of the greats, but in my opinion Paul and Pap ain’t far behind him.

Tipper