D                      G
One night while I was out a ridin'
    D                             A
The grave yard shift, midnight 'til dawn
    G      A          D     Bm
The moon was bright as a readin' light
       A           G             D
For a letter from an old friend back home

[Chorus]
N.C.
And he asked me
G        A           D
Why do you ride for your money
       G         A            D
Tell me why do you rope for short pay
            G        A
You ain't a'gettin' nowhere
           D         Bm  A  G
And you're losin' your share
         A            G       D
Boy, you must have gone crazy out there

[Verse]
        D                    G
He said last night I ran into Jenny
      D                   A
She's married and has a good life
            G             A
And boy you sure missed the track
         D        Bm
When you never come back
          A       G          D
She's the perfect professional's wife


[Chorus]
N.C.
And she asked me
G         A          D
Why does he ride for his money
    G                 A            D
And tell me why does he rope for short pay
           G      A
He ain't a'gettin' nowhere
         D        Bm  A  G
And he's losin' his share
       A          G       D
Boy he must've gone crazy out there

[Bridge]
               G   A      D      Bm
Ah but they've never seen the Northern Lights
        G          A         D
They've never seen a hawk on the wing
        G          A          D   Bm  A  G
They've never spent spring on the Great Divide
            A              G         D
And they've never heard ole' camp cookie sing

[Verse]
E                            A
Well I read up the last of my letter
      E                          B
And I tore off the stamp for black Jim
         A        B           E  C#m
And when Billy rode up to relieve me
        B          A        E
He just looked at my letter and grinned

[Chorus]
N.C.
He said now
A         B            E
Why do they ride for their money
       A          B            E
Tell me why do they ride for short pay
            A        B
They ain't a'gettin' nowhere
            E          C#m  B  A
And they're losin' their share
          B          A       E
Boy, they must've gone crazy out there
          B         A       E
Son, they all must be crazy out there