"Old Jake" lyrics - CHRIS LEDOUX

Now, old Jake was a cowboy
He'd worked his whole life on the range
And he could rope, and he could ride
With any man just half his age
Old Jake was my hero, and me
I was just a green kid
And I prayed that someday
I could do all the things old Jake did

Well, we sat around the bunk house
One cold and lonely winter's night
Just chewin' and talkin' and smokin'
By the coal oil light
Well, old Jake had been awful quiet that evenin'
And he stared hard and long
He said, "Young puncher
You goin' to remember me after I'm gone?"

And he said
Whatever happens to old cowboy heroes like me?
The broken down part of a man I used to be
Will I be forgotten or live on in your memory?
Whatever happens to old cowboy heroes like me?

It's been a long time
And, oh, how the years fade away
Well, I stopped by the bunk house
Where me and old Jake used to stay
They said Jake died about ten years ago
And they buried him out there on the plain
Old friend, you might be gone
But your memory always stays the same

Whatever happens to old cowboy heroes like me?
The broken down part of a man I used to be
Will I be forgotten or live on in your memory?
Whatever happens to old cowboy heroes like me?
Whatever happens to old cowboy heroes like me?