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Ballad of the Snow Leopard and the Tanqueray Cowboy Lyrics
Comfort me said she
With your conversation
With the cocktails
And the candlelight
In your eyes
It's funny how we hunger
For some inspiration
And everything else
That money just won't buy
Men have lied
Many good girls have gone astray
Just to hear the gypsy play
One more lilting cowboy tune
And as the rivers run dry
And the mountains blow away
They sing of lovers and how they lay
Beneath this crazy frontier moon
I ain't no golden boy
I ain't no grecian dancer
And I ain't no loudmouthed cowboy
From the west
I'm not the kind of man
With all the answers
But I surely know the songs
That suit me best
But lately I've had something on my mind
It's growing stronger all the time
Calling out when I'm alone
But I'm a poet
And I'm bound to walk the line
Between the real and the sublime
And give the muses back their own
It's a penny for your thoughts
It's a dollar for you kisses
Keep a running tab on the time
'cause what I've got the most of
Is what she misses
The clock is hers
The hourglass is mine
But I'm her lover
Not a man bent on revenge
Hanging out here on the fringe
Of my native borderlands
Counting the days
The sun shone golden across her head
Lying on the banks of the bayou's edge
Kicking up some southeast texas sand
With your conversation
With the cocktails
And the candlelight
In your eyes
It's funny how we hunger
For some inspiration
And everything else
That money just won't buy
Many good girls have gone astray
Just to hear the gypsy play
One more lilting cowboy tune
And as the rivers run dry
And the mountains blow away
They sing of lovers and how they lay
Beneath this crazy frontier moon
I ain't no grecian dancer
And I ain't no loudmouthed cowboy
From the west
I'm not the kind of man
With all the answers
But I surely know the songs
That suit me best
It's growing stronger all the time
Calling out when I'm alone
But I'm a poet
And I'm bound to walk the line
Between the real and the sublime
And give the muses back their own
It's a dollar for you kisses
Keep a running tab on the time
'cause what I've got the most of
Is what she misses
The clock is hers
The hourglass is mine
Not a man bent on revenge
Hanging out here on the fringe
Of my native borderlands
Counting the days
The sun shone golden across her head
Lying on the banks of the bayou's edge
Kicking up some southeast texas sand
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In my opinion, the song works and has real emotional weight because of all the contrasts that the songwriter put in song, but that he never names explicitly. The main one comes right at the start when the woman asks the songwriter for comfort, but then - contrary to what you'd expect - the songwriter pulls back and gives us observations about folks in general, never mentioning any comfort or even attention to the woman.
Right away you notice that the songwriter's observations are sensitive and considered, and so he ought to be able to connect with the woman, but that never happens in the song. Instead at the end, he describes a beautiful memory of a time with the woman, but he addresses the listener and not to her - and that's what makes the song heart breaking to me. Of course there's more contrasts....the two characters in the title that doesn't exist in the same place..... but you get the idea. Anyway, just my 2 cents about a song I like. Cheers