leonard wolfgram: THEM WE KNEW
This past year there’s them I know’d
That’s crossed the great divide
Men and women who once were young
Now had rhuemy eyes
Lives that was filled with challenges
That come at any cost
Now lay beneath the ground and snow
Deep beneath the frost
But I prefer to think of their younger years
When they rode the plains
On outlaw horses they thought was fun
They rode against the grain
I think of the dust and gruntin’
Of a buckin’ horses sound
How they rode with grit and relish
When that fury come unwound
Saddle poppin’ leather
The hosses grunt and the squeal
Cowboy quirtin’ and spurrin’
Tryin’ to get this tough bronc peeled
Grinnin’ whoops and hollers
Their campaneros’ cheer ’em on
Glad they wasn’t hurt
When they scrapped ‘um up off the ground
They took their lumps and bumps
Both good times and the bad
Women tough as men
Sharin’ all of life’s demands
The old timers that we knew are now
Called mentally tough
They taught us how to survive
When the goin’ was gettin’ rough
To hang in there and never quit
Come hail, rain, or drought
‘Cause times was bound to get better
If we would only tough it out
So last years gone by
And we now have memories
Tellin’ stories ’bout all ‘O them
To preserve their history
I reckon I’ll think back of the past
With fond memories of their faces
And know the rest of us lived through the year gone by
Only God’s good graces
