Twisted Cowboy Blog

Rilla was the daughter of a rancher
Will made her a rancher’s wife
She pulled calves and broke horses
Painted columbine, blue and white

Her life on the ranch was unsparing
The winters they were cold and long
But ice on the river was bearing
And she knew it wouldn’t be long

She’d cross the winding Elk River
And ride into the Big Meadow
Watch the calves settle in the tall grass
Up in the aspen and the alpenglow

She remembers all of the horses
That carried her through the pines
All along the South Fork trail
And up to the Great Divide

But today she’ll stay in the pickup
Her knees can’t handle the strain
Of ten hours a-horseback
Across this mountain terrain

She says, “Keep ‘em out of the willows boys
Someone keep an eye on Will
Take a picture of the grass when you get there
Up in the aspen and the alpenglow”

Now the cattle are settling in the tall grass
And the sun fades in the sky
Will shoots a picture from the saddle
As Rilla hums Bye and Bye

Now she can rest
Soon she’ll be turned to the land
No jewelry on her neck or her fingers
Will places the picture in her hand

He says, “Soon you’ll cross the winding river
And ride into the Big Meadow
Watch the calves settle in the tall grass
Up in the aspen and the alpenglow”

© John Michael Reedy, Twisted Cowboy Music (ASCAP). All rights reserved. These words may not be reprinted or reposted without the author’s written permission.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 3rd, 2007 at 8:26 am and is filed under Lyrics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.