[Intro: arena crowd roar, a chute gate bangs open, one guitar chord] [Hook: raspy grinnin' male lead, arena shouts "ha!"] Cowboy gets the eight (ha!). I get the ninth second Two thousand pounds of mad come lookin' for a lesson Laugh at the paint (ha!). Go 'head. I'm smilin' for a reason Every cowboy walkin' out tonight is walkin' 'cause I'm bleedin' [Verse 1: fast, grinnin'] Grease paint on my face so my boy can't see me flinch Baggy pants, suspenders, and my cleats dug in an inch Nineteen broke bones, two plates, and a rib that never set right Got hooked in the thigh last July, sewed it shut, and worked the same night They call me clown. Fine. Clowns run at it. Cowboys run away Every buckle in that bar got a little of my blood on it today My wife won't watch. She sits out in the truck with the radio loud Countin' roars. One roar's a ride. A hush means I'm down [Flow switch: triple-time, the dance with the bull] Juke left, spin right, slap the nose, make him turn, now I'm all he can see Rider's down in the dirt, but the horns got a new appointment, and the appointment is me [Hook] Cowboy gets the eight (ha!). I get the ninth second Two thousand pounds of mad come lookin' for a lesson Laugh at the paint (ha!). Go 'head. I'm smilin' for a reason Every cowboy walkin' out tonight is walkin' 'cause I'm bleedin' [Verse 2: darker, guitars chug] Last ride of the night, a kid, nineteen, first time at the big show Wrapped his hand too tight in the rope, I could see it from below Bull blew out the gate, spun left, and the kid went off to the right Hand still stuck in the rope, hung up, draggin' like a flag in a fight Thirty thousand on their feet, and the whole place went dead hushed Out in the lot, my wife heard the quiet, and she turned the radio up [Beat Switch: half-time breakdown, one guitar chug, the crowd holds its breath, then it explodes] Ran in on the hook side. Shoulder in his ribs. Let him take me for a ride One hand on the tail of the rope, workin' that wrap till it slides Horn came up under my arm like a fist through a screen door Kid hit the dirt, rolled free, and the bull picked the next thing. Me. That's what I'm for [Verse 3: double-time, bloodied, grinnin'] Two cracked ribs and a punctured fuckin' somethin', medic sayin', "Lie still" I said, "Get me up. He's ridin' tomorrow. He's gon' need me. I will" Kid limped in the tent, hat in his hands, couldn't look me in the face I said, "Don't say thank you. Ride the same bull tomorrow. Same gate. Same place" Out in the lot, my wife on the hood, mascara all down her chin Said, "One roar, then the hush, then the roar." Baby, that's the one where I win [Final Hook: arena on every "ha!", guitars wide open] Cowboy gets the eight (ha!). I get the ninth second Two thousand pounds of mad come lookin' for a lesson Laugh at the paint (ha!). Go 'head. I'm smilin' for a reason Every cowboy walkin' out tonight is walkin' 'cause I'm bleedin' [Outro: the crowd roars, one guitar chord rings out, cut] [End]
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