C F C 
He was born on a bright day, 1908 
C G  
Must have made up his mind that he just couldn't wait 
C F C 
The labor came on so quick and so fast 
C G C 
They rushed to town but she just couldn't last 
C F C 
He entered the world with his daddy playing doctor 
C G 
A horse for a nursemaid, cattle milling about 
C F C 
Born in the back of his daddy's ranch wagon 
C G C 
Into the tools of the trade there was never a doubt 


F C 
He loved the wide open spaces the best 
F C 
He looked east every morning, every evening he looked west 
F C G 
Loved his cowboying ways more than anyone knew 
F C G C  
Cowboy from Catarina, it's open spaces for you 
F C G C 
Cowboy from Catarina, it's open spaces for you  
 
Spent whole days on horseback just explaining the country 

Skipped school when he could cause it kept him inside 

Took his supper on the back steps so he could see the sun setting 

Stood up in his stirrups to watch the sunrise 

He'd ride through the draws where the rock faces whistle 

Sit there amongst the mesquite shrubs and the thistles 

He'd smell the whitebrush that the breeze carried by 

And he'd thank the angels for his cowboy life 
 
Chorus 
 
The second great war called him down from his horse 

They asked will you serve and he answered of course 

So he rode a troop ship across the great wide 

And he fought the Axis with one thought in mind 

Get back to Catarina, get back to his life 

Get back to his fencelines and the south Texas sky 

Get back to his cattle, his pastures, his land 

The cowboy from Catarina, he wore a very deep brand 
 
Chorus 
 
Change key to 
D 

D G D  
The eighties rolled around and his skin was wrinkled leather 
D A  
The hearing had faded and his balance had been better 
D G D 
But he could still spot a buck three fencelines away 
D A D 
And cowboy from Catarina I wonder where you are today 
D G D  
Are you down in the draw where the rock faces whistle 
D A 
Are you sitting amongst the mesquite shrubs and thistles 
D G D 
Can you smell the whitebrush that the breeze carries by 
D A D 
And are you thanking the angels for your cowboyin' life 
 
Chorus 2: 
G D  
Cause you loved the wide open spaces the best 
G D  
You looked east every morning, every evening you looked out west 
G D A 
You loved your cowboying ways more than anyone knew 
G D A D 
Cowboy from Catarina, it's open spaces for you 
G D A 
Cowboy from Catarina, it's open spaces 
G D  
It's them wide open spaces for you