I'm taking a History class right now titled "History of the American West," and I do think it's a political song. Cowboys are part of the myth of the West as a place to be conquered--its indigenous peoples, its arid geography (deserts, great plains), its animals even (buffalo and the now-extinct passenger pigeon). Cowboys are the conquerors in this myth, and represent stoic, strong masculinity. (Women in the myth of the west have predominantly played the role of damsel in distress, with Calamity Jane and Annie Oakley being notable exceptions.) America, while supposedly founded on the ideals of democracy and freedom, has historically been exploitative and oppressive towards minorities: women, Blacks, Indians, Chinese, Japanese, and Mexicans. I won't give you a full history lesson here, but you can google these minorities along with something like "history of oppression in America," and you will find overwhelming evidence.
Back to the song, it's hard to tell who the speaker is. Could be an oppressed minority speaking to the conquerors, the "cowboys," i.e. the American government.
I'm taking a History class right now titled "History of the American West," and I do think it's a political song. Cowboys are part of the myth of the West as a place to be conquered--its indigenous peoples, its arid geography (deserts, great plains), its animals even (buffalo and the now-extinct passenger pigeon). Cowboys are the conquerors in this myth, and represent stoic, strong masculinity. (Women in the myth of the west have predominantly played the role of damsel in distress, with Calamity Jane and Annie Oakley being notable exceptions.) America, while supposedly founded on the ideals of democracy and freedom, has historically been exploitative and oppressive towards minorities: women, Blacks, Indians, Chinese, Japanese, and Mexicans. I won't give you a full history lesson here, but you can google these minorities along with something like "history of oppression in America," and you will find overwhelming evidence.
Back to the song, it's hard to tell who the speaker is. Could be an oppressed minority speaking to the conquerors, the "cowboys," i.e. the American government.