Good Ride, Cowboy

Several years ago, the great Garth Brooks retired. Country music lost a legend when Garth left the scene (side note: he did it to be a dad to his kids, so it's completely forgivable). I named my purple beta fish, who has since left us for the big fishbowl in the sky, in his honor. Garth was a good fish. Garth was a great country artist.

Turns out, he's still a great country artist. You see, Garth Brooks just released a couple of new songs. Those interested in music in general could debate all day on his choice to only release them as part of a box set that will be sold only at WalMart. That means no iTunes, no Amazon.com, nada. That's not the point.

The point is, I can't think of a truly great cowboy song that's come out since Garth's retirement. Oh, George Strait's "Cowboys Like Us" was a good one, and you can't help but sing along to "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" by revolutionary Big & Rich. Katrina Elam even came out with a cowgirl song, "I Want a Cowboy," which I adore.

But those just aren't in the same class as Willie Nelson's "Mamma's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys," and "Further Down the Line," or Garth's "The Fever."

Garth Brooks' new song, "Good Ride Cowboy," is. (You can click here to download it, by the way). It's a tribute to the late, great Chris LeDoux, the king of cowboy songs. Every line in that song says something about Chris LeDoux, and every time I listen to it, I pick up more intricate little word plays that pay homage to his life and music. It's fun and touching and 100% cowboy.

Besides, how can you not like a song who's chorus says, "Pull your hat down tight/And just LeDoux it!"

Thanks, Garth. We've missed ya!