Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" is a country music song first recorded by Ed Bruce, written by him and his wife Patsy Bruce. His version of the song appears on his 1976 self-titled album for United Artists Records. In late 1975 and early 1976, Bruce's rendition of the song went to number 15 on the Hot Country Singles charts. This song was featured on Chris LeDoux's album released January 20, 1976, Songbook of the American West.

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys"
Single by Ed Bruce
from the album Ed Bruce
B-side	"It's Not What She's Done (It's What You Didn't Do)"^[1]
Released	November 15, 1975
Genre	Country outlaw country
Length	3:08
Label	United Artists #732
Songwriter(s)	Ed Bruce Patsy Bruce
Producer(s)	Larry Butler^[2]
Ed Bruce singles chronology
"July, You're a Woman" (1973) "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (1975) "The Littlest Cowboy Rides Again" (1976)

Members of the Western Writers of America chose the song as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.^[3]

Content

The narrator warns mothers not to let their children become cowboys because of the tough and rootless life of cowboy culture.^[4]

Chart performance

Chart (1975–1976)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[5]	15
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	36

Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson version

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys"
Single by Waylon Jennings with Willie Nelson
from the album Waylon & Willie
B-side	"I Can Get Off on You"^[6]
Released	January 1978
Genre	Country outlaw country
Length	2:31
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Ed Bruce Patsy Bruce
Producer(s)	Waylon Jennings Willie Nelson
Waylon Jennings singles chronology
"The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)" (1977) "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (1978) "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" (1978)
Willie Nelson singles chronology
"Something to Brag About" (1977) "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (1978) "If You Can Touch Her at All" (1978)

Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson covered the song on their 1978 duet album Waylon & Willie. This rendition peaked at No. 1 in March 1978, spending four weeks atop the country music charts. It also reached 42 on the Billboard Hot 100, and won the 1979 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.^[6] Also in 1979, Nelson's version was featured in the film The Electric Horseman with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. It is also featured in a 2015 TV commercial for the Volkswagen Passat engine.

Chart performance

Chart (1978)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[7]	1
US Billboard Hot 100^[8]	42
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[9]	33
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Top Singles	57
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	42

Gibson/Miller Band version

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys"
Single by Gibson/Miller Band
from the album Red, White & Blue Collar
B-side	"Johnny Get Your Gun"^[10]
Released	1994
Genre	Country
Length	3:27
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Ed Bruce Patsy Bruce
Producer(s)	Doug Johnson Blue Miller
Gibson/Miller Band singles chronology
"Stone Cold Country" (1994) "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (1994) "Red, White and Blue Collar" (1994)

In 1994, country music group Gibson/Miller Band recorded a cover version on its album Red, White and Blue Collar. This version peaked at #49 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and was featured in the soundtrack for the movie The Cowboy Way.^[10] It also appeared on the band's second and final studio album, Red, White and Blue Collar.

Soundtrack Games version

IN 2004-2005, this song "Mama's Don't let Your babies grow up to be cowboys" was sung by the late father Ed Bruce for the first time and was popular on radio K Rose by Mary-bell Maybell a game Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas.

Chart performance

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[11]	71
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[12]	49

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
2. Billboard. 1976-10-09. p. 43. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
3. Western Writers of America (2010). . American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010.
4. Randall, Alice; Carter Little; Courtney Little (2006). My Country Roots: The Ultimate MP3 Guide to America's Original Outsider Music. Thomas Nelson, Inc. p. 92. ISBN 1-59555-860-8.
5. "Ed Bruce Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
6. Whitburn, p. 209
7. "Waylon Jennings Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
8. "Waylon Jennings Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
9. "Waylon Jennings Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
10. Whitburn, p. 159
11. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2548." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. August 1, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
12. "Gibson/Miller Band Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.