Walking after midnight is not solely the province or habit of cowboys or country-western folk; many nights of my childhood were spent walking at the midnight hour, back when kids could walk anytime and anyplace. There’s something magical about the cloak of darkness that gives a person ease, and something wondrous about getting on your own two feet and getting away. A cowboy’s life is movement – and most movement begins with the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other.
I go out walkin’ after midnight
Out in the moonlight
Just like we used to do
I’m always walkin’ after midnight
Searchin’ for you
I walk for miles along the highway
Well, that’s just my way
Of sayin’, “I love you”
I’m always walkin’ after midnight
Searchin’ for you
Riding his horse or walking by his lonesome, a cowboy finds ample time to soak in his solitude. In some respects that’s the most powerful way I connect to the cowboy’s conduct – they have an affinity with solitude that I’ve always shared. Most people just aren’t comfortable for long stretches on their own; some can’t handle a few minutes without reaching out to their phone or other method of communicating with others. They’ve lost the ability to exist alone, which is very sad, as in the end we only have ourselves, and to not enjoy one’s own company is a hell I can’t imagine. It’s a little at odds with the music here, which pines for companionship and rails against loneliness. Loneliness is rarely an affliction of a proper cowboy – at least not loneliness in the usual sense.
I stop to see a weepin’ willow
Cryin’ on his pillow
Maybe he’s cryin’ for me
And as the skies turn gloomy
Night winds whisper to me
I’m lonesome as I can be
Even when he doesn’t have his horse, a cowboy has his walk. Only God or whatever entity you believe in can take that away. The ability to get from one place to another, to move your entire environment and change your atmosphere absolutely – it’s a powerful thing most of us forget or neglect or never even realize. The cowboy remembers. The cowboy knows. The cowboy walks.
I go out walkin’ after midnight
Out in the starlight
Just hopin’ you may be
Somewhere a-walkin’ after midnight
Searchin’ for me
