[Verse 1]
Panhandle slim was the pride of the plains, the crabapple of his mother’s eye
He grew like a weed in the West Texas rain, always reaching for the sky
Sharp as a thorn on a prickly pear, quicker than lightning on his legacy mare
And at times more elusive than a panhandle bear
And funnier than a jackalope
The last out of seven birds of a feather, the last with the family name
So the young lonesome rooster roosted the birdhouse, the loneliest roost on the range

[Chorus]
‘Cause horses need water and cotton needs rain
Cowboys need love or they’ll drive you insane
It sure gets lonesome out here on the plains
And it hurts to cry with dry eyes
But if you ever see him, he’ll tell you that he’s doing fine

[Verse 2]
As time goes by it slithers and frame starts to wither, but rust can’t touch an innocent mind
When you grow like a weed does on the West Texas plains, you’ll learn to love sunshine
Through tired eyes he dreams of girls from the city and the smell of myrtle perfume
And he looks to the stars, he sings a few bars to the lonesome man in the moon

[Chorus]
How horses need water and cotton needs rain
Cowboys need love or they’ll drive you insane
It sure gets lonesome out here on the plains
And it hurts to cry with dry eyes
But if you ever see him, he’ll tell you that he’s doing fine
[Verse 3]
Slim’s hat landed next to his jaw on the ground when he saw her walking his way
With eyes like sapphire, she spoke to his soul without ever saying a thing
A single sunflower at golden hour, looking finer than a Georgia O’Keeffe
When you grow like a weed in the west Texas plains you know how to turn a new leaf

[Chorus]
Just like horses need water and cotton needs rain
Cowboys need love or they’ll drive you insane
It sure gets lonesome out here on the plains
And it hurts to cry with dry eyes
But if you ever see him, he’ll tell you that he’s doing fine

[Outro]
Now these days when you see him, he’ll tell you that he’d doing fine