‘When the Rodeo Is Over (Where Does the Cowboy Go?)” appears on Tucker’s upcoming album Sweet Western Sound
Tanya Tucker sings a moving ballad about aging and mortality in her new song “When the Rodeo Is Over (Where Does the Cowboy Go).” It’s the second release from the incoming Country Music Hall of Fame member’s latest album Sweet Western Sound, which arrives June 2.
“When the Rodeo Is Over” lives in the high-stakes world of riding and roping like George Strait’s “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” and Garth Brooks’ “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” before it, a world that’s got more than its fair share of its bruises, broken bones, and broken hearts. She imagines an aging cowboy, adrift at the end of his career, beset by memories. “He coulda made world champion cowboy back in 1969,” Tucker sings, the arrangement sighing with melancholy around her. The song was penned by Billy Don Burns and Craig Dillingham.
Sweet Western Sound finds Tucker working once again with producers Shooter Jennings and Brandi Carlile, who oversaw her Grammy-winning 2019 album While I’m Livin’. The album, which includes the previous release “Kindness,” also features contributions by Carlile collaborators Phil and Tim Hanseroth, JT Nero, and Bernie Taupin.
On May 12, Tucker will launch a headlining tour that will include a two-night stop at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and several dates in her native Texas, including the classic venues Floore’s Country Store and Billy Bob’s Fort Worth. Additionally, she has a show on the books with the Highwomen at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington on June 11.