COWBOY UP!

February 06, 2010

When relocating to a Native American reservation in South Dakota, it was like no place I’ve ever been before. Everything was different, even the weather. On a day to day basis, in the summertime it was much hotter than I’ve ever experienced. On the other hand it was much, much colder with 50 below winters.

I loved the chopping wood part though. After building the home it was really a joy to go in the snow with the reliable and extra low gear pick up (or outfit) in search of wood for heat. I didn’t have to look far because many offers to either cut down dead trees or cut up downed ones was always available it seemed.

The reservation was a pretty unforgiving place when it came to the extremes of Mother Nature. Residents had to be prepared beforehand in most cases. In winter times if one wasn’t, death could be lurking on a lonely highway as well as right around the corner from one’s home. One kept aware of weather reports.

The following lyrics were co-written with a good bud. Reed Henschel lives in the tiny town of Faith, South Dakota with his wife Donna. Faith is west towards Mt. Rushmore and off the reservation 40 miles from the town where I had lived.

Reed and Donna are the sole proprietors of The Tower Stool Company. Their URL is: www.towerstoolcompany.com you’re invited to visit their website. If you’re interested in talking to Reed or Donna about anything, I’mm sure they’d invite you in; just as easily as they welcomed this guy; very friendly people.

It took three times of visiting R ‘n D’s place before meeting Reed. Donna was and still is a great host. She’s not only Reed’s wife but she’s a true supporter and a ‘full of stories’ advocate of everything Reed does and invents. Needless to say they make a great pair and have been for more decades than I can remember.

Yes, Reed is an inventor alright. He’s also a very good cowboy poet as well as a short story writer, a tile guy, a mason, a sculptor of rocks and wood. He’s an excellent man with just about anything Mother Nature has given us to work with; be it his hands or all the tools he owns. Reed is a genius when it comes to lots of things. Most of all he’s one of the humblest people I’ve ever met.

I’ve shared many dinners, conversations, sleep over’s and work times with Reed and his wife Donna. The third time I visited The Tower Stool Company and Reed was in residence for the first time, it took about twenty steps to reach him from the front door to where he was standing in his huge well lighted workshop.

As soon as I opened the door we caught each others glance; we both smiled the whole way until our handshake meeting. We spent a good two hours talking about our past and present while presenting some things of who we were to each other. We both talked like we were brothers and had known each other for years.

After reading a few of Reed’s poem’s I asked him if he’d like to collaborate on writing a few songs. “Of course, I’d love to, “was his immediate reply. “Even if it helps only one person or nobody really, it’ll be fun to just try.” Reed’s an open book of idea’s, loving, caring and one of the hardest workers ever at the age of 75

We composed two lyrics together way back then. The first one concerned kids with a rare disease. The second are the lyrics you may read here. We’ve experienced this subject matter not only locally but most places we’ve seen in our lives; and like Reed has said, “Even if it helps one person, “it’ll be fun to try:

Cowboy Up!

So you sit at home drinkin'.
That's the way your life has been.
You've got no job.
Things are tough.
Your future's lookin' dim.
You beat your wife.
You hurt your kids.
They said, "This is the end!"
You treat 'em like dogs.
You're no cool cat.
And now you've got no friends.

C O W B O Y UP ! C O W B O Y UP !

Grab those bootstraps fella.
Set down that whiskey cup.

C O W B O Y UP ! C O W B O Y UP !
Do yourself a favor…

Say your life it ain't worth livin'?
Matter of fact it downright stinks.
So you go and grab the alcohol
And pour yourself some drinks.
Your wife, she up and left ya,
Your kids ran out the door.
They said, "Dad, you keep on drinkin',
We ain't commin' home no more!"

C O W B O Y U P! C O W B O Y UP !

Grab those bootstraps fella,
Set down that whiskey cup.

C O W B O Y UP ! C O W B O Y UP !
Do yourself a favor…

Now your court case is pending.
Smokey's caught you in the car.
He said, "Man! You've been drinkin',
Now you know you've gone too far! "
Then he hands you a D U I
And you know that ain't no fun.
So you wonder if you're gonna stay
Or are you gonna run?

C O W BO Y UP ! C O W B O Y UP !

Grab those bootstraps fella.
Set down that whiskey cup.

You've got two choices podnah
Listen to mme do.
Sober up or be locked up,
That's next in line for you.
And if you insist and do persist
That boozin' is your goal.
Then all you'll get is covered up.
In a deep, dark, lonely hole.

So you say you've got some problems?
They're not as bad as you may think.
The cure ain't in a bottle,
Or the bottom of a drink.
So come on 'fess up brother,
You know you've had enough.
Get up and get tough Cowboy

C O W B O Y UP !