The Fence that Me and Shorty Built
Cowboy Poem
by
Red Steagall
We'd picked up all the fencing tools
And Staples off the road
An extra roll of barbed wire
Was the last thing left to load
I drew a sleeve across my face
To wipe away the dirt
The young man who was helping me
Was tuckin' in his shirt
I turned around to him and said,
"This fence is finally done
With five new strands of barbed wire
Shinin' proudly in the sun
The wire is runnin' straight and tight
With every post in line
The kind of job you're proud of
One that stands the test of time."
The kid was not impressed at all
He just stared off into space
Reminded me of years ago
Another time and place
I called myself a cowboy
I was full of buck and baw
And I didn't think my hands would fit
Post augers and a maul
They sent me out with Shorty
And the ranch fence building crew
Well, I was quite insulted
And before the day was through
I let him know that I'm a cowboy
This ain't what I do
I ain't no dadgummed nester
I hired out to buckeroo
He said, "We'll talk about that son
When we get in tonight
Right now you pick them augers up
It's either that or fight."
Boy I was diggin' post holes
Faster than a Georgia mole
But if a rock got in my way
I simply moved the hole
So when the cowboys set the posts
The line went in and out and
See old Shorty's face get fiery red
And I can hear him shout
"Nobody but a fool would build
A fence that isn't straight
I got no use for someone who ain't
Pullin' his own weight."
I thought for sure he's hit me
Glad he didn't have a gun
I looked around to find a place
Where I could duck and run
But Shorty walked up to me
Just as calm as he could be
Said, "Son, I need to talk to you
Let's find ourselves a tree."
He rolled a Bull Durham cigarette
As we sat on the ground
He took himself a puff or two
Then slowly looked around
"Son, I ain't much on schoolin'
Didn't get too far with that
But there's alot of learnin'
Hidden underneath this hat
I got it all the hard way
Every bump and bruise and fall
Now some of it was easy
But most weren't fun a'tall
But one thing that I always got
From any job I've done
Is do the best you can each day
And try to make it fun
I know that bustin' through them rocks
Ain't what you like to do
But gettin' mad you've made it tough
On me and all the crew
Now you hired out to cowboy
And you think you've got the stuff
You told him you're a good hand
And the boss has called your bluff
So how's that gonna make you look
When he comes ridin' through
And he asks me who dug the holes
and I say it was you
Now we could let it go like this
And take the easy route
But doin' things the easy way
Ain't what it's all about
The boss expects a job well done
From every man he's hired
He'll let you slide by once or twice
Then one day you'll get fired
If you're not proud of what you do
You won't amount to much
You'll bounce around from job to job
Just slightly out of touch
Come mornin' let's re-dig those holes
And get that fence in line
And you and I will save two jobs
Those bein' yours and mine
And someday you'll come ridin' through
And look across this land
And see a fence that's laid out straight
And know you had a hand
In something that's withstood the years
Then proudly and free from guilt
You'll smile and say, 'Boys that's the fence
That me and Shorty built'."
This is from Red's OFFICIAL youtube channel. In 2009 Red launched his television show, IN THE BUNKHOUSE WITH RED STEAGALL, seen on RFD TV. It ran for four years. His current show on RFD TV is entitled RED STEAGALL IS SOMEWHERE WEST OF WALL STREET. On this channel Red is going to share his TV show episodes as well as never seen before clips that because of time restraints could not be included in his episodes airing on RFD. There will also be some music shared here including Western, Western Swing, Country and Songs of inspiration. Singer, songwriter, poet, author and cowboy Red Steagall, hosts his award winning weekly TV show Red Steagall Is Somewhere West of Wall Street aires on RFD-TV on Mondays at 8:30 PM (CST), Tuesdays at 12:30 AM (CST) and Sundays at 6:00 AM (CST).