My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (song)

"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys"
Single by Willie Nelson
from the album The Electric Horseman
B-side	"Rising Star (Love Theme)"
Released	January 1980
Genre	Country
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Sharon Vaughn
Producer(s)	Sydney Pollack Larry Rosen
Willie Nelson singles chronology
"Help Me Make It Through the Night" (1979) "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" (1980) "Midnight Rider" (1980)

"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" was recorded by Waylon Jennings on the 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws, and further popularized in 1980 by Willie Nelson as a single on the soundtrack to The Electric Horseman. "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" was written by Sharon Vaughn and Nelson's version was his fifth number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for two weeks and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country chart.

Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

Content

The narrator compares his child dream to become a cowboy and the reality he faces when he actually became a cowboy, and finds a strong contrast between the two.

Chart performance

Chart (1980)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	44
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	3

References

Preceded by "I Ain't Living Long Like This" by Waylon Jennings	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single March 8-March 15, 1980	Succeeded by "Why Don't You Spend the Night" by Ronnie Milsap
Preceded by "Daydream Believer" by Anne Murray	RPM Country Tracks number-one single March 29-April 5, 1980	Succeeded by "I Ain't Living Long Like This" by Waylon Jennings