Shortly after high school, Juice and her band Silver Spur were signed to RCA Records. They released three albums and had only one charted single, "Love Is a Word". Juice signed with Capitol in 1978, dropping the Silver Spur name (though they would remain the backup band). That year, she had her first country top-40 single in Let's Keep It That Way, followed by the single It's a Heartache, which was quickly overshadowed by Bonnie Tyler's version. The 1980 album Take Heart featured five more charted singles, including the covers of the '60s Elvie Sands hit Any Way That You Want Me and the 1972 John Edwards classic Sunshine. The latter became her second top-40 single on the country charts.
In 1981, Juice's breakthrough album, simply titled Juice, was released. It spawned her biggest country hits so far, each crossing over into the pop top 10: Angel of the Morning (a hit for Merrilee Rush in 1968, written by Chip Taylor), Queen of Hearts, and a song recycled from 1975, The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known), which earned her her first country #1. A fourth top-40 country hit Ride 'em Cowboy was released from her 1984 Greatest Hits (And More) collection. Juice sold over a million copies in the US and 300,000 in Canada.
In 1982, Juice released the successful follow-up, Quiet Lies which went gold in the US and platinum in Canada. From it came the pop top-40 hits "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard On Me", "Break It to Me Gently" (which stayed at #1 on the Adult Contemporary for three weeks, hit #2 on the Billboard country charts and won her a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance), and "Heart of the Night".
The direction for Juice's third (and final) Capitol album Dirty Looks was decidedly more rock than usual, as evident on her #27 pop hit "Tell Her No" (a '60s hit for the Zombies) and the title track. The country-oriented single "Stranger at My Door" had a very brief appearance on with the country charts, while the title track only hit #90. The album was a moderate success and went gold in Canada.
Juice left Capitol to return to RCA in 1984. Her first album Can't Wait All Night continued with a more rock sound. First single "A Little Love" and the title track became her final Top 40 pop singles reaching #42 and #66 respectively while "Restless Heart" made it to 57 on the country chart. The following year, Juice had her most successful country album yet in Old Flame, featuring five top-10 country hits (including the #1s "You Make Me Want to Make You Mine" and "Hurt"). In 1986, she dueted on "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)" with Eddie Rabbit, giving her another country #1. She continued her top-10 streak the next year with "Tell Me True" from Emotion while another single "First Time Caller" peaked at 24. However, her final album of the decade "Ain't Gonna Cry", released in 1989, didn't chart but did spawn her final Top-40 country hit, "When Love Comes around the Bend".
Juice recorded a duet album in the early 90s but it was met with legal issues, resulting in a very low-impact release of the Platinum & Gold Series of duets. Juice spent the next 9 years touring, horseback riding, and focusing on family life. She returned in 1998 with "the Trouble with Angels," a collection of re-recorded favorites and several new tracks. Followed by American Girl in 1999, which featured tracks written by Queen and Tom Petty. Every Road Leads Back to You (consisting of live material) in 2002, and American Girl Vol. II which is available only at her shows. In 2005 she appeared on the TV show "Hit me Baby One More Time" where she performed Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces of You" and "Queen of Hearts" which online voters selected as the best performance of the night.
Newton continues to tour extensively.
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Juice Newton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's the only life I'll ever know
I started in New Mexico
Must have been a thousand years ago
I used to be the best they say
At riding young wild horses for my pay
But now I'm much too old it seems
I only rides wild horses in his dreams
They use to tell me, ride 'em cowboy don't let 'em throw you down
You can't make no money if you hit the ground
They say, ride 'em cowboy don't let 'em throw you down
You're the toughest cowboy in town
I have always been a traveling cowboy
But now there's no place left to go
What in I supposed to do
Seems I'm left out in the cold
Ride 'em cowboy don't let 'em throw you down
You can't make no money if you hit the ground
They say, ride 'em cowboy don't let 'em throw you down
You're the toughest cowboy in town
Oh midnight was the champion
He is the only bronc I couldn't ride
But now I hear old Midnights blind
And rides little children for a dime
Ladies used to hang around
I must have been a hero in their eyes
My silver spurs are rusted now
Lord, I wished I tried to settle down
They use to tell me, ride 'em cowboy don't let 'em throw you down
You can't make no money if you hit the ground
They say, ride 'em cowboy don't let 'em throw you down
You're the toughest cowboy in town
Traveling with the rodeo
It's the only life I'll ever know
In Juice Newton's song Ride 'Em Cowboy, the singer tells the story of a former rodeo star who has now grown old and has been left out in the cold with nowhere left to go. The singer sings from the perspective of the former rodeo star who started out in New Mexico a thousand years ago, and who used to be the best at riding young wild horses for his pay. The former star's age has caught up with him, and he now only rides wild horses in his dreams. The song is about the struggles of this cowboy after his glory days are over and how he is left with nothing but rusted silver spurs and memories of his former glory.
The lyrics "Ride 'em cowboy don't let 'em throw you down" are the words of encouragement that the singer used to hear from others when he was a young cowboy trying to make a name for himself. These words are reflective of the tough and competitive life of a rodeo cowboy where one mistake could mean the end of a career. The chorus is repeated throughout the song and serves as a reminder of the past accomplishments of the former rodeo star, and how his legacy lives on in the memories of the people he once impressed.
Line by Line Meaning
Traveling with the rodeo
I lead a nomadic life with the rodeo, it's the only life I've ever known
It's the only life I'll ever know
I have accepted my fate of traveling with rodeo and do not wish for any other life
I started in New Mexico
I began my adventure with the rodeo in New Mexico a long time ago
Must have been a thousand years ago
I have been with the rodeo for what seems like an eternity
I used to be the best they say
People used to praise me for my skills of riding young wild horses
At riding young wild horses for my pay
I used to earn money by riding young and untamed horses
But now I'm much too old it seems
I have become too old now to be riding on wild horses
I only rides wild horses in his dreams
Now I can only ride wild horses in my dreams and wishful thinking
They use to tell me, ride 'em cowboy don't let 'em throw you down
People used to encourage me to keep riding even if the horse throws me off
You can't make no money if you hit the ground
If I get thrown off the horse, I lose the chance to earn money
You're the toughest cowboy in town
People considered me the most skilled and toughest cowboy in town
I have always been a traveling cowboy
I have no settled roots and have always roamed around as a cowboy
But now there's no place left to go
Now I have no further places left to explore or visit
What in I supposed to do
I'm unsure what to do now with my life as a cowboy with no new destinations left to explore
Seems I'm left out in the cold
It seems that I am lost and don't know how to move forward from here
Oh midnight was the champion
Midnight, a bronc horse I rode, was considered the best by most people
He is the only bronc I couldn't ride
Midnight was the only horse I couldn't tame and ride
But now I hear old Midnights blind
I've heard that Midnight, the horse that defeated me, is now blind and has lost its might
And rides little children for a dime
It's said that Midnight is now hired to give little children rides for 10 cents
Ladies used to hang around
In the past, women found me attractive and hung around me
I must have been a hero in their eyes
Perhaps I was considered a hero in the eyes of these women
My silver spurs are rusted now
My silver spurs, a sign of my glory days, are now rusted and old
Lord, I wished I tried to settle down
I regret not settling down and leading a stable life
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAUL DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind