Everything I Ever Wanted to Do

[Inspired by Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove"]

Everything I ever wanted to do
Seemed to make sense at the time
The call of adventure kept leading me on,
Pushing mistakes out of mind
I roped and I wrangled all over the range
Trying to do what was right
And everything I ever wanted to do
Seemed to make sense at the time

Everything I ever wanted to do
Has come with an unforeseen cost
I weighed all the risks and then all the rewards,
But sometimes my counting was off
I stand by my work and I hold no regrets,
I never called nobody ‘boss’
But everything I ever wanted to do
Has come with an unforeseen cost

Up in the morning and out to the pens
Catching the day by the horns
No time for questions or wondering why
Saddle the life that you know

Everything I ever wanted to do
Has only just lately been done
History books will not mention my name
After I’m long dead and gone
Triumphs abound, yet I’m a victim of fate;
I should have burned out ’stead of fading away;
Born ten years too early or ten years too late
Just trying to get farther along
Everything I ever wanted to do
Has only just lately been done