Old Cowboy Billy
Daybreak has arrived on the glades
The Gators and frogs sing a tune
It's time to round up the herd
On this the first day of June
The sun rises over the Bay Head
To the song of the Morning Dove
The cattle will soon start to rise
And dew is thick on Billys Gloves
The chuckwagon stands nearby
The smell of breakfast fills all the air
As cookie prepares the early meal
Eggs Grits and bacon are the main fare
The old cowboy lifts his brow
Time to get up and begin the day
The young fellers are still snoozing away
Billy bows his head to pray
He says Hey boys time is wasting
Those grits and gravy need some tasting
Cookis says come and get it now
Or I'll give it to the cows
Old man Billy has been a cowboy
For more than Fifty-Five years
Broke a bone or two; maybe more
His old Body gets mighty sore
This life is all he knows to do
And he's done it his own way
Survived Snakes' Mosquitos and Heat
As only a true cowboy would stay
He punched many a herds of cattle
Sometimes long days and nights
A son a southern pioneer family
Raised by the code of what's right
His old Hat could tell a lot of stories
Of hurricanes thunderstorms and flood
Still pushing the cows in any weather
It dwells deep in his blood
There's a job to do and that's fine
Billys face is weathered and torn
His skin is tough as cured leather
But a Cowboy he was born
With a scar left by the bull Bodacious
Left by the bull's right horn
Took Twenty-three stitches to heal
A rodeo legend would soon be born
Bodacious and Billy would meet once more
There on the arena to settle the score
Out at the Famous Arcadia Rodeo event
Billy was ready and so it went
Bodacious may have won the first round
Billy is here for the buckle
The two had a ride for the ages
Billy won the second round
Billys best horse is called tornado
Billy says he rode him through a hurricane
Just to break his will
Well old tornado is twenty years now
And he's just as stubborn as old Bill
Breakfast is over and the cowboys
Ride on out to the herd to work
The long day has begun
And will last as long as the sun
Old Billy and Tornado bids us farewell
And slowly ride on out with his gun
Tips his Hat to Cookie for the meal
So is the pride of a cowboy's old son
The sunsets beauty turns to dusk
Billys silhouette frames the light
Thank God they all return
And they bed down for the night
Honest hard working and true
They are the best of Florida men
If you are lucky enough to be friends
You are blessed to the very end
This was the story Cowboy Billy
And the men who make Florida home
Keep on riding Billy
(Keep on Riding)
Til the end the very end