100 Best Songs About Cowboys and Cowgirls

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The life and times of people in the country & western world have been poetically described in many songs. Although cowboy themes are exceedingly popular with singers and songwriters in the realms of country music, a number of musicians from other genres have thoughtfully portrayed western-country moments of cowboys and cowgirls.

Popularity of Cowboy Themes in Songs

Cowboy themes are exceedingly popular across different genres. The cowboy way of life represents a plethora of emotions. Although many songs outline the joys of nostalgic moments in a heartwarming manner, certain tunes emphasize on the harsh realities of an unglamorous life in the countryside. Certain singers and songwriters portray the emotions a person goes through living in isolation and wilderness of country-western landscapes. The lyrics in certain songs describe the beautiful landscapes herdsmen and cattlemen tread. Singers and songwriters also use cowboy themes to convey a complex meaning figuratively.

The nomadic lifestyles cowboys lead are exquisitely echoed in the lyrics of many country and folk tunes. Certain songs thoughtfully describe the work carried out on cattle ranches, and the happiness one derives spending time with horses, cows, and sheep. Stories about horseback, gunslingers and old country westerns are narrated aesthetically in certain country and folk songs. In certain songs the responsibility of looking after herds of cattle is compared metaphorically to taking care of a large family in a big city.

Different types of cowboy themes and western theme ideas are exceedingly popular in songs. Some of the popular country western themes in songs from different genres are

• Country Boots
• Horsemanship
• Clothing and Attire
• Outlaws
• Rebellion
• Gunslingers
• Wild West
• Romance
• Bull Riding
• Rodeo
• Great Plains
• Bounty Hunters
• Railroads
• Wilderness
• Ranches

What Does the Cowboy Spirit Symbolize?

Although the western frontier symbolizes the love and passion for the great tradition of herding cattle on ranches, across various genres, the cowboy spirit represents a wide-range of attributes. While the term “cowboy” is often associated with the West, especially with the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains, over the years the term has become a prominent part of mainstream country. In many country-western songs, tales of heroics and bravado of cowboys are described in a delightful manner. Country musicians through their songs offer a detailed perspective on how it feels to be in love with a cowgirl or cowboy.

Simple moral tales are often narrated in songs about cowboys. In numerous songs, herdsmen represent the spirit of self-reliance and independence. The strength, courage, and valor of cattlemen are often showcased in an exemplary manner. The typical cowboy spirit is often celebrated with a sense of honor, freedom, and hard work. Simplistic values of herd tenders are often told in the form of lyrical tales in folk songs. Although the cowboy spirit represents a wide-spectrum of exemplary characteristics, in songs it may denote or symbolize

• Bravery
• Courage
• Strength
• Individualism
• Tradition
• Substance
• Freedom
• Camaraderie
• Hard Work
• Simplicity
• Respect
• Determination

The list below showcases a collection of rock songs, pop songs, country songs, folk songs and hip hop songs about cowboys and cowgirls. If you have a view, opinion, or song suggestion, let us know in the comments section.

Top 10 Best Songs About Cowboys and Cowgirls

1. “Ain’t Always the Cowboy”—Jon Pardi
2. “We Are the Cowboys”—Willie Nelson
3. “Rhinestone Cowboy”—Glen Campbell
4. “Cowboy Like Me”—Taylor Swift
5. “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)”—Big & Rich
6. “Cowboy Take Me Away”—The Chicks
7. “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys”—Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson
8. “Cowboy”—Kid Rock
9. “Last Cowboy Song”—Ed Bruce and Willie Nelson
10. “Should’ve Been a Cowboy”—Toby Keith

#11—20

11. “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Good)”—Garth Brooks

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12. “Cowboys and Angels”—Dustin Lynch

13. “Cowboy Casanova”—Carrie Underwood

14. “This Cowboy’s Hat”—Chris LeDoux

15. “Cowboy Style”—Kylie Minogue

16. “Amarillo By Morning”—George Strait

17. “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”—Willie Nelson

18. “Night Rider’s Lament”—Suzy Bogguss

19. “How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls”—George Strait

20. “Coyotes”—Don Edwards

#21—40

21. “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?”—Paula Cole

22. “Don’t Call Him a Cowboy”—Conway Twitty

23. “Ghetto Cowboy”—Mo Thugs featuring Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

24. “Cowboys & Kisses”—Anastacia

25. “I Can Still Make Cheyenne”—George Strait

26. “Cowboy Love”—John Michael Montgomery

27. “Cowgirls Don’t Cry”—Brooks and Dunn featuring Reba McEntire

28. “Dime Store Cowgirl”—Kacey Musgraves

29. “Modern Day Cowboy”—Tesla

30. “A Cowboy’s Born With a Broken Heart”—Boy Howdy

31. “Cowboy Man”—Lyle Lovett

32. “The Beaches of Cheyenne”—Garth Brooks

33. “What the Cowgirls Do”—Vince Gill

34. “Head Over Boots”—Jon Pardi

35. “Cowboys Like Us”—George Strait

36. “Good Girl”—Dustin Lynch

37. “Dancin’ Cowboys”—The Bellamy Brothers

38. “Kerosene”—Miranda Lambert

39. “A Cowboy’s Work is Never Done”—Sonny and Cher

40. “Kern River”—Emmylou Harris

#41—60

41. “God Must Be a Cowboy”—Dan Seals

42. “Good Ol’ Boys Club”—Kacey Musgraves

43. “Bandy the Rodeo Clown”—Moe Bandy

44. “Why’d You Come in Here Looking Like That”—Dolly Parton

45. “Cowboys and Clowns”—Ronnie Milsap

46. “Let there Be Cowgirls”—Chris Cagle

47. “Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet)”—Tom T. Hall

48. “Like a Cowboy”—Randy Houser

49. “Cowgirls”—Belinda Carlile

50. “Burry Me Not on the Lone Prairie”—Johnny Cash

51. “I Wanna Be a Cowboy”—Boys Don’t Cry

52. “A Few More Cowboys”—Toby Keith

53. “Cowboy’s Back in Town”—Trace Adkins

54. “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues”—Dolly Parton

55. “Cowboy Song”—Thin Lizzy

56. “100% Cowboy”—Jason Medows

57. “Reverse Cowgirl”—Wisin & Yandel

58. “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy”—Elton John

59. “He Walked on Water”—Randy Travis

60. “Cowboys From Hell”—Pantera

#61—80

61. “Like a Cowboy”—Parker McCollum

62. “Cowboys to Girls”—The Intruders

63. “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honkey Tonkey Angels”—Kitty Wells

64. “Every Cowboy’s Dream”—Rheet Akins

65. “American Cowboy”—Jada

66. “Ghetto Cowboy”—Yelawolf

67. “Space Cowboy”—Kacey Musgraves

68. “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart”—Patsy Montana

69. “Cowboy”—Allison Ponthier

70. “I’m An Old Cowhand (From Rio Grande)”—Bing Crosby

71. “Coming Home”—Maggie McClure

72. “Ballad of the Alamo”—Marty Robins

73. “Good Ride Cowboy”—Garth Brooks

74. “Cowgirl”—Underworld

75. “I Want a Cowboy”—Reba McEntire

76. “Who You Thought I Was”—Brandi Clark

77. “Midnight Cowgirl”—Dani Taylor

78. “Cowboy in LA”—LANY

79. “Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy”—Chris DeLoux

80. “A Cowboy’s Way”—Dolly Parton

#81—100

81. “Cowboy Boogie”—Randy Travis

82. “Tumbling Tumbeweeds”—Sons of the Prisoners

83. “Beach Cowboy”—Brian Kelley

84. “The Only One I Know” (Cowboy Life)—Cody Johnson

85. “Cowboy Blues”—Kesha

86. “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy”—Randy Newman

87. “Happy Trails”—Roy Rogers

88. “The Cowboy Rides Away”—George Strait

89. “No Cowboy”—Stephanie Rainey

90. “Asphalt Cowboy”—Jason Aldean

91. “Let the Cowboy Rock”—Ronnie Dunn

92. “The Cowgirl and the Dandy”—Brenda Lee

93. “Old Hat”—Jon Pardi

94. “Hippies and Cowboys”—Cody Jinks

95. “The Strawberry Roan”—Marty Robbins

96. “Cowboy Up”—Joni Harms

97. “Texas in 1880”—Foster & Lloyd

98. “Cosmic Cowboy, Pt 1”—Michael Martin Murphey

99. “The Master’s Call”—Marty Robbins

100. “My Cowboy”—Jessie James

Other Notable Songs About Cowboys and Cowgirls

• “Cowboy Logic”—Michael Martin Murphey
• “Back in the Saddle Again”—Gene Autry
• “Cowboy Band”—Billy Dean
• “Night Herding Song”—Harry Stephens
• “Cowboy”—The Sunny Cowgirls
• “(Ghost ) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend”—Vaughn Monroe
• “Ride Cowboy Ride”—Bon Jovi
• “Move On”—Clare Dunn
• “That’s Why God Loves Cowboy’s”—Aaron Watson
• “Cowboy’s Cowgirl”—Chad Cooke Band
• “The Sons of Katie Elder”—Johnny Cash
• “Cowboy Beat”—The Bellamy Brothers
• “Cool Water”—Sons of the Prisoners
• “Don’t Blame it on Whiskey”—Jon Pardi featuring Lauren Alaina
• “Space Cowboy”—Cash and Maverick
• “Rev it Up”—The Sunny Cowgirls
• “Cowboy Songs”—Chris LeDoux
• “Takin’ Me a Heartbreak”—Randall King
• “Call You Cowboy”—Brenn Hill
• “A Cowboy Can”—Josh Ward
• “Cowgirls & Cowboys”—Teshuva
• “Renegade Runaway”—Carrie Underwood
• “Tuggin’ on my Heartstrings”—Randal King
• “Cowgirl Blues”—Midland
• “Cowboys, Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other”—Ned Sublette
• “The Dreary Black Hills”—Harry Stephens
• “Party on the Beach”—Brian Kelley
• “Cowboy Boots and Shorts”—Knuckles

• “Someday Soon”—Ian Tyson
• “Cowgirl”—Nice Horse
• “Ragtime Cowboy Joe”—The Chipunks
• “Cowgirl”—Lil Keke
• “Nobody Leaves a Girl Like That”—Jon Pardi
• “Coca-Cola Cowboy”—Steve Dorff
• “The Cowboy’s Christmas Ball”—The Killers
• “Billy the Kid”—Billy Dean
• “Hey Cowgirl”—Mac DeMarco
• “The Cowboy Dance”—Jack Hartman
• “In the Real West”—Tish Hinojosa
• “Cowboys & Cowgirls”—Stone Thug
• “Trail of Broken Hearts”—K.D. Lang
• “Broken Cowboy”—The Dead South
• “My Pony Boy”—Lillian Lorraine
• “The Colorado Trail”—The Kingston Trio
• “Rawhide”—Frankie Laine
• “Hey Cowgirl”—Randall King
• “That Girl is a Cowboy”—Garth Brooks
• “Singapore Cowboy”—Matthew and the Mandarins
• “Keep Her on the Line”—Randall King
• “Cowboy Boots”—Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• “Tied One On”—Jon Pardi
• “It’s Been Everywhere”—The Sunny Cowgirls
• “Cowboys Don’t Cry”—Dude Mowrey
• “The Lady Takes the Cowboy Everytime”—Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers
• “Rappin’ Duke”—Shawn Brown
• “She’s a Cowgirl”—Midland

© 2021 Ansel Pereira