G                Em         C      D       G
I coulda been most anything I put my mind to be,
      A                     C             G   D
But a cowboy's life was the only life for me.
       G            Em                C        D      G
It's a strong man's occupation ridin' herd and livin' free,
    Em               A
But strong men often fail
      Em             A
Where shrewd men can prevail,
       C                Am              D
I'm an old man now with nothin' left to say,
    C      Am    D               G
But oh god how I worked my youth away.

[Verse 2]
                 Em                   C       D    G
Well you may not recognize my face, I used to be a star,
  A           C                   G     D
A cowboy hero known both near and far.
  G              Em               C         D  G
I perched upon a silver mount and sang with my guitar,
        Em        A                Em            A
But the studio of course, owned my saddle and my horse,
         C              Am              D
But that six-gun on the wall belongs to me,
C      Am      D           G
Oh god I can't live a memory.

[Verse 3]
             G              Em             C       D    G
You know I'd like to put my finger on that trigger once again,
    A                 C                G    D
And point that gun at all the prideful men.
        G               Em              C      D        G
All the voyeurs and the lawyers who can pull a fountain pen,
    Em                 A
And put you where they choose,
         Em                 A
With the language that they use,
      C                  Am               D
And enslave you till you work your youth away,
C      Am    C               D
Oh god how I worked my youth away.


[Bridge]
        G    Em         G     D
Whoopee ty yioh whoopee ty yi ay,
G         Em       A            D
One man's work is another man's play
C      Am    D                G
Oh god how I worked my youth away.

[Verse 4]
          G                Em          C      D        G
You see I always liked the notion of a cowboy fighting crime,
     A              C           G      D
This photograph was taken in my prime,
        G            Em                   C        D        G
I could beat those desperados but there's no sense fightin' time,
        Em            A
But the singin' was a ball
              Em         A
Cause I’m not musical at all,
  C        Am                     D
I moved my lips to someone else's voice.

[Interlude]
G Em C D G A C G D

[verse 1 repeat]
  G                Em         C      D       G
I coulda been most anything I put my mind to be,
      A                     C             G    D
But a cowboy's life was the only life for me.
       G                Em            C        D      G
It's a strong man's occupation ridin' herd and livin' free,
    Em               A
But strong men often fail
      Em                A
Where shrewd men can prevail,
       C                Am              D
I'm an old man now with nothin' left to say,
    C      Am    D               G
But oh god how I worked my youth away.