50 Best Rock Songs About Cowboys

Best Rock Songs That Capture Cowboy Spirit

There’s a mood that settles in when a track leans into cowboy energy. Not the rodeo caricature or the Hollywood shot of spurs and dust, but the feeling of moving through wide spaces with something restless in your chest. Some songs go literal with horses and hats, others carry the grit and wandering tone without spelling it out. That mix of swagger, loneliness, and sharp edges creates a sound that feels like campfire smoke clinging to denim after a long night.

These songs don’t parade the cowboy life like a postcard. They sink into the roughness, the broken voices, the echo of wide landscapes you only half see in your head while listening. You can hear the stubborn streak in a riff, the tumble of drums that mimic boots hitting dirt, or the twang layered under distorted guitar. A few of them come straight from rock, others blur with pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that somehow nail the same mood. Some tracks may not be literally centered on cowboys, but they sit firmly in that spirit.

What ties them together is the pull of myth mixed with something cracked and human. A line about the open road, a chorus that feels like it was sung into the dark sky, the sound of rebellion that carries its own weight. These are the songs that put a cowboy hat on rock without asking if it fits. Here are the best rock songs that capture cowboy energy for your playlist.

1. 'Cowboy Song' by Thin Lizzy

2. 'Wanted Dead or Alive' by Bon Jovi

3. 'A Horse with No Name' by America

4. 'Desperado' by Eagles

5. 'Cowboys from Hell' by Pantera

6. 'I Wanna Be a Cowboy' by Boys Don't Cry

7. 'Midnight Cowboy' by John Barry

8. 'Wild West Hero' by Electric Light Orchestra

9. 'Cowboy Movie' by David Crosby

10. 'Space Cowboy' by Steve Miller Band

11. 'Ghost Riders in the Sky' by Johnny Cash

12. 'Cowboy' by The Sugarcubes

13. 'Broken Down Cowboy' by The Rolling Stones

14. 'The Last Cowboy Song' by The Highwaymen

15. 'Cowgirl in the Sand' by Neil Young

16. 'The Cowboy' by The Offspring

17. 'Rhinestone Cowboy' by Glen Campbell

18. 'El Paso' by Marty Robbins

19. 'Cosmic Cowboy, Pt. 1' by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

20. 'Cowboy Casanova' by Carrie Underwood

21. 'Mama Said' by Metallica

22. 'Cowboy' by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

23. 'Rock and Roll Cowboy' by Jason Aldean

24. 'Piss up a Rope' by Ween

25. 'Big Iron' by Marty Robbins

26. 'Outlaw Man' by Eagles

27. 'Western Stars' by Bruce Springsteen

28. 'Modern Day Cowboy' by Tesla

29. 'Red Dead Redemption' by Bill Elm & Woody Jackson

30. 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' by The Charlie Daniels Band

31. 'The Cowboy' by The Wallflowers

32. 'This Cowboy's Hat' by Chris LeDoux

33. 'Wild Horses' by The Rolling Stones

34. 'The Man Comes Around' by Johnny Cash

35. 'God’s Gonna Cut You Down' by Johnny Cash

36. 'Cowboy' by The Doors

37. 'Me and My Uncle' by The Grateful Dead

38. 'Cocaine' by Eric Clapton

39. 'Cowboy' by Kid Rock

40. 'Back in the Saddle Again' by Gene Autry

41. 'Don't Take Your Guns to Town' by Johnny Cash

42. 'Pancho and Lefty' by Townes Van Zandt

43. 'Cowboy' by Def Leppard

44. 'Cowboy Song' by Faith No More

45. 'Saddle Up the Horse' by The Waterboys

46. 'Cowboys & Indians' by Robin Scott

47. 'Texas Flood' by Stevie Ray Vaughan

48. 'The Ballad of Billy the Kid' by Billy Joel

49. 'The Highwayman' by The Highwaymen

50. 'Cowboy Junkies Lament' by Cowboy Junkies