Bob Wire

By Terry Burns

I've got me a hold on this old barb wire
and it puts me in a mood to retire
every time I have to come and fix this fence.
I use all the words the preacher don't know
and yes I cuss this so and so
in a manner that just ain't common among gents.

But it's the only way I can get 'er done
and I'll keep at it until I've won
or died whichever thing it is comes first.
And my muscles ache and my back is broke
and I mean each and every word I spoke
but the worst of it all is this dusty, powerful thirst.

For a cowboy this just ain't fit work
sweatin' and strainin' like a slave to a Turk;
the bossman sure must have it in for me.
Cause a cowboy don't like to dirty his neck
on a job you can't do from the hurricane deck
on the back of a horse where a man can breathe and see.

So I pull this wire but inside my head
I've already left or maybe I'm dead
but I ain’t here and that's a natural fact.
For my old heart just ain't in this
it longs for a drink or a ladies kiss
or just a job that leaves a man's dignity intact.