Cable Car Cowboy

Foggy San Francisco two thousand miles from home Chasing after a lady I'd like to call my own I've been out of work since I left my job on the Bar-K cattle ranch Where my mamma cried "Think it over son before you take a chance." And lord I sure do miss the folks and all those friends of mine The city's pretty lonely when a man's just killing time The people never stop to talk or look you in the eye And the buildings there they grow so tall they cover up the sky But I went for a job the other day the man looked me up and down He said "You're a horse-riding cowboy who looks like he just hit town But if you can swing a rope I reckon you can ring a bell And if a bucking bronc can't throw you off youâ??ll hold the curves as well Well I didn't know what he was getting at 'til he took me to this barn A great big place with high brick walls not like down on the farm Instead of hay and horses it had cement steel and tar He said "Hop on board and let me see if you can drive a cable car" Well it looked like a little house with windows all around A little room set on the back and steps down to the ground A roof and a porch and benches and wheels set on a track I'd never seen such a doggone thing but I didn't tell him that So mamma don't you worry things are really going fine I'm working now as a brakeman on the California Line And the folks are mighty friendly when they hop on for a ride And when it's cold and rainy my lady loves to ride inside You can say I'm still a cowboy it's just a different horse I ride I round up strays on the city streets and I spend my days outside These hills of San Francisco are my own West Texas plains And ringing a bell is like singing to those dogies on the range