My old hat

My Old Hat
My old hat may not look like much with all it's sweat stains, crimps, and tears
And I've had people look at it, some have smiled, some have laughed, and some have jeered
For some a hat is just another piece of attire
But to me you see it's much, much more
For my old hat states to the world who I am, where I've been, and exactly what I stand for
Just like so many others who have gone on before
I had a man one time, he worked for a prop company away out west in L.A., he wanted to buy my old hat so some actor could wear it in a movie and really look the part
I guess looking from his point of view that's kind of smart
Buy'em from the folks that actually use a hat each and every day
Doing jobs like fixing fence, doctoring cows, and feeding hay
He said he liked my old hat, looks like it's been there and done that
Boy when he said what he said he said a matter of a fact
Through rain and snow, heat and cold my old hat's always been there atop my head shedding rain and shading sun so's I could do what had to be done
It's been stomped by broncs, dropped in mud and used to fan a fire
It used to say Bailey on the liner in the top but the words have all faded from years of sweat of all the trails I've traveled down, endless nights and long, long miles dragging horses here and there
If you look at my old hat you'd think I've traveled everywhere
Some folks they said they wanted to buy me a new hat and me I could not see the use
The one I am wearing now was new one time and it took this long so's it fits my head just right
An old hat may not seem like much but wrapped up in all that straw or felt is a well of memories left to tell
My old hat was there the day my son was born it was on my head as I cried tears of joy
I was wearing it the day that grandpa died, yea sometimes you feel it way deep down inside
My old hat has covered my heart when the preacher prayed or when someone sang the Star Spangled Banner and Old Glory waved
It sets on the floor under my chair every Sunday at church or at dinner over to the folks, you wear a hat at mamma's table and it won't be no joke
I've had babies to wear it and even chew on it a time or two, yea those are images you take with you as you go along in life and think about when you have nothing else to do
To say my old hat's been there and done that well I don't know if it's words enough
If it could talk, Oh! The stories it could tell, things I dare not utter for fear some would call me a liar ah it's just as well
So as I retire my old hat and break another in I guess I'll hang it on the wall to let others walk by and wonder about where and all it's been and let it tell it's stories to all who care to look but they will never see the journey that my old hat has took