Lyrics to
I’d Rather Be A Cowboy

This version of I’D Rather Be A Cowboy was released by John Denver in 1973.

Our Decade Lyrics John Denver profile has all of the I’D Rather Be A Cowboy lyrics from 1973 and many more songs from the John Denver discography that we have on file.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to John Denver or about the 1970s in general.

Jessie went away last summer, a couple of months ago.
After all our time together, it was hard to see her go.
She called me right up when she arrived, asked me one more time to come,
but living on an LA freeway ain’t my kind of having fun.
I think I’d rather be a cowboy, I think I’d rather ride the range.
I think I’d rather be a cowboy than to lay me down in love and lady’s chains.

When we were just beginning, it was such an easy way.
Laying back up in the mountains making love for sunny days.
She got tired of picking daisies and cooking my meals for me,
she can live the life she wants to, yes, it’s all right with me.
I think I’d rather be a cowboy, I think I’d rather ride the range.
I think I’d rather be a cowboy than to lay me down in love and lady’s chains.

I’d rather live on the side of a mountain than wander through canyons of concrete and steel.
I’d rather laugh in the rain and sunshine and lay down my sundown in some starry field.

Oh, but I miss her in the morning when I awake alone.
The absence of her laughter is a cold and empty sound.
But her memory always makes me smile and I want you to know,
I love her, yes I love her just enough to let her go.
I think I’d rather be a cowboy, I think I’d rather ride the range.
I think I’d rather be a cowboy than to lay me down in love and lady’s chains.
I think I’d rather be a cowboy, I think I’d rather ride the range.
I think I’d rather be a cowboy than to lay me down in love and lady’s chains.

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John Denver has released many songs over the years besides I’D Rather Be A Cowboy. John Denver released songs from 1969 to 1998 spanning across albums like Rhymes And Reasons, Take Me To Tomorrow, Whose Garden Was This?, Poems, Prayers And Promises, Aerie, Rocky Mountain High, Farewell Andromeda, Back Home Again, Rocky Mountain Christmas, An Evening With John Denver, Windsong, Spirit, I Want To Live, A Christmas Together, John Denver, Autograph, Some Days Are Diamonds, Seasons Of The Heart, Rocky Mountain Holiday, It's About Time, Dreamland Express, One World, Higher Ground, The Flower That Shattered The Stone, Christmas, Like A Lullaby, Different Directions, All Aboard!, and Forever, John. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by John Denver.

If you're a fan of 1970s music looking for more songs from 1973 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and I’D Rather Be A Cowboy by John Denver

The lyrics for I’D Rather Be A Cowboy are defined as the words making up the song released by John Denver in 1973. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to I’D Rather Be A Cowboy have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only John Denver and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to I’D Rather Be A Cowboy by John Denver if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to I’D Rather Be A Cowboy" means the words set to the music of I’D Rather Be A Cowboy, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by John Denver. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to I’D Rather Be A Cowboy and the lyrics to I’D Rather Be A Cowboy are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of John Denver who came here looking just for the lyrics to I’D Rather Be A Cowboy, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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