Well, there's always been groups of people   That never could see eye to eye   And I always thought if they ever had   A chance to sit down and talk face to face   They might realize they got a lot in common      Well, I was sittin' in a coffee shop, just havin' a cup to pass the time   Swappin' Rodeo stories, with this ol' cowboy friend of mine   When some motorcycle riders started snickerin' in the back   They started pokin' fun at my friends hat      One ol' boy said, "Hey, Tex, where'd you park your horse?"   My friend just pulled his hat down low, but they couldn't be ignored   One husky fella said, "I think I'll rip that hat right off your head"   That's when my friend turned around, and this is what he said      "You'll ride a black tornado 'cross the western sky   Rope an ol' blue northern, and milk it till it's dry   Bulldog the Mississippi and pin its ears down flat   Long before you take this cowboy's hat"      "Now partner, this ol' hat's better left alone   See it used to be my daddy's, but last year he passed on   My nephew skinned the rattler that makes up this ol' hat band   But back in '69, he died in Vietnam"      "Now the eagle feather was given to me by an Indian friend of mine   But someone ran him down somewhere around that Arizona line   And a real special lady gave me this hat pin   But I don't know if I'll ever see her again"      "You'll ride a black tornado 'cross the western sky   Rope an ol' blue northern, and milk it till it's dry   Bulldog the Mississippi, pin its ears down flat   Long before you take this cowboy's hat"      "Now if your leather jacket means to you what this hat means to me   Then I guess we understand each other, and we'll just let it be   But if you still think its funny, man, you got my back up against the wall   And if you touch my hat, you're gonna have to fight us all"      Right then I caught a little sadness in that gang leader's eyes   He turned back to the others and they all just kinda shuffled on outside   But when my friend turned back towards me, I noticed his ol' hat brim   Well, it was turned up, in a big ol' Texas grin      You'll ride a black tornado 'cross the western sky   Rope an ol' blue northern, and milk it till it's dry   Bulldog the Mississippi, pin its ears down flat   Long before you take this cowboy's hat