Cowboys ain't easy to love and they're harder to hold.
They'd rather give you a song than diamonds or gold.
Lonestar belt buckles and old faded levis,
And each night begins a new day.
If you don't understand him, an' he don't die young,
He'll prob'ly just ride away.
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks.
Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such. Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
'Cos they'll never stay home and they're always alone.
Even with someone they love.
Cowboys like smokey old pool rooms and clear mountain mornings,
Little warm puppies and children and girls of the night.
Them that don't know him won't like him and them that do,
Sometimes won't know how to take him.
He ain't wrong, he's just different but his pride won't let him,
Do things to make you think he's right.
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks.
Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such.
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
'Cos they'll never stay home and they're always alone.
Even with someone they love.
Waylon Jennings, a major figure of the outlaw country movement, turned his back on the slick music production of Nashville in favor of a tougher, more hard-edged sound. Born in 1937 in Texas, Jennings burst onto the country music scene following a career as a radio DJ. His deep, resonant voice and aggressive style helped forge the outlaw sub-genre - one more than any other is about freedom in the music production process and themes reflecting rebellion against conventional, controlled country music. Jennings went on to collaborate with other artists, including Willie Nelson. Most of his music tended to focus on the themes of suffering, struggle, and personal pride. Despite the fact that he fiercely tried to overcome his dependency, Jennings is obviously still, nowadays, one of the most powerful icons of country music and is known to be one of its warriors for creative management.
The song "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" is sort of a reflective warning tale between the romanticized images of cowboys and the harsher realities that come with it. In the very first lines of the song, cowboys are described as hard-loving, unloving people, loyal to the simple things of a song, all those material things and riches symbolized by "diamonds or gold." This brings about a theme whereby one goes for immaterial values rather than conventional wealth.
The chorus serves as a warning at one point and a plea at another point, warning every mother to lead her kid into something more stable, more rooted in society, such as medicine or law, and not let him get swallowed into the wildness of a cowboy. It can be traced down to the following lines: "Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive 'em old trucks, let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such." He expresses slight criticism towards the cowboy as an independent individual. It reflects the lonely and disconnected tendencies a person can have with such a lifestyle: "They'll never stay home, and they're always alone, even with someone they love."
Further, this verse describes cowboys as lovers of those simple, unpretentious pleasures, and it goes on to show that they are mistaken by him who did not know them in detail. "Cowboys like the smokey old pool rooms and the clear mountain mornings" tells about his favorite life full of simple joys of nature. The sense of complexity and pride often puts them at a distance from others, as shown in "He ain't wrong, he's just different but his pride won't let him do things to make you think he's right."
They'd rather give you a song than diamonds or gold.
Lonestar belt buckles and old faded levis,
And each night begins a new day.
If you don't understand him, an' he don't die young,
He'll prob'ly just ride away.
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks.
Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such. Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
'Cos they'll never stay home and they're always alone.
Even with someone they love.
Cowboys like smokey old pool rooms and clear mountain mornings,
Little warm puppies and children and girls of the night.
Them that don't know him won't like him and them that do,
Sometimes won't know how to take him.
He ain't wrong, he's just different but his pride won't let him,
Do things to make you think he's right.
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks.
Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such.
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
'Cos they'll never stay home and they're always alone.
Even with someone they love.
Song Facts:
- Genre: Country
- Lyricists: Ed Bruce,
- Composers: Ed Bruce,
- Awards: None specifically listed
Artist Info:
Waylon Jennings, a major figure of the outlaw country movement, turned his back on the slick music production of Nashville in favor of a tougher, more hard-edged sound. Born in 1937 in Texas, Jennings burst onto the country music scene following a career as a radio DJ. His deep, resonant voice and aggressive style helped forge the outlaw sub-genre - one more than any other is about freedom in the music production process and themes reflecting rebellion against conventional, controlled country music. Jennings went on to collaborate with other artists, including Willie Nelson. Most of his music tended to focus on the themes of suffering, struggle, and personal pride. Despite the fact that he fiercely tried to overcome his dependency, Jennings is obviously still, nowadays, one of the most powerful icons of country music and is known to be one of its warriors for creative management.
Annotations and Meaning:
The song "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" is sort of a reflective warning tale between the romanticized images of cowboys and the harsher realities that come with it. In the very first lines of the song, cowboys are described as hard-loving, unloving people, loyal to the simple things of a song, all those material things and riches symbolized by "diamonds or gold." This brings about a theme whereby one goes for immaterial values rather than conventional wealth.
The chorus serves as a warning at one point and a plea at another point, warning every mother to lead her kid into something more stable, more rooted in society, such as medicine or law, and not let him get swallowed into the wildness of a cowboy. It can be traced down to the following lines: "Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive 'em old trucks, let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such." He expresses slight criticism towards the cowboy as an independent individual. It reflects the lonely and disconnected tendencies a person can have with such a lifestyle: "They'll never stay home, and they're always alone, even with someone they love."
Further, this verse describes cowboys as lovers of those simple, unpretentious pleasures, and it goes on to show that they are mistaken by him who did not know them in detail. "Cowboys like the smokey old pool rooms and the clear mountain mornings" tells about his favorite life full of simple joys of nature. The sense of complexity and pride often puts them at a distance from others, as shown in "He ain't wrong, he's just different but his pride won't let him do things to make you think he's right."