VERSE 1 A5 E5 G5 A5 Well I was sitting in a roadhouse havin' a cup to pass the time A5 E5 G5 A5 Swapping rodeo stories with a few old territory friends of mine A5 C5 D5 When some motorcycle riders started snickering in the back A5 E5 A5 They were pokin' fun at my friends hat A5 E5 G5 A5 Well one old boy said 'Hey Tex where'd you park your horse' A5 E5 G5 A5 My friend just turned his hat down low but they couldn't be ignored A5 C5 D5 Then one husky fella said 'I think I'll rip that hat right off your head' A5 E5 A5 That's when my friend turned 'round and this is what he said CHORUS A5 C5 D5 You'll ride a black tornado across the western sky A5 C5 E5 You'll rope an old blue norther and milk it 'til it's dry A5 C5 D5 Bulldog the Diamantina pin its ears down flat A5 E5 A5 Long before you take this cowboy's hat VERSE 2 A5 E5 G5 A5 Now this old hat is better left alone A5 E5 G5 A5 You see it used to be my father's but last year he passed on A5 C5 D5 My Uncle skinned the red belly black that makes up this ol' hat band A5 E5 A5 But back in '69 he was killed in Vietnam A5 E5 G5 A5 Now the eagle feather was given to me by an old aboriginal friend of mine A5 E5 G5 A5 But someone run him down somewhere up around that Nothern Territory line A5 C5 D5 And a real special lady gave me this hat pin A5 E5 A5 But I don't know if I'm ever going to see her again REPEAT CHORUS VERSE 3 A5 E5 G5 A5 Now if your leather jacket means to you what this old hat means to me A5 E5 G5 A5 Then I guess we understand each other and we'll just let it be A5 C5 D5 But if you still think it's funny then you've got my back up against the wall A5 E5 A5 And if you touch my hat then you're gonna have to fight us all A5 E5 G5 A5 Well right then and there I noticed a little sadness in the gang leader's eyes A5 E5 G5 A5 He turned back toward the others and they all just shuffled on outside A5 C5 D5 But when my friend turned back towards me I noticed his hat brim A5 E5 A5 Well it was turned up in a big old Territory grin REPEAT CHORUS