Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other

"There's many a strange impulse out on the plains of West Texas;
There's many a young boy who feels things he don't comprehend.
Well small town don't like it when somebody falls between sexes,
No, small town don't like it when a cowboy has feelings for men.

I know it sounds more like a Pansy Division song than a country song, and it is--my favorite gay pop punk band covered Ned Sublette's 1981 cowboy love tune back in 1994. In college I used the song in a photo history presentation inspired by the book Dear Friends: American Photographs of Men Together, 1840-1918. The above cowboy photo is actually a family photo my mom found for me of one of my relatives and a friend but I don't recall the caption at the moment.

But as you may have heard, iconoclastic country singer Willie Nelson has recorded his own version of the gay cowboy love song, which he debuted on the Howard Stern show back on Valentine's Day in a support/tribute to Brokeback Mountain, and which can be downloaded through iTunes. Which I did, and it's awesome.

The Boondocks has devoted an entire two strips to the song so far. Not sure what the angle is here besides snickering. And if you haven't already, check out my Brokeback cartoon.