The ghost of a building that once was a barn Leans on itself on an old ghost-town farm Its posts are all crippled It's tired, it's done Lays down to rest like a dog in the sun Dust devils boil as they stretch for the sky As if thirsty for more than the earth can provide Sprinklers are quiet, hay's two bucks a bale Just a piece of the west on the Oregon Trail And if I were a cowboy I'd dance until dawn If I were a cowboy I'd sing this song Now the foothills roll on like a fabric of green They fold in on themselves with no stitch and no seam Higher to the mountains just fog and fir trees If we haven't reached heaven we're at least at its knees Corridors cut through these mountains of snow Winding our way to the next makeshift home So many ways out I forget where I am So many ways out when a map's in your hand And if I were a cowboy I'd dance until dawn If I were a cowboy I'd sing this song Out here the land is untouched and it's wide There is no great progress, no great divide The land seems so empty but with each step I know Someone's been here before me with a story untold Clouds in the valley Dark shadows a break A ghost creepin' and sweepin' the dirt from his pain Raindrops and teardrops Just two bucks a bale Another day in the west on the Oregon Trail And if I were a cowboy I'd dance until dawn If I were a cowboy I'd sing this song And if I were a cowboy I'd dance until dawn If I were a cowboy I'd sing this song