Ain’t the Hat That Makes You Ride

[Verse 1] (I’ve rode with men from every land) (With sunburned faces and calloused hands) (Didn’t matter who they loved) (We judged 'em by the work) [Verse 2] Had a brother named Cruz could rope in his sleep And old Elijah’s boots ran six winters deep They rode for the brand, they rode with pride And not once asked who you were inside [Chorus] Ain’t the hat that makes you ride Ain’t the boots, ain’t the buckle, ain’t what’s outside It’s the way you show up when the storm rolls wide Only fake cowboys hate and hide [Verse 3] Them loudmouth boys in brand-new gear Spittin’ fire ‘bout who don’t belong here Wouldn’t last one day on a real hard trail They’d cry for their momma when the cinch goes fail [Verse 4] Truth is the West was built on backs Of Black cowhands and railroad tracks Vaqueros taught us how to ride But history books let that truth slide [Bridge] So if you ride with hate in your heart You ain't a cowboy, you just play the part A real one knows when to lift a hand Not draw a line in the desert sand [Final Chorus] ‘Cause it ain’t the hat that makes you ride Ain’t the drawl in your voice or your pickup's side It's the grit in your soul and the way you ride And the space you give to let folks thrive [Outro] So tip your brim to the ones ignored The riders of color who opened the doors If you ain’t got love, better step aside— Cowboys ride true, and real ones ride wide