Cowboy Culture

When you hear the word cowboy, what do you think of? John Wayne or Roy Rogers? the internationally acclaimed football players of the Dallas Cowboys? a crowded bar of a honky tonk? Today we are exploring cowboy culture, where it's been and where it is today. Meet you at the table.

I'm Lainie and I'm Laura Beth. And we are Steel Magnolias the strength of steel. With the grace of a magnolia.

We're here to have uplifting conversations about life in the south.

And we've got plenty of room at our table. So pull up a chair!Welcome back, y’all.

We're here at the table. Yep, go figure. And speaking of tables, I'll go ahead and thank our wonderful sponsor for this episode. That big thank you to Tennessee Woodworks, the hand crafter of custom farmhouse style furniture. Now, we've mentioned them another time on this podcast before and we were talking about some of the unique furniture selections that they offer for every room of your home. So today, I

wanted to just specifically mention that they have butcher block cutting boards that are made with beautiful hardwood, maple and walnut, that sourced locally right here in Nashville where we are. It's a great addition to your kitchen for everyday use. I will say I received a butcher block cutting board as a wedding gift. And it was a very big treat for my kitchen and is a fabulous wedding gift as a new bride. And so it's wedding, whether you've seen somebody register for one of those or not, that is a fabulous wedding gift in any sort of large equation or maybe a milestone birthday or if you're just wanting to really bless somebody. So I would encourage you guys to check those out. We just got our kitchen needs we got to touch and feel it and it just felt so smooth that had that sealant on it. That was just so good for the wood. Yeah.

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We are talking about cowboy culture today. We got it fresh on our mind. We got schooled because we've been in Texas, y'all. So I mean, I want to give just like a very, very little background. How did cows get in Texas? Oh, I want to start there. So this is gonna be super brief. But the Spaniards brought cows to Mexico in the early 1500s and they grew, like majorly repopulated. And yeah, leave them alone. They will. Yeah, they did what they were made to do, right. And so cattle drives started in the mid 1800s, where cattle was being driven all around to places where it was needed. They were just naturally, you know, migrating to different areas. And thus the cowboy was born. Somebody's got to move them where you need them. And so I think you can really just describe the most basic of terms as a cowboy or cowgirl, as one who herds cattle from a horse. Yeah. I mean, that's really kind of Yeah, you know, there's rodeos, and they're sort of sort of more expansive tricks and trades and things that, you know, would maybe more include ranchers and a broader sort of view of it. But at the most simple of it, it's just true moving cattle from a horse. Well,

and that's it. I mean, it's athletic, for sure. You

know, for sure, I was really just amazed at how schooled we got when we made our trip to Texas too but I was also so pleasantly surprised to see how diverse cowboys were and are true. I guess when you think about some of the famous ones from the movies.

That's what it is. It's the movies that made a skewed right skewed with the white guy, but a lot of them were you know, hispanic and black. So very diverse group of people, just how boys and cow girls and cowgirls, I want to talk a little bit more about that later. This is funny, though. Did you know that I mean, we're we're obviously focused on Southern culture. So we're talking about cowboys of the southeast or southwest United States. But in Britain, they refer to a cowboy. As somebody who's reckless or careless. Okay, especially when driving an automobile. Oh, that's funny. So we're not talking about just reckless people today. I knew y'all knew

that. The British you know, they have their own way of, you know, riding a horse. It's all different, for sure.

But I just think that's so funny that we speak the same language. But yet across the pond, there are some differences and so many sort of our urban or slang vocabulary. So well, where shall we start?

Well, I guess one of the broad statements that I've felt like I needed to make was just that cowboy culture comes from a lifestyle of ranch living and working. Yeah. And they are workers.

Yeah. Yeah. Like real hard workers up before the sun. Yeah. Every body muscle and part of their body of labor. Yeah. So Right.

And I feel like it you know, cowboy culture is we could, it just touches everything. It touches their fashion, it touches their decor in their homes. Their lingo, yeah, the way they cook food. It's like so many different things that it touches. Yeah. So this is just a little broad scope. Yeah, touch with that. And then like, when you think of lifestyle, back to your mention of movies, there are some stereotypes that were really branded in to the minds of us Americans of what that lifestyle is as a cowboy, which would be like, heavy drinking, gambling, quick to fight, staying single like.  

Oh, true. Like, you're, as you're saying that I'm like, Yes. And I didn't even think about that, even when we were down there. But yeah, like kind of a renegade that, like, you probably like the boy in high school that your parents hope that you don't have a crush on, you know, right. That's kind of how a cowboy was painted. I feel like in the movies, but that's just a stereotype that happens with Hollywood films. 

So should we talk about like, the some of the vocabulary, or there's even a lot of it? Well, and there's even, I'll start with maybe the actual cattle drive, because let's what we said is, this is movement of cattle on horseback, but there is like an actual formation that men and women on horseback put the herd in. And I didn't know, like any of these words. Okay,

so this is funny before you even get into it. I have already since our trip to Texas, been noticing words that I saw there, like I saw a car and it had Lariat on it, which is a horse word. Okay, but just some different. Yeah, you know, I was thinking, it seems like there's a lot in cars, Bronco and Wrangler.

I was gonna say wranglers the only one on this list of the cattle drive positions that I've ever heard. So Well, the first step is the trail boss, they are right up in the front, they are the ones that determined the route and they keep an eye out for trouble ahead. So they're the trail boss. Pretty straightforward. There is a point that is up at the front, but it's on both sides, they guided the cattle in the right direction. And there's a swing, which is in the middle, but again on both sides. And they assist the points that are right in front of them. The flank, which is really towards more of the back, and they kept the middle intact. So it's kind of like just making sure that people are running you are doing what they're supposed to do. There's a drag in the back, they help push the slower cattle give them a little scooch scooch. And the I think you say it remuda is in the back and it's a whole set of horses that are a replacement set of the horses for the drovers, so they're just kind of like they're on as needed, if needed, and then the Wrangler is at the very back of the herd. And they just kind of oversee those, the remuda the replacement set of horses, so that's kind of the formation of how they keep the herd intact when they're traveling and moving them around. And I thought that was kind of interesting. All these different trusting vocab words.

Well, I found of some vocab words too. You mentioned drover or did you say what his role is? Drover is one who drives cattle.  Maybe all of those roles are drovers, I am not sure. That’s true.

But there's lots of words different words in horses and cattle. So like, an unbroken horse is a bronc.

Okay, hence the Bronco I guess picture the yeah the horse that's gone Wild and the Mustang is a wild horse so I don't know the difference in those two.  Makes for good car names.

A Maverick is a stray and unbranded calf. Okay and I guess you know they had to brand them because well first of all there there wasn't always barbed wire and all of that to keep them in pins so when they got out you needed to know whose was whose and all that Yeah, they did all the branding say they say the definition of maverick again real quick, a stray unbranded calf. I just have Top Gun Maverick still in my mind, and I'm like, he kind of was was an ace kind of a stray kind of. Anyway, in I had mentioned a bronc and unbroken horse a broke is a horse that's gentle and ready to ride. Okay, that kind of makes sense. Like they're broke, for sure get broken in. A catch pen is the corral for holding the cattle or horses. Okay. I think you say it doggie, doggie or I've heard like, get along, little doggy. Oh, that's an orphaned calf.

I've got lots more. But anyway, well, let's go keep going. And maybe some of these words will come?

Well, I think we've probably said it on here before that a huge piece of culture of any culture is the music of that culture. And so I want to make sure we just at least acknowledge that country music, Western music and all the variations and offshoots of that play a role in cowboy culture. But I wanted to introduce our listeners to our new friend, who is a cow girl poet. So we're going to introduce you to our friend Teresa Burlison. of Fort Worth. She's an award winning poet whose poems are inspired by her personal experiences, her heritage and the Western way of life. We met her as she was working at the stockyard Museum in Fort Worth, and she was decked out in a cowboy hat and a big belt buckle and she shared some of her poems with us and we wanted to share one with y'all because this is a very unique part of cowboy culture. So this poem here is called The Herd.

Back when cowboys were prince of the prairie and Longhorn cattle were king. The cattle drives came through Fort Worth, and it started in the spring, around 1867 when there were no fences or rails, they pointed him north to Kansas headed for the Chisholm Trail. Now, many books were written and many a movie made about this time in history that was less than two decades. The drovers were all creeds and colors, cowboys and men that were tough. Because the Longhorns were wild and wooly, and life on the trail was rough, a perilous journey riding herd over 2500 cattle, these brave young men would spend up to 100 days in the saddle. In the end, 5 million were driven up to the Kansas rail head, then put on trains and taken East so those folks could be fed. It is a proud Texas legacy of determination and grit, and the Fort Worth herd was created immortalizing it. Each day, twice a day people gather to see the cattle drive. It's a unique way that Fort Worth keeps our heritage alive. The only city with a Longhorn herd, wearing the F W brand, representing the men and cattle that trekked across this land. These drovers and horses carry the essence of those that road before as they heard those steers down the street. The legend lives once more. And every Longhorn steer that walks the bricks of East Exchange carries the spirit of those that wants trod upon the Texas range. So come on down to cow town and have your inner cowboy stirred. We guarantee you'll never forget, once you've seen the Fort Worth Herd.

So I just thought it was super interesting that poetry a format that's sometimes flowery and full of symbolism and describing love and just different scenarios that are so contrast to what I would consider rant rough ranch life and the hard working cowboys and cowgirls that are out there. So Teresa has so many good poems out there. We're going to link to her in our show notes so that you guys can listen to more. And on another note, there is a huge piece of cowboy culture that includes their faith and I want to To mention something that I've been learning more about, which is cowboy church. So this is not new, but I think it's new to a lot of people that maybe only have a cowboy church like, you know, our from our friend them or they're just starting to hear about it. But cowboy church is a non denominational church. They believe in the Triune God, they believe that the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit, there's not a membership, like an affiliation, like some denominations have. It's very, very laid back like definitely no dressing up.

No. Dress code is come as you are, in your Wranglers,

and they're held these church meetings are held in non traditional settings so like rodeos, okay, and you know, or just some sort of outdoor arena that is conducive to their horse if you would lie some people do Okay, so the closest if you were hope, like thinking okay nondenominational not really, I still understand the closest they would affiliate would be a traditional Baptist Church and according to some of the stuff I was reading online, okay, but like the music genre for worship is typically country okay. You know, maybe a little less sort of churchy vernacular because they are seeking to attract a manly man or an outdoorsy person, man, male or female that's, you know, just living the ranch life.

This is maybe like faith might be new to them, or they're just not used to growing up in that more traditional church setting. So Texas claims the concept of cowboy churches, and they say that it originated in the 1940s when a country singer named Karl Stuart Hamblen, inspired by the famous Billy Graham, okay, gave up drinking and gambling. And he was then began hosting a radio show called cowboy church in the air. So that was in the 40s. So it took several decades later, for there to actually be meetings. So the radio program is what led to church meetings popping up at rodeo arenas across the country. But this is hilarious. You don't know this yet. So the first true stationary cowboy church is reported to be Billy Bob's in Texas, which identifies itself as the world's largest Honky Tonk.

Oh my gosh, in Fort Worth, we just drove by there in Fort Worth, Texas, and we looked at maybe going there, but the show was Ted Nugent. Again, non conventional types of places. It's church meetings are happening. So after Jeff Copenhaver, preached at the 1985 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, he was invited by Billy Bob, to begin holding regular services in the bars Fort Worth rodeo arena. And based on that, then other people started going, oh, so we could like actually meet and we could meet like, even if we don't have a church building. And so that's how cowboy church started. There is an American fellowship of cowboy churches. Okay. They count at least 200 churches, but I mean, I saw other estimates that were up to like 5000 existing nationwide. So I don't know how many like governing bodies here. south of us. Yep. I think there's at

least like six in Middle Tennessee goodness. Maybe only like eight or nine statewide. I just think that's so cool, though to marry the lifestyle and, and faith.  Yeah, it's very cool cowboy church. I visit one I

went, we we started to be able to but our trip to Fort Worth was one day short. So I would have gone in a heartbeat for sure. And I would have wished I was amazed how much was happening on Sunday in Fort Worth like that. We were leaving on Saturday and we were invited to like three different things on Sunday.

Well, we make friends easily. People wanted us different places.

Well, I love the just all of the leather that is in that world too. Yeah, like we went in so many shops that you open the door and like that leather smell just smacks you in the face and I love it so much. Like it's you just know it's good stuff it in genuine, quality leather. But yeah, we saw lots of Native American Indian rugs and patterns in the decor and

Oh, I just love it all. Yeah, super quality because it has to be because they actually use what their like their their cowboy boots get used on horseback, not just on Broadway.

So you have a saddle that's like, you know, fits you well, if you're riding it all the time. It's not like this is a one hour a weekend hobby. I was even amazed by some of the price tags on saddles. And I mean, you kinda 5000-7000.

Hello, you kind of have to think of it like, well, this is my work car. Yes. My investment. I don't have an office. This is every day off right here. Wow, I work remotely. Yeah. Everywhere on saddle.

Well, there's an American cowboy culture Association

It's an organization based out of Lubbock, Texas, seeks to promote and preserve the western history and culture of the late 19th and early 20th century American cowboy. well founded in 1989, it needs more preserving, I think it needs a little even more storytelling. Like I think we need some more some. I don't know how that needs to happen. If there's a movie that needs to come out, that's a little more up to date, like kind of modernizing, because it's still I mean, there's still cowboys are saying, oh, their stories getting lost. Like I would like to have people telling me the story of

what's happening now. Yeah, yeah. Good point. Well, I

think there's even like an interesting, I don't know, like here in Nashville, it's been so commercialized like specifically, downtown, where our honky tonks are, that it feels like the only true remaining cowboy culture and I'm talking about, like, in our very commercialized downtown Nashville area are just hats, boots. Nobody's even thinking about like, what we're talking about the actual wear and tear and why these even were invented. Right? It's more of just the style,

right? Like, I want a cute pink cowboy hat. Right? Or like a cute thing to wear if I'm going to the honky tonk? Well, yeah. And to instead of like a long lasting hat to keep the sun off me while I’m, yeah, I don't even know if many places even still have a mechanical bowl to ride. I mean, that came from the rodeo culture that is, you know, a sport. But I will say this just real quick. If you are looking for a good look in your in Nashville at sort of cowboy culture, it does sometimes include dancing. Oh, yeah. And we do still have a very, very good dancing spot called the Wild Horse Saloon. That's very family friendly. Like they do line dancing early enough in the day in the day. Yeah, that you could go there with your family. But, you know, sometimes I forget to include that. Country. Western dancing is part of this culture as well. That's very true. And so yeah, I think our downtown Nashville, like it just gets so crazy party scene later in the night. Yeah, but yeah, during the day, it's totally fine. Now in all throughout Texas, they kind of are more known for dance halls versus Yeah, true Honky Tonk where it is a little bit more of a dance focus, for sure. With the dance floor in the center. Yeah, kind of. Yeah. You could almost call the wild horse a dance hall. Yeah, because it does have a really substantial dance floor. That is the focal point, right? Besides all the horses, it really is kind of more Dancehall style. Well, now, one of the most important parts of a Cowboys wardrobe is this hat. Let's focus on the hat for a second. Good cowboy hat.

They there's a variety of different things they're made out of even for different seasons. So we were there in the 106 degree heat, they wear more straw hats when it's that hot.  Yeah, just because that breathes better but still keeps the sun off. But in the cooler weather it's not uncommon for them to be made out of beaver or rabbit. Really? Yeah, I didn't know that. But apparently those are popular. Okay, for hats to be made out of. Okay, a lot of times you'll see some added personality to a hat because this is kind of like yeah, their thing right?

You gotta make it. Make it your own somehow.

Yeah, like with little leather bands or braided leather on there. Sometimes conchos will be on there.

Okay, that's those like silver looking. Circular, silver. Exactly. They usually have turquoise in them sometimes. Okay, there again doesn't have to that or that doesn't have to sometimes it's just silver. Sometimes there'll be turquoise. Those are even just added to the braid and those kinds of things. Um, Even feathers, feathers. Yeah times. Cow girls will sometimes have beads or bling kind of in there. Particularly. I think it's rodeo cowboys even have a little bit more flair and bling.

Okay, well, they're there for show cowboy. Right so they'll have more of the brighter colors leather chaps. Okay, yeah. fringes and sequins and rhinestones for women like that kind of stuff. You'll see more for a rodeo.

That makes sense. Yes, there's stage clothes. Exactly. Cowboys often wear suspenders, or overalls. Or sometimes just like, because they gotta keep their pants. Working a lot. So or just a leather belt. Yeah, sometimes they'll just have a belt. 

Let's talk about the belt buckle. Oh, I'm glad you brought this up.  Belt buckles are sometimes really more of a trophy. Yeah, I mean, yes. Kind of like that. They're often given in rodeos to the prize winner. Okay, rodeo. Yeah, it'll actually have like the, the event name, name and all that on there. That's so fun. Sometimes people give them as gifts, you know, for some award kind of thing. So it's almost like you're kind of wearing your trophy. Yeah, I like that.

There's a lot of like little sayings and things. Yeah, I found this really cute book called cowboy etiquette. How cute. And I thought some of these were right on so I'm gonna read just a few from this. Okay, so one of them says, nowadays a lot of people greet you with how are you? How are you doing? And that's fine. But a proper cowboy greeting comes from an awareness as to where the sun is in the sky. And it consists of one word. Morning. Afternoon. Evening. That's it. That's their greeting, right? you probably just nod back.

That's right. There is etiquette that says always tip your hat to a lady. And they're all ladies. Spurs on the porch are border line in the house. That's over the line. So clearly scratching things, spurs need to stay outside. Do we need to talk about what a spur is? Sure. Yeah. Well, that's that little dangle like that little metal spike in the back of their boot is on the back of the boot so that they can prod the horse. Yeah, this was my favorite though. If you're on horseback talking to someone, and they're on the ground, dismount. It ain't polite to talk down to people. Oh, isn't that so fun? Oh, cute. So yeah.

Do you know what the term cowboy up means?

Is that like, pony up or man up? Yes, pretty much grin and bear it. Okay. What about cowboy stretch? Do you know what a cowboy stretch is?

I feel like it's what you'd probably do when you get off of a horse. But I don't know.

It is a quick nap in your clothes and shoes. Oh, so it's like you're just literally it's like not getting undressed because you might have to jump right back on your for

now. I was imagining like inner thigh stretches because it's been

I'm sure they have a word for that. Ride the line? What's that? Checking the fence to fix any areas that are broken. Oh yeah, the line and expenses. You know, can Lauren get now no

smart anyway,

I just like some of those little phrases. 

Well, we can't talk about cowboys for almost an entire episode episode without mentioning cow girls. And there's some legitimate cow girls that are fierce and they really go back to like, late 1800s So we actually did get to go visit the Cowgirl, Museum and Hall of Fame which is in Fort Worth

on National Cowgirl Museum. Yeah, so this museum is so amazing like exceeded all expectations.

I mean, amazing both in the content but even probably more what elevated it was the presentation. So high tech.

So, Annie Oakley, which she was a famous cow girl from like late 1800s. She was born in 1860. So 1890s really was when she was kind of at her height. But, in this museum she like digitally appears before you as like you're looking through this like kind of black narrow. I don't know how to really describe this well, but you you're kind of looking through this like dark hollow spot and she's It's like she's been projected kind of 3D She's talking to you about like really just what it was like to be a cow girl amongst an all male ensemble and like, what they ate, what their day was like. And the museum talks about, you know, just kind of what these cow girls did for talents and tricks they did and just how they went on the road with the Buffalo Bill Wild Wild West show that had them traveling all over the world. It was just, you know, extremely well done. They've got all these different exhibits that come through, were you the one that's there now is shows a lot of the costuming like the bedazzled, beautiful like as if you were talking about kind of stage clothes that could cow girls, even modern day cow girls like Reba McIntyre and Miranda Lambert and some of those country singers, what they wear. So it's just, you know, you got to acknowledge that there are cow girls out there and they work as hard and do all the tricks just as much as a lot of the men do. So

well. 

There was a section that I actually just pulled this up on my phone because I thought it was so cool. This is just a picture I took in that museum. It says cow girls in the wild west carved an identity for themselves that allowed them to live in both male and female spheres. They were skilled equestrians are sharp shooters, traveled 1000s of miles in a year were professionally paid athletes and participated in a very masculine play of the West. Yet they also adhere to those things that made them acceptable as females. In newspaper accounts of the time, a cow girls ability to cook sew and clean were often mentioned in the same article as their skills in the arena. There was a deliberate effort made by the media and others to show that wild west cow girls were still ladies as defined by their time. This duality is most easily observed in dress and manner. So it's like they had the best of both. I'm so glad you caught that all the wording of that

was like they had the best of both amazing women. Yeah,

they were. That's, I can't say it any better than that. So good. Well, I would love to give away some of these cute books we picked up while we were in Fort Worth. So I've got cowboy etiquette, and I've got how to win a Cowboys heart cookbook to give away on Instagram this week. So if you're not already, go ahead and follow us on Instagram at Steel Magnolias podcast to enter to win those two books that are super cute.

Can we end on with just some funny cowboy wisdom? Sure. Okay. There's a few different ones that I think are so stinking cute. Trust everyone, but always cut the cards.

Nice. I like that.

Don't be all hat. No cattle.  Know what that means? That's like, you're

dressing the part but you don’t do the work. Oh,

that's like everybody on Broadway right now in Nashville. That’s right. They're all hat and no cattle. Never squat while we're in spurs. And always drink upstream from the herd.

Oh my gosh, that is wisdom. That's somebody that's been there. Done that right. Probably enough.

There's many on here, but that's probably enough.

Well, there's your taste of cowboys and cowgirls for the week. Hope y'all have a great week and we can't wait to bring some more probably got a little more Texas culture to share with y'all in the coming weeks. So they

have a strong culture. We can do many episodes. Right? Well, Peace be with you, Laura.

Thanks, Lainie. And also with y’all!