While I was out a-ridin'
The graveyard shift midnight till dawn
The moon was as bright as a reading light
For a letter from an old friend back home
He asked me
Why do you ride for your money?
Why do you rope for short pay?
You ain't gettin' nowhere
And you're losin' your share
Oh, you must've gone crazy out there / (Michael Burton)
Filmed in Nashville (CDX Studio), Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming, the video was directed by Paul Steward for 316 Productions. A longtime mentor to Mike, legendary cowboy Eddie Phillips stars in the reel along with his grandson Daylon Swearingen (2022 PBR World Champion Bull Rider). Now 81, Phillips was the Ontario Rodeo Association’s 1973 Bareback Bronc Champion and the Empire Rodeo Association’s 1977 Bareback Bronc Champion. “His inclusion was critical, he had to be a part of it,” Mike notes. “Eddie is a gentleman and a champion who raised a rodeo family full of title-winning cowboys and cowgirls. We are thrilled to have him.”
For Mike, a former farrier, the song represents more than just rodeos and cowboys. “I honor them, for sure,” he says. “But really this song represents all of us who believe going our own way is the only way.” Amy adds, “Having honesty and integrity, and love for the world around us just makes sense. It’s the way we live.”
