while i was out a ridin the grave yard shift midnight till dawn the moon was bright as a readin light for a letter from an old friend back home and he asked me why do you ride for your money and why do you rope for short pay you ain t a gettin nowhere and you re losin your share boy you must have gone crazy out there he said last night he runnin to jenny she s married and has a good life and boy you sure missed the track when you never come back she s the perfect professional s wife and she asked him why does he ride for his money and tell me why does he rope for short pay he ain t a gettin nowhere and he s losin his share well he must ve gone crazy out there ah but they ve never seen the northern lights they ain t never seen a hawk on the wing they ve never spent spring on the great divide and they ve never heard ole camp cookie sing well i read up the last of my letter and tore off the stamp for black jim and when billy rode up to relieve me he just looked at my letter and grinned he said you know i wonder why do they ride for their money tell me why do they ride for short pay they ain t a gettin nowhere and they re loosin their share son they all must be crazy out there they ain t never seen the northern lights they ain t never seen a hawk on the wing they ve never spent spring on the great divide and they ve never heard ole camp cookie sing