His eyes are cold and restless
His wounds have almost healed
Jennifer sat next to her husband on the bed, staring down at the broken arm & the cuts on his chest. She sighed softly, unable to believe he�d done it again; rode in the damned rodeo & when he got thrown, the bull had turned on him, stomping the ground around him. One of the bull�s horns had gotten his chest & he�d also gotten his chest scraped up when he was trying to keep from getting trampled. She shook her head, tears falling down her face. �Damn you Lance,� she whispered as she dabbed his face gently with a cold wet cloth to keep his fever down.
And she�d give half of Texas
Just to change the way he feels
�Lance what the hell can I get you to do to just stay home for once?!� Jennifer cried as she watched her husband pack his clothes. �I�ll do anything, please baby,� she pleaded. �Just stay with me, please! I don�t want to see you get broken up again!�
�Jennifer I have to, you don�t understand,� Lance sighed as he finished his packing & ran his fingers through his short hair.
She knows his love�s in Tulsa
And she knows he�s gonna go
Well, it ain�t no woman, flesh and blood
It�s that damned old rodeo
Jennifer watched the TV screen as Lance got on the bronc he was going to be riding. When he was settled on the back, he looked at the camera & waved as if she was there & he had spotted her in the crowd. She closed her eyes tightly, a few tears escaping her eyes as she said a prayer to God to keep her man safe. He�d promised her that after this rodeo he�d quit, retire to spend more time with her & get to work on the family he�d promised her when they first got married. She wanted this more than anything & she�d be so happy if he could just keep this one promise.
Well, it's bulls and blood
It's dust and mud
It's the roar of a Sunday crowd
It's the white in his knuckles
The gold in the buckle
He'll win the next go 'round
It's boots and chaps
It's cowboy hats
It's spurs and latigo
It's the ropes and the reins
And the joy and the pain
And they call the thing rodeo
She does her best to hold him
When his love comes to call
But his need for it controls him
And her back�s against the wall
And it�s �So long girl, I�ll see you�
When it�s time for him to go
You know the woman wants her cowboy
Like he wants his rodeo
Lance's head turned slightly from the force of Jennifer�s slap. He was leaving again, breaking his sworn promise to her & going off to ride in the rodeo. He�d promised her & now he was getting ready to go off again. �God damn you Lance, you son of a bitch! You get me pregnant & you want to go back out again?! You fucking promised me that you�d stay, that you�d give up & make this family with me. Why are you going again Lance? What is so damned important about getting yourself torn & broken apart by some bull or bronc?!�
Lance stared into her eyes, watching her tears flow freely down her cheeks. He did feel bad for signing up, despite his promise to her, but the rodeo was calling to him again & he couldn�t ignore it. He loved her, but he loved the rodeo more. �I�m sorry Jen, but this is something I just have to do. Why can�t you understand this baby?� Lance asked as he turned away from her to finish packing.
�I can�t understand because it appears to me that you want that damned rodeo, more than you want me, your damned pregnantwife Lance,� she answered as she whimpered softly, wiping away her tears. She sighed softly, a small sob escaping as well. �I never thought it would come down to this Lance... I never wanted to say this...�
He didn�t look at her. �Say what?�
�I want to know once & for all. You�re picking. Do you want me Lance? Or do you want to leave? Choose wisely, because if you pick that rodeo over me, I�m filing for divorce.�
Lance visibly tensed, his eyes darkening as he turned around to look at her. �How dare you try & make me decide?�
�Lance, I�m your wife. I�m pregnant with your child. How dare you ignore me for some damned rodeo?�
A muscle in his jaw flexed as their eye contact remained locked on one another. �You want me to choose?�
�Yes.�
�All right then...�
Well, it's bulls and blood
It's dust and mud
It's the roar of a Sunday crowd
It's the white in his knuckles
The gold in the buckle
He'll win the next go 'round
It's boots and chaps
It's cowboy hats
It's spurs and latigo
It's the ropes and the reins And the joy and the pain
And they call the thing rodeo
It'll drive a cowboy crazy
It'll drive the man insane
And he'll sell off everything he owns
Just to pay to play her game
And a broken home and some broken bones
Is all he'll have to show
For all the years that he spent chasin'
This dream they call rodeo
He counted the money he had left from selling his home to the bank & buying a cheap motor home. It was enough to keep him going until he could find a small job. He�d actually chosen the rodeo over Jennifer & he was divorced from her all ready. He remembered the look in her eyes as she stared at him during the hearing of their divorce. It was a look of hurt, disbelief, & something else he couldn�t place. Sure he felt bad for doing this, but now he could do what he wanted without the worry of leaving someone behind. One bad part about the settlement was that any money he earned had to go to the kid he would never be allowed to see. This was Jennifer�s plea since she didn�t want her son or daughter to go through life wondering why their Daddy didn�t love them enough to stay home.
Well, it's bulls and blood
It's dust and mud
It's the roar of a Sunday crowd
It's the white in his knuckles
The gold in the buckle
He'll win the next go 'round
It's boots and chaps
It's cowboy hats
It's spurs and latigo
It's the ropes and the reins
And the joy and the pain
And they call the thing rodeo
It's the broncs and the blood
It's the steers and the mud
And they call the thing rodeo