McMurtry, James - Lights Of Cheyenne Lyrics

Look off down the highway
at the glittering lights
Like windshield glass
on the shoulder tonight
As the diesels come
grinding on up from the plains
All bunched up like pearls on a string
And I guess time don't mean nothin'
Not nothin' at all
And out on the horizon
the broken stars fall
Old broken stars they
fall down on the land
And get mixed together
with the lights of Cheyenne
Well I've been up all night
and I'm down on my back
Workin' the counter
to take up the slack
'Cause the money tree's light
and the whiskey stream's low
You ain't worked a week
since July
You say the gravel pit's hiring
After the first
But you don't have the
nature for that kind of work
You might get hired on
But you won't make a hand
And I'll still be here lookin'
at the lights of Cheyenne
You stand in the sky
with your feet on the ground
Never suspectin' a thing
But if the sky were to
move you might never be found
Never be heard from again
We go on good behavior when
our youngest comes home
She comes up from Boulder
but she never stays long
And that oldest still fights
me like she was 18
Stopped in for a 6-pack awhile ago
And she's got a cowboy problem
And this last one's a sight
All dressed up like Gunsmoke
for Saturday night
And they were off to the bars
for lack of a plan
Racing the stars to the lights of Cheyenne
And you've kept all that
meanness inside you so long
You'd fight with a fence post
if it looked at your wrong
Well the post won't hit back,
and it won't call the law
I look at your right,
or I don't look at all
Now take a crumpled up
soft pack and give it a shake
Out by the dumpster on a cigarette break
With one eye swelled up from
the back of your hand
And the other eye fixed
on the lights of Cheyenne
You stand in the sky with
your feet on the ground
Never suspectin' a thing
But if the sky were to
move you might never be found
Never be heard from again
Now there's antelope grazing
in range of my gun
Come opening weekend
you won't see a one
They'll vanish like ghosts
'cause somehow they know
But now they're up to the
fence in the early dawn
And it's warming up nicely
for this time of year
The creeks are still frozen but
the roads are all clear
And I don't have it in me
to make one more stand
Though I never much cared f
or the lights of Cheyenne
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: James Mc Murtry / Ronnie Johnson

One of my favorites by James. What a great songwriter.

nice. from ought 3?

Christmas Eve afternoon, ham's in the oven, music...perfect.

Damn I miss the Charlie......................song makes me think - certainly made a differance to many - big time for me!

Back in 2002, I was zipping along the highway late at night when this station played a new tune "Valley Road" by McMurtry. I was so amazed by the tune, I went out and bought the album St. Mary Of The Woods. And I haven't stopped listening to James since...

St. Mary of the Woods is an amazing album. Of course.

Here is proof beautiful poetry can come out of mundane lifestyles and language ("out by the dumpster on a cigarette break"). I hesitate to say blue-collar as that is often too easily misconstrued as not politically correct so I won't (pardon my apophasis). If it touches the heart and we can relate to it at a deeply emotional level, I find just one of his lines can sometimes be more meaningful than whole verses from even some Classics.

I am listening as the rain falls and at this moment in my life, its perfect

i've seen JM 5 times. every single show was the same. open with turtle bayou. same intro to chocteau bingo. sigh. so disappointing. he has the volume to do and play anything. yet he still opens with turtle bayou and still gives the same lame oration for Cbingo. fuck. lame. that jenny findley should be fired.

Yeah, the antelope always seem to get too close to roads and towns during hunting season. Where it is illegal to shot them :)

She's got a cowboy problem...and this one's a sight

no doubt this man is an exeption superb songwriter

❤❤❤

What a songsmith this man is, he has written some great songs, I hope he comes back to the UK in 2018 I will see him!!!

James is an amazing artist. His words ring so true.

I totally agree,........ he is a great talent..... and thanks for watching and commenting.....

Lived in Rock Springs Wyoming for years. Song hit the nail squarely

Thanks for the insight, Lynn, and thanks for watching and commenting................

I just came back from Rock Springs. A town full of lovely people, and this song always makes me think of Wyoming.

a fantastic performer and songwriter

As always, James McMurtry is as others have said - an american treasure that remains inexplicably buried.

I totally agree, Zach...... and thanks for watching and commenting..........

I stopped counting the multiple times I've listened to Live In Aught Three. He paints very vivid pictures of the real America out here. I don't think he has recorded this song in the studio. I could be wrong but this version is perfect the way it is.

I love this live version of the song, too, Thomas..... and McMurtry is a true poet..... thanks for watching and commenting.....................

Beautifully played and sung by James and the guys
Stone cold classic
Nobody writes like James, he's one of a kind and never ceases to amaze
Fantastic

I agree totally, Paul....... he is one of a kind, and just is incredible with this performance....... thanks for watching and commenting.............

Beautiful pictures, beautiful song. Got to see him a few months ago and shook his hand in the merch line. How's that for seeing one of the greats : ) Thanks for posting!

Great story, ttmilbr............ glad you got to see JM live, and got to met him........ thanks for you watching and commenting.............

She's got a cowboy problem, and this last one's a sight,He's dressed up like Gunsmoke for Saturday night

One of the many gripping lines in this song.............. thanks for watching and commenting...........

Best American songwriter of the past 20 years, very underrated. Thanks for putting this up, my favorite live album of all time. Would love to see the Austin City Limits show from this era, can't find it anywhere.

Glad you enjoyed it, ralz........... and thanks for watching and commenting...........

ralz Saw the city limits, shoulda seen the live version of Choctaw Bingo, people going crazy when he did that "hard on" line, dancing everywhere! McMurtry is PROLIFIC!

Can't count the number of times I'm listening to his music when the hair on my neck stands up, the chills go through my body. My eyes shoot straight up and the blinking starts. The music is at times just too perfect and I lose it.

James McM is a fantastic writer, indeed................. and thanks for watching and commenting..............!!!!!!

Love James. Always true to his roots. Now that Guy is gone, he's one of the few left. Thanks for posting this.

he's cooler than hell, to use a ray whylie hubbard phrase

Thanks Charlie!
-Chuck M

+Chuck Meyers ..... my pleasure, Chuck...... and thanks for watching and commenting.....!!!!!

The money trees light , and the whiskey streams low ...

+Chris kettleman ...... thanks for watching and commenting...... and McMurtry is one talented dude...........

The simple, beautiful, and raw truths that he can string together never fail to amaze me.
I've never been to Cheyenne, but I get there every damned time I listen to this masterpiece. 
James McMurtry is a National Treasure!

Thanks for posting this gem Charlie with the wonderful still shots to accompany it !

400OTD

@400OTD ......... I agree, he is a poet with a guitar............. thanks for listening and commenting........!!!

400OTD his lyrics bring me to tears, something that is as rare as his natural talent.

Spent many years in WY. Yep, very close to the truth.

Lived there 10 years. Coming west from Nebraska, into Wyoming. You come from total darkness over a rise and the lights of Cheyenne are absolutely stunning. It's in the middle of nowhere. Nothing around it for miles and miles.

One of the best American songwriters alive. Sweet Jesus, the man turns a simple, lean phrase.

@Ray Shaffer Hey there, Ray, and I totally agree with ya............ He is a master at his craft......... thanks for listening and commenting..................!!!

Cheyenne...first place I moved when I left my home town in 1988. Will always be special.

off to the bars... for lack of a plan,    been there

trucked across the northern tier states in 81-82 ill never forget that time...watertown sd to points west...hwy 212 to i90... two trips aweek

My friend and I left Columbus Ohio at 4:30am.  That put us in Cheyenne Wyoming at about 9:30pm.  That was fifteen years ago, but when I here this song that glowing city nestled in the dark foothills of the Rockies reappears quite clearly still. 

Thanks for sharing that memory, jaymogamy, and thanks, too, for listening and commenting............

It is stunning, isn't it.

Poetry at it's finest. Frost and Whit would have been in the bar with a couple of belts in them high fiving each other for a a fine student.

I totally agree, MayhawMan.......... and thanks for listening and commenting...........

"Like windshield glass on the shoulder tonight"

Thanks for watching and replying, ralphey2112......... hope you enjoy the channel...........