Should've Been a Cowboy Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gunsmoke

Interestingly, "Gunsmoke" started out as a radio program and then became a TV series. For several years the shows ran concurrently. The TV show lasted for twenty years. Keith uses the characters from it to evoke the quintessential portrait of the American West where cowboys roamed free.

Answer: Marshal Dillon

James Arness played the role of Marshal Dillon over five decades. The series ran from 1955 to 1975. Then in 1987 he reprised the role in "Return to Dodge" and again in the 1990s for four different TV movies.

Keith uses Marshal Dillon because he is the archetypal cowboy in that he never got tied down to anyone or anything. He was married to his job, much like the cowboy of the West.

Answer: Miss Kitty

Amanda Blake was the third person inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, after Tom Mix and Gary Cooper.

For Keith, Miss Kitty was the always-faithful girlfriend of the cowboy who would never settle down. He assumes she would have married Dillon in a "New York minute", but Dillon never wanted that.

Answer: His heart wasn't in it

Keith assumes that Dillon's heart was never into the idea of settling down and getting married. For Keith, the cowboy is the last of the free spirits who cannot be tamed.

According to Keith:
"They never tied the knot
His heart wasn't in it
He just stole a kiss as he rode away
He never hung his hat up at Kitty's place"

Answer: Jesse James

It is interesting that in the song Keith takes on the side of law enforcement and not the outlaw. Most movies and country songs have a tendency to romanticize the outlaw, not the other way around. But for Keith it is the lawman who is the hero, and what he would have aspired to become. This seems to be a theme for Keith who takes the same approach in the song "Beer for My Horses".

Answer: Texas Rangers

The phrase "riding shotgun" refers to the man who rode next to the stagecoach or wagon driver and carried a shotgun to protect them. A shotgun was used because its blast radius made it the deadliest close range gun available at the time.

Of all law enforcement outfits in the Old West, certainly the Texas Rangers are one of the most famous. The Texas Rangers trace their roots back as far as 1823.

The Texas Rangers were the perfect metaphor for Keith to use, because most were unmarried men who were committed only to their jobs. This image fits nicely into the theme of the song.

Answer: Rope and ride

Keith draws a mental picture with this section of the song of a cowboy and all it takes to herd cattle on a cattle drive. The three most important tools of the cowboy were his horse, his rope, and his gun. Proficiency in all three was a must.

Answer: Autry and Rogers

Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were famous as singing cowboys starting in the 1930s. Autry is actually known as "The Singing Cowboy". In their movies, they almost always ended up sitting around the campfire singing songs and, of course, they always got the girl.

Answer: Indians

Indians were not one of the three things mentioned. Keith uses the historical phrase "Go West, young man" of Horace Greeley in the song. The actual quote is "Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country". Greeley spoke the line around the time of the California Gold Rush, which Keith is clearly referencing in the song.

Answer: Next to a roaring fire

The lyrics are:
"Sleeping out all night beneath the desert stars
With a dream in my eye and a prayer...
In my heart"

Keith never mentions the roaring fire, although this certainly could have been a possibility. This segment of the song demonstrates all that is good about being a cowboy and being free in the wide open spaces.