The Shitty Cowboy Song

For a long time I held myself back with songwriting.

My lack of education and limiting beliefs played a big part in feeding the insecurities that kept me stuck. Since pushing past those beliefs, I’ve written a number of songs and I’m excited to share them with you and unpack the stories behind the inspiration.

Below is a link to my song The Shitty Cowboy Song, played live at the 2025 Boyup Brook Country Music Muster.

The Shitty Cowboy Song - Brandy Newton

I love this song so much because it brings an element of fun and laughter and makes people smile, it get requested at all my shows. I love its raw country nature and the sass that it embodies.

This song isn’t about cowboys, it’s about men who call themselves cowboys but don’t live by the moral code of a real one. They think riding a horse and wearing a hat qualifies them, but being a cowboy is more about your attitude and how well you treat people.

This song is about the Shitty Cowboys!

When I wrote this song, I was listening to Eminem. I find his rhyme schemes so enthralling, and his sheer audacity to write diss tracks really fascinated me. I thought, I wonder what a country diss track would sound like? Who would I write it about?

I thought about the people who had hurt me over the years and found a common thread, a certain type of man that would always take issue with me. Being a woman in a man’s world is not easy. When I decided I wanted to be a horse trainer and start my own colts, it rubbed some people the wrong way. What business did I have doing that as a young woman? I wasn’t a tough cowboy like them or from a cowboy family. It was laughable.

The comments were awful, and not just behind my back. These men felt like they could say derogatory and degrading things to my face. It took years for me to understand this type of person and to stand up to them. It’s actually quite intimidating being a woman in the world.

This song isn’t about one person, it’s about every man that’s been awful to me, all rolled into one. Some were just plain rude or mean or poked fun, some I dated, and some took advantage of me. They all thought they were better than not only me but everyone else. I guess that probably shows the personality traits they had in common.

These men believed you had to be rough and tough to “break” and train a horse, and that because I was a woman who cared about the animals, I wasn’t to be taken seriously.

That really hurt me for a long time, but with age, life experience, and a bit of wit, I realised they had their own issues. It had less to do with me than I thought.

They were stuck in an old world and an old way of doing things, and of treating women. The world was changing and leaving them behind, so instead of growing and learning, they chose to treat me like shit.

Everything from poking fun to sexual harassment, assault, lying, cheating - you name it. All of which is not what being a cowboy is about.

Real cowboys don’t have anything to prove. They live by a moral code that includes treating women with respect!

This song draws parallels between horse training and people. It hints that not having the patience to get to know a woman and their lack of respect for women would reflect in how these men would go about training a horse.

It’s about a personality type you’ll find everywhere, not just in the horse world.

This song captures the lighthearted nature I now have as I move through life better equipped and better protected.

Below are the lyrics

You think just because you wear a hat it automatically makes you all that

And just because you make a horse do as you please, all the girls will drop their panties.

Sure you win some shows and rodeos gotta keep building that big ego
Prize money winnings, it’s all go, ain’t no whoa shout the bar and do some blow

Don’t you know a real cowboy is humble n kind he’s as tough as they come
You know he does more than just talk himself up while drinking rum

Now I know you don’t think much of this little ol cowgirl
But I’m just gonna keep writing my songs, starting my colts and listening to Merle

Chorus
I hear what you say about me
You should hear what I think about you

You think you’re a cowboy
Hell you ain’t got a clue

You think your a cowboy
I’m more cowboy than you

Verse
Oh you think that you’re all that and then some, just out here having fun
I heard along the grapevine you don’t even have the patience to make a woman come

Well I’m not usually into gossip but that sure did make me laugh
Coz I’m sick of your rude remarks insinuating I’m a tart oh shoot you missed your mark

Yeah I know you make fun of me for starting my own ponies
Hey at least I’m happy being me, wild and free, don’t need a man to do it for me

Now I know you don’t think much of this little ol cowgirl
But I’m just gonna keep writing my songs, starting my colts and listening to Merle

Chorus
I hear what you say about me
You should hear what I think about you

You think you’re a cowboy
Hell you ain’t got a clue

You think your a cowboy
I’m more cowboy than you

Outro
You think your a cowboy
You’ve got a lotta work to do
Coz you ain’t got a fuckin clue

I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing the story behind The Shitty Cowboy Song and that it reminds you to stand tall, stay kind, and never let the shitty cowboys dim your light.