Song Lyrics

They say that a man just doesn't grow up
'Til he's forty odd years old
Such was the case of young Kelly James
And everybody knows
He had a place on the back stretch
Out near the race track
Made money on the horses he broke
Had him a girl that he loved dearly
Name of Rodeo Rose

Young Kelly James and Rodeo Rose
They lived heart to heart
And up and down the streets of our town
You would never see them apart
'Til one day Rodeo Rose up and left him
And she never came back again
To this very day when you ask Kelly James
He says he doesn't understand

'Cause she wanted him crazy
But not that crazy
Wild, but not that wild
And they were going to settle down and get married some day
And maybe have themselves a child
Breaking horses and dealing in cattle
And living way over the edge
With the possibility he might always stay free
And she couldn't take the chance

Young Kelly James stayed in that place
And everything worked out alright
'Cept he'd go out drinking and shooting up the town
On some odd Saturday night
And they'd throw him in jail
And I'd go down and get him
And I'd put him back out on the street
And he'd stay straight, and he'd be okay
For another couple of weeks

'Cause she wanted him crazy
But not that crazy
Wild, but not that wild
And they were going to settle down and get married someday
And maybe have themselves a child
Breaking horses and dealing in cattle
And living way over the edge
With the possibility he might always stay free
And she couldn't take the chance

Rodeo Rose, now, she lives in the suburbs
In a house with a two car garage
She's got a steady husband
And a couple of children
And nothing hardly ever goes wrong
'Cept Rodeo Rose, she drinks too much, too
And when she does, she gets wild
She gets crying about horses, and underfed cattle
And always a month behind

'Cause she wanted him crazy
But not that crazy
Wild, but not that wild
And they were going to settle down and get married some day
And maybe have themselves a child
Breaking horses and dealing in cattle
And living way over the edge
With the possibility he might always stay free
And she couldn't take the chance

With the possibility he might always stay free
And she couldn't take the chance
They say that a man just doesn't grow up
'Til he's forty odd years old

Fred Elgersma