Crossroads

In March of 2005, Chris LeDoux passed away. In November that same year, his good friend Garth Brooks paid tribute to him. That year, the CMA Awards were being held in New York City and Garth performed the song Good Ride Cowboy in Times Square during the live telecast. I was fortunate enough to witness this amazing event. It was "more than a memory" shall we say, lol.. Garth was not doing many public performances at that time. He was retired from live performing in order to devote his time to being a full time dad to this three daughters in Oklahoma. So this live performance was creating a lot of anticipatory excitement. As usual, Garth didn't disappoint.A few days later, I could not get the experience out of my head, or my heart. So, I picked up my pen and began to write. This is what came out. The poem is called Crossroads and I hope it gives you some sense of what I felt that night, and also why Chris was such an important force to so many.


In the heart of my great city
At the crossroads of the world
Crowds have often gathered
As great moments have unfurled

They gathered by the thousands
To mark the end of war
Sixty years have past and yet
That crowd still seems to roar

And every New Year's Eve it seems
The crowd just grows and grows
To welcome in the brand new year
And the promise that it holds

So there's a rich tradition here
To gather in Times Square
When history is being made
And excitement's in the air

History, Tradition, Excitement
They're a cowboy's story too
So once again we gathered
To honor Chris LeDoux

He was a man of courage
Passion, honor and fun
He lived his life right on the edge
'Cause he knew he would get only one

He earned some golden buckles
For the way that he would ride
And then his writing showed us all
The poet there inside

His songs spoke of the cowboy life
And taught us all so well
That real heroes will never die
When their stories we do tell

And Oh! How he did tell them
In arenas and county fairs
He'd strap it on and we'd be gone
When he flew up in the air

His buddy Garth would watch and learn
And soon the whole world knew
That real cowboys still walked this Earth
And one was Chris LeDoux

Garth honored him in songs and shows
He never left a doubt
LeDoux was the true reason
That his concerts all sold out

He'd shout it from the rafters
And in countless interviews
"We stole our show, you need to know
From a guy named Chris LeDoux"

So when Chris' ride was over
There was just one thing to do
He brought us to the crossroads
To honor his buddy LeDoux

His image on that giant screen
Looked down upon us there
Who gathered in that magic spot
In the heart of old Times Square

And it felt so right that autumn night
For Garth to lead us all
"Just LeDoux it" we all sang
A fitting curtain call

It was as if they never left
The cowboy and his heir
Though death had claimed one
And the other's begun
To live life beyond all the glare

On one perfect night
With the moon shining bright
Two cowboys had one more good ride
In the heart of Times Square
With a crowd gathered there
Shouting "Good Ride, Cowboys, Good Ride!"

In the heart of New York City
At the crossroads of the world
Crowds have often gathered
As great moments have unfurled