Ten-Gallon Hat
Cowboy Poetry and Music Notes
by Mike Moutoux, Western Entertainer
& Cowboy Poet

While attending the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering In Alpine Texas, I learned something interesting. It seems the term “ten-gallon hat” most likely comes from the vaqueros who gave us so many other cowboy words. In this case it is believed to come from the word: “Galon”, which is a braided hatband. The more skilled a vaquero was, the more bands he wore. A man who wore a ten-galon hat was quite a hand.

I also got to visit with Randy Huston, another New Mexico performer, at a little jam session on Saturday night. He made a short speech about the connection between working on a ranch and writing cowboy music. He said when he no longer did the work, he didn’t think he would be able to write music about it anymore. I believe he wasn’t serious but rather was trying to make a point about how difficult it was for him to separate the two. Interesting stuff.

I’m sure lots of people wear several hats in a lifetime, sometimes more than one in the same day. For Randy: a cow-man, cowboy, singer-songwriter, and musician---there is only one hat and the only time he takes it off is when he comes inside. When the day comes that he hangs up his spurs I hope he realizes that there are a lot of folks like me who hope he doesn’t hang up his hat too. We enjoy his music too much.