* Cowboys - secretly fond of each other *

Special request from comrade Vlad: Willie Nelson's gay cowboy song (with great videos to boot)!

In December 2005, the movie Brokeback Mountain initially got a limited release in just 5 US-theaters. Its story of a romantic relationship between two cowboys seemed a little risky at first. It was a success nevertheless, and next February the film ran in over 2000 North-American cinemas. That same month country-veteran Willie Nelson, who had contributed one song to the Brokeback Mountain-soundtrack ('He Was a Friend of Mine'), decided the time was right to release 'Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly..'.
Press-quote from Nelson back then: "The song's been in the closet for 20 years (…) to come out."

There’s many a strange impulse out on the plains of West Texas;
There’s many a young boy who feels things he don’t comprehend.
Well small town don't like it when somebody falls between sexes,
No, small town don't like it when a cowboy has feelings for men.

Well I believe in my soul that inside every man there’s a feminine,
And inside every lady there’s a deep manly voice loud and clear.
Well, a cowboy may brag about things that he does with his women,
But the ones who brag loudest are the ones that are most likely queer.

Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other —
What did you think those saddles and boots was about?
There’s many a cowboy who don’t understand the way that he feels towards his
brother,
Inside every cowboy there's a lady who'd love to slip out.

Willie claims in the 1980's someone gave him a tape with the song, that he played on the bus for years. If so, he didn't learn it from Pansy Division, a San Francisco-band usually referred to as "queercore", that had included their version of 'Cowboys are...' on the split-7" 'Stop Homophobia' in 1994. 

Now hear the original, recorded in 1982 for the LP 'Life Is A Killer' (Giorno Poetry Systems GPS 027), containing poetry and songs by various artists. One of them was Ned Sublette, who had been playing in Glenn Branca's loud guitar-orchestra the previous year (go check 'The Ascension', stunning album). In 2007 the same Ned Sublette would show his love for Latin music with the book 'Cuba and Its Music',  but he had been always been into country music too, mixing both on his CD 'Cowboy Rumba' (1999). That country-influence was already there when he started songwriting, with 'Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly' among the first results. Funny note: Ned's said he wrote it with Willie Nelson's voice in mind. 

Ten men for each woman was the rule way back when on the prairie,
And somehow those cowboys must have kept themselves warm late at night.
Cowboys are famous for getting riled up about fairies,
But I’ll tell you the reason a big strong man gets so uptight:

Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other —
That’s why they wear leather, and Levi's and belts buckled tight.
There’s many a cowboy who don’t understand the way that he feels towards his
brother;
There’s many a cowboy who’s more like a lady at night.

Well there's always somebody who says what the others just whisper,
And mostly that someone's the first one to get shot down dead:
When you talk to a cowboy don't treat him like he was a sister
Don't mess with the lady that's sleepin' in each cowboy's head.

Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other —
Even though they take speed and drive pickups and shoot their big guns;
There’s many a cowboy who don’t understand the way that he feels towards his
brother;
There's many a cowboy who keeps quiet about things he's done.

So, as interesting as the Sublette-original already may have been, arguably 'Cowboys' finally got home with Willie. His mainstream-country treatment made it a classic, and a better joke too. Ned Sublette wrote it as an urban cowboy, while living next to a gay bar called Boots and Saddles in Manhattan NYC. Pansy Division recorded it for a good cause, but were preaching to the already converted. As expected, Willie Nelson's 'Cowboys' caused more controversy with his fans. Though he released it as an iTunes-download only and chose not to play it live, I'd like to think of his version as a brave plea for tolerance.

But two years later he tried to please the narrow-minded as well by recording 'Ain't Goin' Down On Brokeback Mountain'.* It was a cover too, originally done by The Saddle Sores featuring Wynn Varble, who co-wrote the song. Especially the repeated chorus-line "That Shit Ain't Right" appealed to a lot of homophobic assholes and dickheads, as made clear by the YouTube-comments. Proving homophobia is a widespread disease, not only in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe and Putin's Russia, but also in supposedly free and civilized countries. And that's called sad.

* PS: When 'Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly' made its first appearance on a Willie Nelson-album ('Lost Highway', 2009), the next song was 'Ain't Goin' Down On Brokeback Mountain'. Makes sense?