Am                      E         G                             Am
Well I was sitting in a roadhouse havin' a cup to pass the time
Am             E               G                                Am
Swapping rodeo stories with a few old territory friends of mine
Am                   C              Dm
When some motorcycle riders started snickering in the back
Am                  E                  Am
They were pokin' fun at my friends hat
Am                    E                    G                Am
Well one old boy said 'Hey Tex where'd you park your horse'
Am                        E                G                        Am
My friend just turned his hat down low but they couldn't be ignored
Am                         C                     Dm
Then one husky fella said 'I think I'll rip that hat right off your head'
Am                    E                                      Am
That's when my friend turned 'round and this is what he said

[Chorus]
       Am              C    Dm 
You'll ride a black tornado across the western sky
       Am               C           E
You'll rope an old blue norther and milk it 'til it's dry
    Am            C    Dm
Bulldog the Diamantina pin its ears down flat
Am              E                  Am
Long before you take this cowboy's hat

[Verse 2]
Am           E      G                 Am
Now this old hat is better left alone
Am                       E            G                      Am
You see it used to be my father's but last year he passed on
Am                   C                    Dm 
My Uncle skinned the red belly black that makes up this ol' hat band
Am            E                      Am
But back in '69 he was killed in Vietnam
Am                        E                 G                             Am
Now the eagle feather was given to me by an old aboriginal friend of mine
Am                  E                             G                      Am
But someone run him down somewhere up around that Nothern Territory line
Am                 C                         Dm
And a real special lady gave me this hat pin
Am                      E                      Am
But I don't know if I'm ever going to see her again

[Chorus]
       Am              C    Dm 
You'll ride a black tornado across the western sky
       Am               C           E
You'll rope an old blue norther and milk it 'til it's dry
    Am            C    Dm
Bulldog the Diamantina pin its ears down flat
Am              E                  Am
Long before you take this cowboy's hat

[Verse 3]
Am                        E                           G               Am
Now if your leather jacket means to you what this old hat means to me
Am                   E                    G                    Am   
Then I guess we understand each other and we'll just let it be
Am                          C                 Dm 
But if you still think it's funny then you've got my back up against the wall
Am                  E                                      Am 
And if you touch my hat then you're gonna have to fight us all
Am                        E                  G                                 Am
Well right then and there I noticed a little sadness in the gang leader's eyes
Am                        E               G                            Am
He turned back toward the others and they all just shuffled on outside
Am                        C                   Dm 
But when my friend turned back towards me I noticed his hat brim
            Am             E                 Am 
Well it was turned up in a big old Territory grin

[Chorus]
       Am              C    Dm 
You'll ride a black tornado across the western sky
       Am               C           E
You'll rope an old blue norther and milk it 'til it's dry
    Am            C    Dm
Bulldog the Diamantina pin its ears down flat
Am              E                  Am
Long before you take this cowboy's hat