Lyle Lovett is an americana singer-songwriter and actor from Klein, Texas, … Read Full Bio ↴Lyle Lovett is an americana singer-songwriter and actor from Klein, Texas, who has been described as "the thinking man's cowboy". While typically associated with the alt-country genre, his albums typically incorporate folk, swing, blues, jazz and gospel music as well as more traditional country & western styles. The Night's Lullaby Songfacts reports that after twenty-six years with Curb, Lyle Lovett released his eleventh and last album for the record label, Release Me, on February 28, 2012. The record is mainly made up of covers that Lovett has played, but never got round to recording.

The four-time Grammy winner has acted in a number of films and been a guest-star on television. Lovett was married to actress Julia Roberts for a short time in the mid-1990s. In 2002, he was gored by a bull while working on his uncle's farm in Texas, but soon recovered and resumed touring.

Ballad Of The Snow Leopard And The Tanqueray Cowboy
Lyle Lovett Lyrics

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Comfort me, said she,
With your conversation,
With the cocktails
And the candlelight
In your eyes

It's funny how we hunger
For some inspiration,

And everything else
That money just won't buy.

Men have lied,
Many good girls have gone astray,
Just to hear the gypsy play
One more lilting cowboy tune,
And as the rivers run dry,
And the mountains blow away,
They sing of lovers and how they lay,
Beneath this crazy frontier moon.

I ain't no golden boy,
I ain't no Grecian dancer,
And I ain't no loudmouthed cowboy
From the West,
I'm not the kind of man
With all the answers,
But I surely know the songs
That suit me best.

But lately I've had something on my mind,
It's growing stronger all the time,
Calling out when I'm alone,
But I'm a poet
And I'm bound to walk the line,
Between the real and the sublime,
And give the muses back their own.

It's a penny for your thoughts,
It's a dollar for your kisses,
Keep a running tab on the time,
'Cause what I've got the most of
Is what she misses,
The clock is hers,
The hourglass is mine.

But I'm her lover,
Not a man bent on revenge,
Hanging out here on the fringe,
Of my native borderlands.

Counting the days
The sun shone golden across her head,

Lying on the banks of the bayou's edge,
Kicking up some Southeast Texas sand.

Overall Meaning

The song Ballad Of The Snow Leopard And The Tanqueray Cowboy written by Lyle Lovett is all about two people finding solace in each other's company. The lyrics describe a conversation between a man and a woman where the woman asks the man to comfort her with his words and the cocktails. They both crave for some inspiration which can't be bought with money.

Lovett then talks about how people have lied and good girls have gone astray just to hear a cowboy tune played by a gypsy. The lyrics mention the lovers who lay beneath the moon and how the poets like Lovett are bound to walk the line between the real and the sublime. Lovett talks about the muses and how he wants to give them back their own.

The song is an insight into the mind of an artist who straddles the line between the real and the imaginary. It talks about the power of music to comfort and inspire people. At the heart of it all is the idea that nothing is more important than human connection.

Line by Line Meaning

Comfort me, said she, With your conversation, With the cocktails And the candlelight In your eyes
She sought comfort through his company as they talked over cocktails, amidst the romantic ambience of candlelight lit in his eyes.

It's funny how we hunger For some inspiration, And everything else That money just won't buy.
We crave for inspiration and other things that money cannot buy.

Men have lied, Many good girls have gone astray, Just to hear the gypsy play One more lilting cowboy tune, And as the rivers run dry, And the mountains blow away, They sing of lovers and how they lay, Beneath this crazy frontier moon.
Deceitful men have led many good women away from their paths just to listen to a special cowboy song that speaks of love under the frontier moon, even as nature withers away.

I ain't no golden boy, I ain't no Grecian dancer, And I ain't no loudmouthed cowboy From the West, I'm not the kind of man With all the answers, But I surely know the songs That suit me best.
I am no perfect hero, dancer, or Western cowboy. I am not knowledgeable enough to have all the answers, but I do know which songs speak to me the most.

But lately I've had something on my mind, It's growing stronger all the time, Calling out when I'm alone, But I'm a poet And I'm bound to walk the line, Between the real and the sublime, And give the muses back their own.
There is something troubling me, something that keeps calling me even when I'm alone. But as a poet, I am bound to balance between reality and the beauty of the world, and give back to the muses what they are due.

It's a penny for your thoughts, It's a dollar for your kisses, Keep a running tab on the time, 'Cause what I've got the most of Is what she misses, The clock is hers, The hourglass is mine.
Your thoughts may be insignificant, but your kisses are valuable, so watch the time. She misses what I can provide the most, and time is in her control while I am in control of the flow of life.

But I'm her lover, Not a man bent on revenge, Hanging out here on the fringe, Of my native borderlands.
I am her lover, not someone seeking revenge. I exist on the borders of my homeland.

Counting the days The sun shone golden across her head, Lying on the banks of the bayou's edge, Kicking up some Southeast Texas sand.
I count the days when the sunshine illuminated her head, while lying beside the bayou and shifting the sand of Southeast Texas.

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: DAVID ROLAND RODRIGUEZ

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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