(The) Harvey Danger Database

Not another existential cowboy
And no more “California Champagne”
Not another saddle tramp
—sick, sore, lonely and out of place—
cryin’ in his coffee ice cream (come on)

Edith cannot fix another engine
nor paint another face on a rubber-can clown
She takes another temp job
but in her secret heart, she rides

Sad sweetheart of the rodeo¹
Not an urban legend, now²
Sad sweetheart of the rodeo

Give it a rest, give it a rest
Give it a bad night’s sleep
Norman says that you should take a Valium
(“or maybe something stronger”)
’cause he doesn’t understand
how you get so excited watching The Lusty Men³

“The Marlboro Man died of cancer
And he wasn’t a rocket scientist when he was healthy, ha ha ha”
She took one last gulp of his soft city condescension
and blasted off from his little launch pad to parts west!

Sad sweetheart of the rodeo
Not an urban legend, now
Sad sweetheart of the rodeo
Lonesome Cowboy Bill,⁴ where are you?

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1. Cf. The Byrds’ 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. ↩

2. Footnote #7 in the KJV CD liner notes: build the goddamn monorail. ↩

3. A 1952 Western film directed by Nicholas Ray. ↩

4. “Lonesome Cowboy Bill” is a Velvet Underground song on Loaded (1970). ↩