Arena Lullaby - Cowboys and Hoops

Arena's jumbotron

The sights and sounds at the National Great Western Stock Show's rodeo are familiar as any other large gathering, but different. Big crowds, lots of moms and dads with kids, but with a western flavor: boots, hats, livestock themes, bar-b-que - this is Denver, Colorado, not Annapolis, Maryland. The indoor rodeo is like any other sports event held within a large arena with spectators sitting in fold-up seats, the row numbers marked on the aisle seats along the ascending concrete steps that lead up to the nose bleed sections at the top. A jumbotron crowns the central ceiling area above the dirt-filled ring - a similar substitute that is not all that different than he scoreboard in Moda Center in the Portland Rose Quarter where hardwood planks cover the arena where the NBA Trail Blazers run back and forth between the rims identified with numbers on their jerseys, in contrast to the horses, bulls, and steers that are pursued by cowboys with similar goals as the agile leapers playing round ball with their desires to win their competitions, but with numbers pinned to the backs of their long-sleeved western-style shirts.

The pavilion where the rodeo is housed is a long ways from the range, and even Denver, the city on the edge of the Great Plains, has intrinsic aspects that are many degrees of separation away from its livestock heritage, just as the singer of a modern cowboy lullaby sung in distant Massachusetts - dreams of moonlight lady fairies, snow-covered turnpikes, and glasses of beer. Maybe J.T. will sing this song when he appears May 30th at the Moda Center.

Competitors - horse and man

Sweet Baby James by James Taylor

Well, there is a young cowboy he lives on the range
His horse and his cattle are his only companions
He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons
Just waiting for Summer, his pastures to change

And as the moon rises he sits by his fire
Thinking about women and glasses of beer
And closing his eyes as the dogies retire
He sings out a song which is soft but it's clear
As if maybe someone could hear

(Chorus)
Goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rockabye sweet baby James
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams
And rockabye sweet baby James

Now the first of December was covered with snow
And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston
Though the Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frosting
With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go

There's a song that they sing when they take to the highway
A song that they sing when they take to the sea
A song that they sing of their home in the sky
Maybe you can believe it if it helps you to sleep
But singing works just fine for me

- Chorus -
So, Goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rockabye sweet baby James
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams
And rockabye sweet baby James