"Should've Been a Cowboy" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

artist

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

. It was released on February 8, 1993, as his debut single and the first from his self-titled debut album. On June 5, 1993, the song reached number one on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Country Songs and the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks charts. It also peaked at number 93 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it a minor crossover hit. It has received more than three million

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

s on country radio, making it the most-played country song of the 1990s. The song is a staple following sporting events at Oklahoma State University (home of the Cowboys), often played over the venue's PA system several times in succession as fans emptied the stadium or arena.

American Aquarium American Aquarium is an American alternative country band from Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Background Formed in 2006, the band derived its name from the Wilco song, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” and is led by band founder an ...

covered the song on their 2021 album ''Slappers, Bangers, and Certified Twangers: Vol 1.''

Content

The lyrics romanticize the cowboy lifestyle through references to old

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

. The first verse references ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'', in which cowboy hero Marshall Dillon never settled down with love interest Miss Kitty. The second verse tells of his own adventures if the narrator were a cowboy: having "a sidekick with a funny name" (possibly a reference to sidekicks like

Tonto Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native American (either Comanche or Potawatomi) companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and tele ...

or Gordito), travelling west to California (including the historical quote "

Go West, young man Go west, young man may refer to: * " Go West, young man", a quote often attributed to American author Horace Greeley concerning America's expansion westward Film and television * ''Go West, Young Man'' (1918 film), an American comedy western film ...

"), hunting down Western outlaw

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained s ...

, joining up with the Texas Rangers, and so on. The chorus refers to famous

singing cowboy A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and ...

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

, and lists common patterns depicted in Westerns such as six-shooters (

revolvers A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six ro ...

) and cattle drives.

Response

In 2021,

Adeem the Artist Adeem the Artist, and sometimes known as Adeem Maria, is an American country music singer. They have released eight albums and a number of singles. Career Adeem the Artist was born in 1988. They were born in Locust, North Carolina but when they ...

released the song "I Wish You Would've Been a Cowboy", an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer so ...

to "Should've Been a Cowboy" which criticizes Keith.

Music video

"Should've Been a Cowboy" was Keith's first music video. It was filmed in

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern Ne ...

, and was directed by Marc Ball and premiered on CMT in March 1993. A second version of the video was made featuring clips of the 1992

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

Other media

The song is available as downloadable content on the

music video game A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs. Music video games may take a ...

, ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...

''.

Chart positions

"Should've Been a Cowboy" debuted at number 69 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of March 6, 1993. It became Keith's first number one single on the chart dated June 5, 1993, remaining there for two weeks. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 28, 2012, almost twenty years after its release.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Toby Keith 1990s singles Songs about cowboys and cowgirls 1993 debut singles 1993 songs Toby Keith songs Songs written by Toby Keith Song recordings produced by Harold Shedd Mercury Records singles