One night while I was out a ridin'
The grave yard shift, midnight 'til dawn
The moon was bright as a readin' light
For a letter from an old friend back home.

And he asked me
Why do you ride for your money
Tell me why do you rope for short pay
You ain't a'gettin' nowhere
And you're loosin' your share
Boy, you must have gone crazy out there.

He said last night I ran on to jenny
She's married and has a good life
And boy you sure missed the track
When you never come back
She's the perfect professional's wife.

And she asked me
Why does he ride for his money
And tell me why does he rope for short pay
He ain't a'gettin' nowhere
And he's loosin' his share
Boy he must've gone crazy out there.

Ah but they've never seen the northern lights
They've never seen a hawk on the wing
They've never spent spring on the great divide
And they've never heard ole' camp cookie sing.

Well I read up the last of my letter
And I tore off the stamp for black jim
And when billy rode up to relieve me
He just looked at my letter and grinned.

He said now
Why do they ride for their money
Tell me why do they ride for short pay
They ain't a'gettin' nowhere
And they're loosin' their share
Boy, they must've gone crazy out there
Son, they all must be crazy out there

• Against The Grain
• Ain't Going Down
• Alabama Clay
• American Honky-tonk Bar Association
• Anonymous
• Burning Bridges
• Callin' Baton Rouge
• Cold Shoulder
• Cowboy Bill
• Cowboys & Angels
• Dixie Chicken
• Every Now & Then
• Everytime That It Rains
• Face to Face
• Friends in Low Places
• I Know One
• I've Got a Good Thing Going
• If Tomorrow Never Comes
• In Lonesome Dove
• Ireland
• It's Midnight Cinderella
• Kickin' & Screamin'
• Learning to Live Again
• Much Too Young
• New Way to Fly
• Night Rider's Lament
• Nobody Gets Off in This Town
• Not Counting You
• One Night a Day
• Papa Loved Mama
• Rodeo
• Rollin'
• Same Old Story
• Shameless
• She's Every Woman
• Something With a Ring to It
• Somewhere Other Than The Night
• Standing Outside The Fire
• That Ol' Wind
• That Summer
• The Beaches of Cheyenne
• The Change
• The Cowboy Song
• The Dance
• The Fever
• The Night I Called The Old Man Out
• The Night Will Only Know
• The Old Stuff
• The Red Strokes
• The River
• The Thunder Rolls
• This Aint Tennessee
• To Make You Feel My Love
• Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House
• Unanswered Prayers
• Uptown Down-home Good Ol' Boy
• Victim of The Game
• Walking After Midnight
• We Bury The Hatchet
• We Shall Be Free
• What She's Doing Now
• Which One of Them
• Wild Horses
• Wolves