The Joker’s Been Around

The Joker’s Been Around Since the Western Daze

Performed by Whiskey Wind & The Prairie Boys

The Joker’s Been Around Since the Western Daze – DOWNLOAD

Country & Western with a touch of honky-tonk and mischief

[Verse 1]
Well, the Joker’s been around since the Western daze,
Runnin’ cattle in his own twisted ways.
He brands ’em with a smiley face, says, “Ain’t that neat?”
Gus and Call just shake their heads, “This joker’s hard to beat.”

He poisons wells with laughin’ gas, got the whole town in a fit,
Even Call can’t keep a straight face, laughin’ right through his grit.
While Gus is chokin’ on his cigar, sayin’, “This ain’t right, Call,”
But the Joker’s laughin’ all the way, ‘cause chaos is his call.

[Chorus]
Oh, the Joker’s been around since the Western daze,
Cattlin’ up Texas in the wildest ways.
With balloon lassos and painted cows,
Circus music echoing through the plains somehow.
Gus and Call can’t help but say,
“The whole West’s gone mad, and this Joker’s in the way.”

[Verse 2]
He showed up at the auction in a tiny clown car,
Said, “I’ll haul cattle in this thing, ain’t it bizarre?”
With Gotham’s finest cowhands, Scarecrow wranglin’ steers,
Gus looked at Call and said, “I’m too old for this here.”

They found the herd spooked by clown tumbleweeds,
While Joker was tossin’ pies like bullets with ease.
He slapped Gus with a rubber chicken, left Call in a haze,
“Well, I reckon, Call, these ain’t the old normal days.”

[Chorus]
Oh, the Joker’s been around since the Western daze,
Runnin’ ranches in the most insane ways.
He laughs his way through the high noon fight,
With balloon lassos, jack-in-the-boxes takin’ flight.
Gus and Call just shake their heads,
“Cattle rustlers used to shoot, now they clown instead.”

[Bridge]
Out in the pastures where the bulls all laugh,
Joker’s sprayin’ the fields with a madman’s wrath.
Campfires of laughin’ gas rise in the sky,
And there ain’t no straight faces in the whole countryside.
Call just mutters, “The West is nothin’ but a wreck.”
While Gus cracks a grin, “There’s too many Jokers in this deck.”

[Chorus]
Oh, the Joker’s been around since the Western daze,
Turnin’ Texas ranchin’ into a circus craze.
Cows with Batman logos, paint and glee,
Clown cowboys ropin’ steers with comedy.
Gus and Call ride through the chaos and say,
“This whole state’s gone wild, ‘n’ this Joker’s in the way.”

[Outro]
So if you see a pie flyin’ at noon, don’t you dare be surprised,
The Joker took Texas, with his wild clown disguise.
He’s laughin’ loud from dusk ‘til dawn, in his twisted cattle ways,
Yeah, the Joker’s been around since the Western daze.

Fiddle and steel guitar outro with laughter echoing in the background.

The Joker’s Been Around Since the Western Daze –Music and Lyrics by Alan Nafzger

“The Joker, Gus and Call”

Cowboy Poetry by Alan Nafzger (1989)

Out where the tumbleweeds dance and roll,
Where the Texas wind sings, and cattle stroll,
There rode a man with a twisted grin,
A joker’s heart, full of sin.

He wore no spurs, just painted boots,
His cattle branded with clownish roots.
A purple hat on his head did rest,
But chaos and laughter were his vest.

He rustled herds with balloon lassos,
Made ranch hands laugh ‘til they couldn’t move.
He’d poison the well with a joyful spray,
Turnin’ noon to night, and work to play.

Gus and Call, the toughest around,
Heard tales of the joker who wore the crown.
With grim-set eyes, they watched from afar,
As this cowboy clown lit up the bar.

Cards in hand, revolver spun,
His cattle games had just begun.
In the heart of Texas, where men were tough,
The Joker’s tricks were more than enough.

Cows branded with a twisted smile,
Stampedes started in circus style.
A showdown loomed, the time was near,
But he laughed in the face of every fear.

Gus lit a cigar, Call shook his head,
“Ranchin’ with clowns will leave us dead.”
But the Joker cackled, his eyes aglow,
“Boys, this ain’t your regular rodeo!”

A pie for a pistol, a joke for a gun,
Cattle wars fought with humor and fun.
But beneath the laughs, a storm did brew,
For the west ain’t kind to men like you.

So under that wide Texas sky,
Where the prairie meets the eye,
The Joker’s legend, wild and strange,
Lives on forever in the Lone Star range.

For in a land of grit and steel,
A man of laughter made the deal.
He branded the West with his clownish ways—
The Joker’s been around since the Western Daze.