If I Was A Cowboy

Album

Palomino

Label

RCA Records Nashville

Genre

Country

Composer(s)

Jesse Frasure;Miranda Lambert

Entered Chart

Apr 30, 2022

Peak Date

Jul 16, 2022

Released

October 15, 2021

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

RCA Records Nashville

This song finds Miranda Lambert dreaming of being a cowboy in the Wild West. She wishes to be free to blaze her own path, rolling in and out of towns, "a legend at loving and leaving." Lambert released the song as her first new solo material since her album Wildcard on October 1, 2019. She dropped the track quoting one of the lyrics, "If I was a cowboy, I'd be the queen." Lambert co-penned "If I Was a Cowboy" with a new writing partner, Jesse Frasure (Thomas Rhett, Kane Brown, Little Big Town). They first met when he did a remix of her song "Tequila Does" under his DJ name, Telemitry. "Got together one day, one afternoon for a write and this is what came out of it," said Lambert. "It's funny, he's a Detroit boy and I'm an East Texan, but somehow we wrote a song about the Wild West together, so it's pretty cool." The laid-back, organic production is courtesy of: Luke Dick, whose previous co-writes with Lambert include another song with a similar theme. "Highway Vagabond" is about a drifter with a restless spirit floating from city to city. Jon Randall, who recorded the Texas acoustic album The Marfa Tapes with Lambert and Jack Ingram. Released in May 2021, that record has a similar easy-going groove to this song. The musicians are: Acoustic guitar: Jon Randall Steel guitar: Al Perkins Electric guitar: Rob McNelley Bass: Ian Fitchuk Organ: Ian Fitchuk Percussion and drums: Fred Eltringham Background vocals: Natalie Hemby Director Trey Fanjoy filmed the Wild West-inspired video in small-town Texas, using real cowboys. A few of Lambert's favorite people make cameos, including her husband Brendan McLoughlin. The song came late in the process of writing for Palomino. Speaking to Audacy, Lambert described it as "beginner's luck" because it was the first time she'd written with Jesse Frasure and their track fit the album's vibe. "It was kind of the cherry on top, I guess," Lambert added, "and it was something that I was missing feel-wise."

Oh ooh-ooh, whoa ooh-ooh
Oh ooh-ooh, whoa ooh-ooh

Ridin' off in the sunset, blue eyes under my Stetson
A little lady on the front porch wishin' my heart would start settlin'
Big iron hips with the holsters
I'd be lookin' mighty fine on a poster
Wanted by the law but the laws don't apply to me

If I was a cowboy, I'd be wild and free
Rollin' around these towns like tumbleweeds
I'd be a legend at lovin' and leavin'
Nippin' on a whiskey and numbin' up my feelings
You thought the West was wild but you ain't saddled up with me
If I was a cowboy, I'd be the queen

Oh ooh-ooh, whoa ooh-ooh

Sittin' pretty on the prairie, baby, I'm your huckleberry, let me hold ya
This six-gun sugar's got a hairpin trigger, like I told ya
And this dove never really gets lonesome
I never begged, never borrowed but I stole some
Wanted by the law but the laws don't apply to me, baby

If I was a cowboy, I'd be wild and free
Rollin' around these towns like tumbleweeds
I'd be a legend at lovin' and leavin'
Nippin' on a whiskey and numbin' up my feelings
You thought the West was wild but you ain't saddled up with me
If I was a cowboy, I'd be the queen

So mamas, if your daughters grow up
To be cowboys, so what

If I was a cowboy, I'd be wild and free (oh, I'd be free)
Rollin' around these towns like tumbleweeds (tumblin' tumbleweed)
I'd be a legend at lovin' and leavin'
Nippin' on a whiskey and numbin' up my feelings
You thought the West was wild but you ain't saddled up with me
If I was a cowboy, I'd be the queen, whoa
I'd be the queen

Oh ooh-ooh, whoa ooh-ooh
Oh ooh-ooh, whoa ooh-ooh