The cowboy in the continental suit    (intro)

 

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1. Well, he walked out in the arena all dressed up to the brim,

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    said he's just came down from a place called Highland Rim.

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  Well, he said he came to ride the horse, the one they called “The Brute”,

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    but he didn't look like a cowboy in his continental suit.

 

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2. We snickered at the way he dressed, but he never said a word,

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    he walked on by the rest of us as if he hadn't heard.

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    A thousand bucks went to the man that could ride this wild cayuse,

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    a meaner horse was never born than the one they called "The Brute."

 

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3. The horse that he was lookin' for was in chute number eight,

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    he walked up very slowly, put his hand upon the gate.

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    We knew he was a thoroughbred when he pulled a sack of Dukes,

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    from the inside pocket of his Continental Suit.   ( capo 3rd)

 

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4. He rolled himself a Quirley and he lit it standing there,

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    he blew himself a smoke ring and he watched it disappear.

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    We thought he must be crazy when he opened up the gate,

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    standing just inside was fifteen hundred pounds of hate.

              

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5. The buckskin tried to run him down, but the stranger was too quick,

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    he stepped aside and threw his arms around the horse's neck.

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    He pulled himself upon the back of the horse they called "The Brute",

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    sat like he was born there in his continental suit.

 

 

 

 

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6. The Brute's hind end was in the air, his front end on the ground,

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    kickin' and a-squeelin' - trying to shake the stranger down.

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    But the stranger didn't give an inch, he came to ride "The Brute",

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    and he came to ride the buckskin in a continental suit.  (capo 4th)

 

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7. Well, I turned around to look at Jim and he was watching me,

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    he said, "I don't believe the crazy things I think I see.

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    But I think I see the outlaw, the one they call “The Brute”,

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    ridden by a cowboy in a continental suit."

 

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8. The Brute came to a standstill - ashamed that he'd been rode,

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    by a city cowboy in some continental clothes.

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    The stranger took his money and we don't know where he went,

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    we don't know where he came from and we haven't seen him since.

 

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9. The moral of this story : never judge by what they wear,

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    underneath some ragged clothes could be a millionaire.

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    Ev'rybody, listen, don't be fooled by this galoot,

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    the sure enough bronc-buster in a continental suit.

 

(orig. = capo 2nd)    (Marty Robbins)