Well, I was layin' round town just a-spendin' my time
Out of a job and not makin' a dime
When a fella steps up and he says,
I suppose you're a bronc-ridin' man by the looks of your clothes
You guessed me just right, I'm a good one, I claims
Do you happen to have any bad ones to tame?
He says that he hasn't a bad one to buck
And for throwin' good riders he's had lots of luck
Well, it's oh, that Strawberry Roan
Oh, that Strawberry Roan
They say he's a coyote that's never been rode
The man that gets on him is bound to be through
Get off that Strawberry Roan
Well, I gets all excited and asks
What he's got to say

He pays to ride this old pony for a couple of days
He offers a ten-spot, says, I am your man
For a bronc never lived that I couldn't fan
Well, he says, get your saddle and I'll give you a chance
So I gets in the buckboard, we drives to the ranch
I stays until mornin' and right after chuck
I steps out to see if this outlaw can buck
Well, it's oh, that Strawberry Roan
Oh, that Strawberry Roan
Oh, that Strawberry Roan
They say he's a coyote that's never been rode
The man that gets on him is bound to be through
Get off that Strawberry Roan
Down in the corral, standin' alone
Is this old cabalow, a Strawberry Roan
His legs is all spabbed and he has pigeon toes
Two little pig eyes and a big Roman nose
Little panniers, they say, they're all panniers
That touched at the tip
And a big forty-four run on his left hip
He's ewe-necked and old with a long lower jaw
I could see with one eye he was a regular outlaw
Well, it's oh, that Strawberry Roan
Oh, that Strawberry Roan
They say he's a coyote that's never been rode
The man that gets on him is bound to be through
Get off that Strawberry Roan
I buckle on my spurs, I'm sure feelin' fine
I picks up my hat and curls up my twine
I piles my rope on him and well I know then
That afore I get rode, I've sure earned my ten
I gets the blinds on him, it sure is a fight
Next comes my old saddle and I screws her on tight
Then I steps onto him and raises the blinds
I'm right in his middle to see him unwind
Well, it's oh, that Strawberry Roan
Oh, that Strawberry Roan
They say he's a coyote that's never been rode
The man that gets on him is bound to be through
Get off that Strawberry Roan
He bowed his old neck and I guess he's unwound
For he seemed to quit livin' down there on the ground
He went up towards the east and come down towards the west
To stay in his middle, I'm sure doin' my best
He showed up in the middle of the road

He sure is frog walkin', he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings to be on the fly
He turns his old belly right up to the sun
He sure is a sunfish and son of a gun
Well, it's oh, that Strawberry Roan
It's oh, that Strawberry Roan
They say he's a coyote that's never been rode
The man that gets on him is bound to be through
Get throwed by that Strawberry Roan
He's about the worst bucker I've seen on the range
He can turn on a nickel and give you the change
And when he's a buck and he squeals like a shoot
I tell you that pony has sure got my goat
I claims that no foolin' that outlaw can step
But I'm still in his middle and a buildin' rep
He hits an all fours and he turns on his side
I don't see what keeps him from losin' his hide
Well, it's oh, that Strawberry Roan
It's oh, that Strawberry Roan
They say he's a coyote that's never been rode
The man that gets on him is bound to be through
Get throwed by that Strawberry Roan
Well, I loses my stirrup and also my hat
I'm clawin' at leather as blind as a bat
With a phenomenal jump he goes up on high
Leaves me sittin' on nothin' up there in the sky
Well, I turned over and comes back to earth
And I lights into cussin' the day of his birth
And I knows their old ponies are not able to ride
There's some of them left, they haven't all died
Well, it's oh, that Strawberry Roan
It's oh, that Strawberry Roan
They say he's a coyote that's never been rode
The man that gets on him is bound to be through
Get throwed by that Strawberry Roan