Man With The Big Hat( With Gary Fjellgaard) - Tim Hus

In a little bar in Alberta

On a sultry summer day

A cowboy came in off the road

Just to pass the time away

He pulled a stool up at the bar

He pushed his hat back on his head

He ordered up Canadian Rye

Then he looked at me and said

Stories

I could tell you stories

About the traders on the plains

Talk about the Frank Slide

And the comin' of the trains

I could tell you stories

About the buffalo that roamed

Sing you the song of settlers

Come out looking for a home

And the man with the big hat is buying

Drink up while the drinking is free

Drink to the cowboys dead or a dying

Drink to my compadres and me

His shirt was brown and faded

His hat was wide and black

The pants that once were blue were grey

They had a pocket gone in back

He had a finger missing from the hand

That rolled the smoke

As he laughed

And talked of cowboy life he knew it

Weren't no joke

He said

I rode on cattle drives from here to Saskatoon

Ten days in the saddle

And weary to the bone

I rode from here to Peace River

Without a woman's smile

And the campfire where I cooked my grub

Was the only light for miles

And the man with the big hat is buying

Drink up while the drinking is free

Drink to the cowboys dead or a dying

Drink to my compadres and me

He rested easy at the bar

With his foot upon the rail

As he talked all about the times

He'd had while living on the trail

The silence never broken

As the words poured from his lips

Just as quiet as the buck knife

That rested on his hip

He said

I've seen the day so hot

That your pony could not stand

And if your water bag ran dry don't start counting

On the land

And winters

Well

I've seen winters when your boots froze in the snow

And your only thought was leaving

But you had nowhere to go

And the man with the big hat is buying

Drink up while the drinking is free

Drink to the cowboys dead or a dying

Drink to my compadres and me

He rolled one more cigarette

Then he turned towards the door

I could hear the spurs a jingling

As the bootheels hit the floor

He tighted up his belt a notch he pulled

His hat down on his head

As he turned to leave he turned to me

And this is what the cowboy said

The highlines chase the highways

And the fences close the range

And to see a working cowboy is a sight

That's mighty strange

A cowboy's life is lonely

And his love life is not the best

But if it had not been for folks like me

You would not have no West

And the man with the big hat is buying

Drink up while the drinking is free

Drink to the cowboys dead or a dying

Drink to my compadres and me

So again how elong