‘Cowboys Cry Too’ by Kelsea Ballerini & Noah Kahan - Lyrics & Meaning

A new Kelsea Ballerini era is upon us, and it's starting off with quite a bang as she teams up with one of the buzziest fringe country/Americana artists in the game, Noah Kahan.

Not the first time this pair of award-winning entertainers have joined forces in recent months, they first appeared on the 2024 ACM Award stage together for a mash-up of Ballerini's 'Mountain With A View' and Kahan's blockbuster hit, 'Stick Season.' They took the stage together once again a month later in Nashville, Tennessee, as Kahan invited Ballerini out to help him with his career-defining hit during night two of his We'll All Be Here Forever Tour stop in Music City.

Since then, fans have been all but chomping at the bit for the two singer-songwriters to team up in the studio to make things official.

Marking Ballerini's first true duet since 2021's 'I Quit Drinking' with LANY, this 2024 offering is the first taste of new music from the 'Penthouse' hitmaker since releasing her monumentally successful Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP and its For Good extension.

Exploring the vulnerable, emotional and under-represented side of the stoic characters that drive the classic stories of the Wild West, 'Cowboys Cry Too' is a mostly acoustic-driven ode.

Swelling with a cinematic feeling that spreads as wide as the prairies and fields often associated with cowboys, the tune finds Ballerini sharing producing duties with the ever-talented Alysa Vanderhym, who was also responsible for the entirety of Ballerini's Rolling Up the Welcome Mat last year.

Similarly, the song finds Vanderhym credited as a writer, along with the song's two vocalists, who have both built their careers – and discographies – off of their deeply personal and evocative songwriting styles, both of which come through beautifully across the moving ballad.

"He’s as tough as the tattoos up his right arm
And I’ve talked him down from getting in a fight or two
He stands his ground
He’s as stubborn as the weeds in the backyard
‘Cause growing up he had to go where the wind blew

He hides his heart and hurt ‘cause he kinda had to
In a world that says “Saddle up and be a man”
When the sun goes down and his hazel eyes go blue
That’s when I understand"

'Cowboys Cry Too' opens with Ballerini taking the first verse as she describes some of the traits of the cowboy who's stolen her heart.

Depicting him as a tough man who's not afraid to stand his ground and fight for what he believes in, he can also be pretty stubborn, a habit he picked up from being forced to just go with the flow when he was a kid.

Continuing on, she adds that he often hides his feelings and emotions – another habit learned in his adolescence. Always having to "be a man" and don a rough exterior, Ballerini ends the first verse by explaining that when they're alone, that's when she can fully understand that there's so much more to him than these things.

"Cowboys cry too
They may not let ‘em fall down in their hometown
Thinking they still got shit to prove
That well runs deep
But when he’s showing his skin
Letting me in
That’s when he’s toughest to me
I never knew
Cowboys cry too"

Though not something often talked about when it comes to cowboy lore and aesthetic, Ballerini firmly states that cowboys have feelings, too. It might seem a little kitschy at face value, but she explains that it's one of their most meaningful signs of strength, rather than a weakness.

While they still may have too much pride to let their emotions show in their hometowns or around their friends and family, Ballerini sings that these fabled ropers and riders that tend to get a bad rap have much more to them than meets the eye if you know where to look.

"I grew up wishing I could close off the way my dad did
‘Cause that man never felt a damn thing he didn’t wanna feel
But I’ve burned too many miles trying to ride out all the sadness
But you can’t outdrive pain, someday it’s gonna take the wheel
Can’t be alone but don’t wanna get close to anybody
Don’t wanna bare teeth but don’t wanna look weak
It’s a tough spot
But I’m afraid you’ll walk away when the tears start running
But I hope not"

Switching to the cowboy's perspective, Kahan's vocals come in and deliver a moving verse that could only be penned by the 'Orange Juice' singer himself.

Going back to when he was a kid, he notes that he grew up emulating his father, who was a pro at closing people off, fighting off his feelings and not letting his emotions show. However, from his childhood, the only thing Kahan has effectively been able to do is run away from his problems and feelings, ultimately finding out the hard way that "you can't outdrive pain."

Stuck in a personal tug of war, Kahan goes back and forth on not wanting to be alone yet not wanting anyone to get close to see him for who he really is, not wanting to be a fighter but afraid of not being tough enough to fend off his enemies. Acknowledging that it's a tough spot to be stuck in, he turns the attention to his love interest, noting that he's most worried that if he were to show his true self to her, that she might walk away altogether.

"Blame it on their fathers
The ones that said they’d stay
Or blame it on the songs that tell you they all ride away
But mine ain’t that way
I ain’t that way'"

After taking us through the chorus again, Ballerini & Kahan join together for the bridge, taking a deeper look into the traumas and stigmas around cowboys that have been formed over decades.

While you could take the route of blaming their dads, who they insinuate left their kids to fend for themselves, they flip the script one final time to question if it's actually our fault for thinking the way we do about cowboys. Making mention of the vast collection of songs about cowboys riding away cause they can't be tied down, the pair of singers offer that maybe the blame for their bad raps can be better placed there instead.

After all, not all cowboys are that way... especially the ones in this song.

"Cowboys cry too
They may not let ‘em fall down in their hometown
Thinking they still got shit to prove
That well runs deep
But when he’s showing his skin
Letting me in
That’s when he’s toughest to me
I never knew
Cowboys cry too"

While most everything about this collaboration and Ballerini's forthcoming record are still being kept under wraps, the Knoxville native has used her socials to give us hints about the newly-minted duet, as well as the album at large.

Ahead of the official unveiling of 'Cowboys Cry Too,' Ballerini teased that something was on the horizon with Kahan via a series of Instagram photos, including an image of a pair of boots she mailed to the Vermont hitmaker alongside a note reading, “Hey...you a cowboy yet?”, to which Kahan pointedly replied, “Nah I cry too much.”

When it was time to announce the highly-anticipated collab, Ballerini noted on socials that she is "so proud and excited to release this first song in a new chapter of music," with the promise that more will be on the way from the crossover talent in the months to come.

He’s as tough as the tattoos up his right arm
And I’ve talked him down from getting in a fight or two
He stands his ground
He’s as stubborn as the weeds in the backyard
‘Cause growing up he had to go where the wind blew

He hides his heart and hurt ‘cause he kinda had to
In a world that says “Saddle up and be a man”
When the sun goes down and his hazel eyes go blue
That’s when I understand

Cowboys cry too
They may not let ‘em fall down in their hometown
Thinking they still got shit to prove
That well runs deep
But when he’s showing his skin
Letting me in
That’s when he’s toughest to me
I never knew
Cowboys cry too

I grew up wishing I could close off the way my dad did
‘Cause that man never felt a damn thing he didn’t wanna feel
But I’ve burned too many miles trying to ride out all the sadness
But you can’t outdrive pain, someday it’s gonna take the wheel
Can’t be alone but don’t wanna get close to anybody
Don’t wanna bare teeth but don’t wanna look weak
It’s a tough spot
But I’m afraid you’ll walk away when the tears start running
But I hope not

‘Cause cowboys cry too
They may not let ‘em fall down in their hometown
Thinking they still got shit to prove
That well runs deep
But when he’s showing his skin
Letting me in
That’s when he’s toughest to me
I never knew Cowboys cry too

Blame it on their fathers
The ones that said they’d stay
Or blame it on the songs that tell you they all ride away
But mine ain’t that way
I ain’t that way

Cowboys cry too
They may not let ‘em fall down in their hometown
Thinking they still got shit to prove
That well runs deep
But when he’s showing his skin
Letting me in
That’s when he’s toughest to me
I never knew
Cowboys cry too

––

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