On the Edge of
Common Sense with Baxter Black The Cowboy Ball
MAY 2020
In the midst of Covid-19, one of the deepest psychosies’ is loneliness. “Social distance,” sliding take-out tacos under the door, being served pizza across the counter like a Frisbee, having to carry a measuring tape and whip it out like Marshall Dillon to confirm 6 feet every time some masked stranger comes your way… all to prevent civil discourse and staying friends. IT IS DEPRESSING. Those of you historians familiar with the pioneers who came west know they often found themselves in the lonely isolation that some of us are feeling today. Yet we RISE TO THE OCCASION, BRAVE AND INSPIRED TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT.
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The rider said he was up country And rarely came this way at all But he thought he’d be a good neighbor By throwin’ a cowboy ball! The pilgrim inspected this stranger Who never got down from his horse. He looked like he needed a dentist, His manner was rugged and coarse.
Blue lonesome is dang hard to handle Especially out where the road ends So any excuse for a party Is welcome, and bound to make friends.
But lonesome can pray on a body And the stranger sounded sincere “We can dance all night if we want to, Play music and toast the Frontier!
Once, a pilgrim seekin’ some solace Staked a claim a long way from town. He’d come from the itch of the city And in six months he’d settled down.
We’ll eat and we’ll drink and be merry, I’ve whiskey enough for us all... So whattya say, are ya willin’ To come to a cowboy ball?”
He built himself a small cabin He sat on the porch one fine day When he saw a rider approaching. He saw him from miles away.
The pilgrim was mullin’ it over, “Ya say they’ll be whiskey and dance? And maybe a kiss in the moonlight?” The stranger said, “Yeah, there’s a chance.”
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“So what should I wear?” asked the pilgrim, “It sounds like a pretty good do.” The stranger said, “Heck, it don’t matter, ‘Cause, Pilgrim, it’s just me and you!”
