When I first felt the pull of the cowboy motif for this fall’s atmosphere, I also felt decades of pushing against such a motif. As a gay man, and in these recent years of divisive strife especially, I didn’t always feel the country-western vibe was particularly welcoming. A big part of the cowboy co-opting at work this season is to turn such notions on their head – celebrating the gay cowboy lifestyle – a gorgeous amalgamation of country-western images with an open-minded acceptance and celebration of all people. Gay cowboy songs have always existed if you know how to listen and what to hear – and lately some are gloriously blatant and deliciously overt – as in this haunting and poignant ‘Two Cowboy Waltz’ by Mark Weigle.
Four cowboy boots
Gliding on air
Turning and turning
While I stand and stare
At the two cowboy waltz
At the two cowboy waltz
Grace, and dignity
So hard to come by
That I stand in rapture
As I watch them dance by
In the two cowboy waltz
The two cowboy waltz
This also sets the stage for our cowboy story, set to begin posting tomorrow. It’s a sort of love story – the way any cowboy story is a sort of love story – with something sweet, something ruinous, and something lonesome. Tale as old as time and all that good stuff, given a cowboy edge and the kind of grit that never quite detracts from its beauty.
With shiny pearl buttons
In faded blue jeans
He’ll turn to me
Tonight in my dreams
And we’ll dance
Don’t think this will be a sweet ride the whole way through – a cowboy’s life is rarely so easy and linear. They like the twists and turns, else they wouldn’t give up so much for so seemingly little. And a story of happily ever after is only worth anything if there is adversity or tragedy coming beforehand to give it flavor and spice and contrast.
The two cowboy waltz
The two cowboy waltz
He’ll take my hand
Look into my eyes
Then stetson to stetson
Together we’ll fly
For now, though, let’s have a moment of romantic abandon – in that space right before the fall, that place when it could be the thing that changes your life for the better, that makes everything fall into perfect harmony and destiny. This is what we all seek, whether we realize it or not – the moment of hope, the sort of perfection that only exists because it’s in our minds. Never again will it be this lovely – it will have different resonance, different joy, but it won’t ever be as lovely. I wish it would be. I wish it could be. And maybe that’s just my own jaded experience. Maybe this time the cowboys will live happily ever after…
The two cowboy waltz
The two cowboy waltz
