Now he don't expect her to stay true to him
And she never says that she will
But he's got a first love that just might kill him
And she knows he's hooked on the thrill

So she'll wait and worry then she'll wait some more
For the fever that drives him to just run its course
She talks so that picture they took their last night together
Says you can't be a cowboy forever, no you can't be a cowboy forever

Sometimes he calls her and swears that the ground
Hurts more than it did yesterday
But she knows his voice and he still sounds determined
To do whatever it takes

So she'll wait and worry then she'll wait some more
For the fever that drives him to just run its course
The whiskey he drank said some things last spring that upset her
But he can't be a cowboy forever, no you can't be a cowboy forever

Then one night he shows up and he says what's for dinner with that cocky grin on his face
The way that she smiled and the way that she held him told him he wasn't too late
Then she closed her eyes and he put that ring on her finger
And said you can't be a cowboy forever, no you can't be a cowboy forever
No you can't be a cowboy forever