Cowboys from Hell

Producers

“Cowboys From Hell” is brazen personal anthem meant to broadcast Pantera’s Texas origin with the unabashed usage of cliched western themes and parlance. The title’s… Read More

Jul. 24, 19901 viewer87.9K views

Cowboys from Hell Lyrics

[Intro]
Oh, come on

[Verse 1]
Under the lights where we stand tall
Nobody touches us at all
Showdown, shootout
Spread fear within, without

I say we're gonna take what's ours to have
Spread the word throughout the land
They say the bad guys wear black
We're tagged and can't turn back

[Pre-Chorus]
You see us coming and you all together run for cover
We're taking over this town

[Chorus]
Here we come, reach for your gun
And you better listen well, my friend
You see, it's been slow down below
Aimed at you, we're the Cowboys from Hell

Deed is done, again we've won
Ain't talking no tall tales, friend
'Cause high noon, your doom
Coming for you, we're the Cowboys from Hell

[Verse 2]
Oh, pillage the village, trash the scene
But better not take it out on me
'Cause a ghost town is found
Where your city used to be

So out of the darkness and into the light
Sparks fly everywhere in sight
From our double barrel, 12 gauge
Can't lock me in your cage

[Pre-Chorus]
You see us coming and you all together run for cover
We're taking over this town

[Chorus]
Here we come, reach for your gun
And you better listen well, my friend
You see, it's been slow down below
Aimed at you, we're the Cowboys from Hell

Deed is done, again we've won
Ain't talking no tall tales, friend
'Cause high noon, your doom
We're coming for you, we're the Cowboys from Hell

[Guitar Solo]

[Chorus]
Here we come, reach for your gun
And you better listen well, my friend
You see, it's been slow down below
Aimed at you, we're the Cowboys from Hell

Deed is done, again we've won
Ain't talking no tall tales, friend
'Cause high noon, your doom
Coming for you, we're the Cowboys from Hell

[Outro]
Ow
Step aside for the Cowboys from Hell

About

“Cowboys From Hell” is brazen personal anthem meant to broadcast Pantera’s Texas origin with the unabashed usage of cliched western themes and parlance. The title’s abbreviation “CFH” was widely used on band merchandise and advertising materials long after succeeding albums had been released, as well as tattooed notably on the left side of frontman Phil Anselmo’s head.

Phil Anselmo stated on an episode of That Metal Show that during a house party in Fort Worth, Texas in 1989, Dimebag, who arrived late, ran towards Anselmo and said he had a new riff to show him. The two of them went into Darrell’s car and Darrell played the intro to Anselmo, and Anselmo said afterwards to Darrell “yes this must be an anthem”.

“Cowboys From Hell” was the first song Pantera wrote for the record. It was recorded on the band’s 1989 demo album, Cowboys From Hell: The Demos. After the band got signed to Atco Records, they re-recorded the song and put it on their major label debut.

Vinnie Paul on the song:

“Cowboys From Hell is where everybody came into their own, along with the full-blown Pantera sound”, “That was actually the first song we wrote for the record. Basically, it was about us coming out of Texas and being out of place. People don’t think of Texas as being a hot spot for heavy metal, they think of New York or L.A. or something like that, so it just seemed like an obvious concept for us.”

On the Official Live: 101 Proof recording of Cowboys From Hell, Pantera plays two bars of Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever” between the first chorus and second verse.