Promise to keep

My dad was a rancher,

An honest and moral man.

He was born to a ranchin’ family

And grew up cowboyin’ across the land.

Like his dad, he was a man of integrity,

Tried and true to his means.

A handshakes his bond, he always said,

“Son, lying won’t get you your dreams.”

He wasn’t much on religion or the church-goin’ crowd,

Said he saw God every day.

He talked to Him often while watchin’ his cattle,

Sittin’ on top of ol’ Bay.

And he never would take a handout for free.

He’d work to get what he gained.

Said “dealin’ with God and the elements He sends,

It’s all in the process, don’t you see?”

Now bein’ a cowboy is all that he knew,

And that lifestyle fit him just right.

There weren’t no changin’, he stayed as he was,

Right down to the end of his life.

He wasn’t a man who poured out his heart.

And he never did show much emotion.

But he’d give you the shirt right off of his back,

And his promise became his devotion.

Cowmen like this, are so hard to find,

In a time when men have grown weak.

So I thank you O’Lord, for my dad and his ways.

And his values… I promise to keep.

Copyright © Shad Sullivan