Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

Getting hitched

by Julie Carter

By their very nature, cowboys are the epitome of informal and casual.

Only for a really good buddy will they trade in their Wranglers for a few hours in genuine citified formal wear. It usually has to do with saying “I do” and what the little wife-to-be has designed for that memorable wedding day.

You can dress them up, take them to town and they are still the same basic core of a cowboy no matter the surroundings.

A cowboy in a tuxedo is the pinnacle of cowboy handsome. He’s a little squirmy and spends quite a bit of time pulling at his collar to let in some air. Mentally he is counting the seconds until he can untie the bow tie and unbutton the top button. 

You’ll notice he’s never far from his cowboy hat even at formal affairs. If a cowboy ever had a “security blanket”-- it is his hat.  His manners are at the forefront of his demeanor as he holds his hat to his body while he greets a lady. His “Yes Ma’am” is said with warmth and sincerity. His hugs are given with the same.

When the “I do” part of the day is done, it’s time to celebrate. Strike up the band and the fun begins.

Nothing brings out the heart and soul of cowboy in a more visual manner than a good two-step or waltz. They simply can’t help themselves.

Each one has an inherited Western beat pumping in their veins. It surfaces with the first few bars of the Tennessee Waltz and off across the dance floor they’ll go in three-quarter time.

The neck ties are gone, the collars loosened and the hats tipped back to reveal smiling relief. Easy laughter abounds as the fun is cut loose as only a cowboy can demonstrate. Those stiff-starched boys of only hours before become comedians in cowboy boots.

Then it happens. The music blaring over the speakers is “The Chicken Dance.” Any dignity anyone might have had up to this point has promptly left the room.

Visualization of cowboys in tuxes and ladies in dresses doing the Chicken Dance can be assisted by the Chicken Dance instructions. Remember, these are pillars of our society participating in this.

1. Anyone who's not chicken, stand in a circle facing each other.

2. When the music starts, hold your hands out in front of you and open and close them like a chicken beak four times.

3. Put your thumbs in your armpits and flap your wings four times.

4. Place your arms and hands like the tail feathers of a chicken and wiggle down to the floor four times.

5. Clap four times.

6. Repeat steps 1-5 four times.

7. After the fourth time, take the hands of the people on either side of you and everyone move in a circle. When you get dizzy, switch directions.  Repeat until the end of the music or until you fall on the floor.

There will be those that tip toe from the floor, fearing any connection with anything involving the word “chicken.” No self-respecting “beef” man acts like a wing-flapping chicken. Well not for very long anyway.

Julie, loves a good two-step but does not chicken dance, can be reached for comment at jcarternm@gmail.com.

If you've been to very many of these country dances you'll always see an old cowboy who has a problem:  the two-step is just one step too many for him.