Now he don't expect her to stay true to him And she never says that she will But he's got a first love that just might kill him And she knows he's hooked on the thrill So she'll wait and worry then she'll wait some more For the fever that drives him to just run its course She talks to that picture they took their last night together Says you can't be a cowboy forever No, you can't be a cowboy forever ♪ Sometimes he calls her, he swears that the ground hurts More than it did yesterday She knows his voice, and he still sounds determined to do Whatever it takes So she'll wait and worry then she'll wait some more For the fever that drives him to just run its course The whiskey he drinks said some things last spring that upset her Lord, he can't be a cowboy forever No, you can't be a cowboy forever ♪ Then one night he shows up and says "what's for dinner?" With that cocky grin on his face, the way that she smiled And the way that she held him told him he wasn't too late And she closed her eyes, and he put that ring on her finger Said you can't be a cowboy forever No, you can't be a cowboy forever No, you can't be a cowboy forever