Comments on: Retro Single Review: Tim McGraw, “The Cowboy in Me”

By: Teresa

Teresa — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:12:06 +0000

Regardless of whether or not he’s released better, this is one of my favorite Tim Mcgraw songs, and it captures the essence of country music more than his recent stuff like “felt good on my lips”.

By: Kyle Ward

Kyle Ward — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:18:33 +0000

I almost found the Cowboy reference more imagined than real. Like he’s trying to sum up his flaws so latches onto the cowboy concept as a way of romanticizing it.
Most of all though this song just proves what a great melody and unintrusive production can do for a song. I think that’s what’s kept it so relevant as a gold cut. It sounds so good that you remember it better than it actually is.

By: Tara Seetharam

Tara Seetharam — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 02:12:16 +0000

I always loved this song, but never really thought much about the lyrics. I just really like the sound of the chorus, to be honest.

By: Ben Foster

Ben Foster — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 02:25:04 +0000

I like the sound of it too, for some of the reasons Kevin highlighted in the review, plus I think it has an enjoyable melody. The lyrics definitely don’t withstand a whole lot of scrutiny though.

By: Travis McClain @TravisSMcClain

Travis McClain @TravisSMcClain — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 23:52:57 +0000

We’ve reached a point where there are really two Old Wests: the real and the imagined, and both have become equally legitimate topics. I think of the movie, Silverado, which exists more to celebrate the Western movie genre than to actually represent the real setting. Does McGraw sing of an Old West cowboy? If so, which: Real Old West or Pop Culture Old West? Or is he alluding to a modern day ranch hand somewhere?

I give him a pass for the ambiguity of this since that’s a much broader issue for storytelling in all media from song to film, from literature to stage, from painting to comic.

My chief complaint with “The Cowboy in Me” has always been that very sloppy coda:

“We ride, never worry about the fall
I guess that’s just the cowboy in us all”

Until that point, I could buy the song as (somewhat bombastic) introspection. It’s in the first person, so there shouldn’t be any question that we’re invited to share in the introspection and identify with McGraw anyway. Why, then, that shoehorned “HEY! YOU CAN BE PART OF THIS, TOO!” invitation at the end? Were the writers seriously concerned that maybe somehow the song was so subtle we wouldn’t realize it could be about us, too?

Still, I confess I like the sound of this recording. And though its connection to cowboys is tenuous at best, that chorus really is universally accessible:

“The urge to run to restlessness
the heart of stone I sometimes get
The face that’s in the mirror
when I don’t like what I see…”

Them’s the makin’s of a decent song.

By: Sweetcheeks

Sweetcheeks — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:37:52 +0000

I think Tim is using the term “Cowboy” very, very loosely here, and that’s fine with me. I like the song, and its my favorite single from the “Set the Circus Down” album. (I never cared for “Unbroken” or “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” though I did like “Angry All the Time”). For me, Its easy to see why this one still gets lots of recurrent airplay.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 17:36:00 +0000

…i just love this song. then again, i’m also a total sucker for “don’t take the girl. i absolutely agree that it would work with “jersey shores” too – universally flawed like most of us, i could think of worse metaphors to illustrate some of my shortcomings than “cowboy”. on top of everything this melange of accustic guitar, fiddle, a grain of steel and those heavy riffs at the end – marvellous stuff.

By: Jake J

Jake J — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:29:34 +0000

While I do see what everyone is saying I still think this is a good song. It’s not his best single but it certainly isn’t bad. I always thought the reason people connected with it is because most people feel like they are their own worst enemy.

By: John

John — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:44:57 +0000

On a stellar album, this was more a song to just get through so I could enjoy the first solid cut “Telluride.” (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…”Telluride” should have been a massive hit, and the fact that it charted in the 50s without even being a single is proof.) I never understood why “Cowboy” opened Set This Circus Down, but a lot of people must have been just fine with it, since it was another #1 hit.

By: Mike J.

Mike J. — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 05:27:51 +0000

What I also don’t get is how this song still has a shelf life on country radio as a recurrent. He has certainly released more profound material, and material that is more sonically pleasing. It’s reason #6235 that I just don’t understand what’s going on at country radio. I’d probably rate this one as a C+ or C just because it does absolutely nothing for me when it’s on. I won’t change the channel, but I’m not singing along either. If a shoulder shrug constitued a grade, that’s what I’d give it.