Cowboy, Johnny Ware Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Verse 1]
[G]Joh[C]nny Ware was born in slavery
around [F]1851
[C]To freedom from the cotton fields
he [D]made his final [G]run
The [C]first part of his younger life
is [F]covered in [C]travail
[G]Just a [F]cowpoke [C]on some cattle drive
along [G]the Chisholm [C]Trail
My story starts in Idaho in [F]1882
[C]When a Highwood River cattleman
came [D]lookin' for a [G]crew,
The [C]day the big herd hit the trail
and [F]dust was [C]in the air,
Amon[F]g the [C]drovers on the [G]drive
was a cowboy Johnny [C]Ware.
Friendly, [G]courageous,
re[F]sourceful, [C]and fair,
[F]These [C]are the pseudonym[G]s
of a cowboy
Johnny [C]Ware.
The mighty herd consisted of three
[F]thousand [C]head or more
Bound for old Alberta
to the [D]Highwood River shore
[G]While the [C]big bar you was waiting
for the [F]cattle to [C]arrive
The [F]boss Tom [C]Lynch
had troubles keeping [G]rust
lers from the [C]drive
The day they finally did arrive
the [F]stories [C]that were told
They said the deeds of Johnny Ware
were something to [D]behold[G]
He [C]rode the meanest outlaw horse
and [F]made him [C]quite the pet
Then he brought the cattle rustlers
in with [G]just his lari[C]at
Friendly, [G]courageous,
re[F]sourceful [C]and fair
These are the pseudonym[G]s
of a cowboy
Johnny [C]Ware
Now Johnny said he'd like to stay
to [G]work the [C]big bar you
And pretty soon there was no job
that [D]Johnny couldn't [G]do
He could [C]outrun any three -year -old
and [F]bulldog [C]any steer
He could ride a bronco through a [G]row
or stand him on his [C]ear
He always took the hardest jobs
and made them look like fun
He'd share his food and blankets
and his [D]smile with anyone
[G]The [C]old Fort McLeod Gazette
said nothing could compare
With the greatest cowboy all around,
the [G]cowboy [C]Johnny Ware
Friendly, [G]courageous,
re[F]sourceful [C]and fair
These are the pseudonyms
of a [G]cowboy
Johnny [C]Ware
He worked upon the Quarren Ranch,
they said he was the best
His name was now a byword
in the [D]old Canadian [G]West
But [C]Johnny said, I've got to go
to the [F]town of [C]Calgary
For [F]I've got a [C]little negro gal
and I [G]hope she'll marry [C]me
On a little ranch near Millerville
[G]the [C]couple settled down
They soon became a family with
[D]neighbors all [G]around
[C]Honored and respected
by the old folks and the young
If [F]only [C]history could record
[G]the praises that were [C]sung
Friendly, [G]courageous,
re[F]source[C]ful and fair,
These are the pseudonym[G]s
of a cowboy Johnny [C]Ware.
By the year 1905
Alber[G]ta signed [C]her name,
A province now of Canada
[D]so proudly she be[G]came,
But [C]while her jubilation
was upon the whole frontier,
Alberta lost her number
one cow[G]boy [C]pioneer.
His smile and example
are the [G]spirit of [C]the plains,
Never to be forgotten
by the [D]men who ride the [G]reins.
[C]Some are born with character
and some have skill to spare,
But the greatest cowboy of them all
was a [G]cowboy, Johnny [C]Ware.
Friendly, cour[G]ageous,
re[F]source[C]ful, and fair,
These are the pseudonym[G]s
of a cowboy johnny [C]-wear.