[Intro – Slow Acoustic Guitar, Crying Pedal Steel, Soft Accordion] The rain keeps falling outside the door I've been here before, but not like this ... A glass on the table, my hat in my hand A lonely old cowboy in a strange foreign land [Verse 1 – Low, Weary Male Country Vocal] I rode in from the desert with the dust on my jeans Carrying the weight of a thousand old dreams The jukebox is playing a song I once knew And every sad note keeps leading to you The bartender asked me what brought me around I stared at my whiskey, kept looking down He said, “You don't look like you're doing too well” I said, “I've been living in my own private hell” [Pre-Chorus – Pedal Steel Swells, Sparse Piano] I used to have a home, I used to have a name A woman who would call me when the evening rain came Now the road is all I have, and the miles never end Just a saddle and a shadow where my heart used to mend [Chorus – Emotional Country Ballad, Warm Accordion and Steel Guitar] What's a cowboy doing in this place? With a broken heart and tears he can't erase Country in his soul, but he's lost his way Looking for a reason just to face another day What's a cowboy doing so far from home? With a thousand miles behind him and nowhere left to roam He came in from the darkness, hoping pain would disappear Now he's sitting in the silence, wishing she were here [Verse 2 – Intimate Vocal, Gentle Acoustic Guitar] She wore silver earrings and a red silk dress She could see through my pride, see through my mess We danced in the kitchen when the radio played And I promised forever like promises never fade But I chased every highway, every faraway town Thought the world held a fortune I had to track down When I finally came home, she was already gone And the house that we built felt like a place I didn't belong [Pre-Chorus – Strings and Accordion Slowly Rise] I still remember the porch light burning bright Her standing in the doorway, waiting late at night I traded all those moments for the promise of a dream Now the years roll past me like a slow-running stream [Chorus – Fuller Arrangement, Soulful Harmony] What's a cowboy doing in this place? With a broken heart and tears he can't erase Country in his soul, but he's lost his way Looking for a reason just to face another day What's a cowboy doing so far from home? With a thousand miles behind him and nowhere left to roam He came in from the darkness, hoping pain would disappear Now he's sitting in the silence, wishing she were here [Instrumental Break – Crying Pedal Steel and Mournful Accordion] Slow, expressive pedal steel melody Accordion answers with a soft, aching phrase Fingerpicked acoustic guitar Warm bass and restrained brushed drums Let the instruments breathe between phrases [Bridge – Nearly Bare Vocal and Guitar] If I could turn the hands of time I'd leave those distant roads behind I'd trade the places I have seen For one more night with what we used to be But time don't bargain, and the past won't bend Some roads take you home, some never end So I'll lift this glass and let the memories stay Another lonely cowboy at the closing of the day [Final Chorus – Emotional Peak, Full Country Ballad Arrangement] What's a cowboy doing in this place? Still searching for the love he couldn't replace Country in his soul, with nowhere left to stay Trying to find the words he never found to say What's a cowboy doing so far from home? With a thousand miles behind him and nowhere left to roam He came in from the darkness, with her name still in his ears Now he's sitting in the silence, counting all the years [Outro – Solo Acoustic Guitar, Fading Pedal Steel] The rain keeps falling outside the door My hat's on the table, my heart's on the floor What's a cowboy doing in this place? Just trying to find his way back home... [Pedal steel sustains a final note as the instruments fade]
