Standard (EADGBE)
Verse 1
Now he don't expect her to stay true to him
and she never says that she will
but he's got a first love that just might kill him
and she knows he's hooked on the thrill
So she'll wait and worry then she'll wait some more
for the fever that drives him to just run its course
she talks to that picture they took their last night together
Chorus
Says you can't be a cowboy forever, no you can't be a cowboy forever.
Verse 2
Sometimes he calls her he swears that the ground hurts, more than it did
yesterday.
But she knows his voice, and he still sounds determined, to do whatever it
takes.
So she'll wait and worry then she'll wait some more, for the fever that
drives him to just run its course
the whiskey he drinks said some things last spring that upset her.
Chorus
But he can't be a cowboy forever, no you can't be a cowboy forever.
Instrumental
Verse 3
Then one night he shows up, and he says what's for dinner
with that cocky grin on his face.
the way that she smiled and the way that she held him
told him he wasn't too late.
As she closed her eyes, and he slipped that ring on her finger.
Chorus
Said you can't be a cowboy forever,
No you can't be a cowboy forever,
No you can't be a cowboy forever.