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.