--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I'd been a cowboy, it might've ended…" description: "\"“If I'd been a cowboy, it might've ended well. Somewhere on the ramble, I'm sure I'd have to sell My guns along the highway. My coins to the table To m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/dylan-thomas-mccall-106512_childhood_if-i-d-been-a-cowboy-it-might-ve-ended-w_1418284.jpg" --- # If I'd been a cowboy, it might've ended well. Somewhere on… ![“If I'd been a cowboy, it might've ended well. Somewhere on the ramble, I'm sure I'd have to sell My guns along the highway. My coins to the table To make a gambler's double, I'd double debts to pay. Prob'ly shrink and slink away, It mightn't've ended well. What If I'd been a sailor? I think it…” quote by Dylan Thomas McCall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/dylan-thomas-mccall-106512_childhood_if-i-d-been-a-cowboy-it-might-ve-ended-w_1418284.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/dylan-thomas-mccall-106512_childhood_if-i-d-been-a-cowboy-it-might-ve-ended-w_1418284.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/dylan-thomas-mccall-106512_childhood_if-i-d-been-a-cowboy-it-might-ve-ended-w_1418284.jpg) > ““If I'd been a cowboy, it might've ended well. Somewhere on the ramble, I'm sure I'd have to sell My guns along the highway. My coins to the table To make a gambler's double, I'd double debts to pay. Prob'ly shrink and slink away, It mightn't've ended well. What If I'd been a sailor? I think it might've ended well. From August to May For a searat of man drifting through eternal blue, aboard the finest Debris. I might've called the shanties. From daybreak to storm's set, lines stay Taught, over rhythm unbroken. But, oh, there's a schism unspoken, a mighty calling of the lee. An absentminded Pirate, unaccustomed to the sea; To the land, a traitor. I think it mightn't've ended well. What might've worked for me? What might've ended well? Soldier, to bloody sally forth through hell? Teacher of glorious stories to tell? Man of gold, or stores to sell? Lover to a gentle belle? Maybe a camel; A seashell. What mightn't've been a life where it mightn't've ended well?”” Dylan Thomas McCall ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator muses on alternate lives as a cowboy, sailor, or other roles, reflecting on choices, fate, and missed opportunities. **In simple terms:** Imagining different paths reveals regrets and what‑ifs. Key Takeaway Reflect on choices and accept life's uncertainties. Themes choice fate regret identity possibility imagination Mood nostalgic reflective thoughtful Type Childhood:0 Choices:1 Choices-and-consequences:1 Doubting:0 Ended:0 Fate:1 Life:1 Wondering:1 Ve Ended:0 Ended Sailor:0 Sailor Think:0 Ended Ramble:0 When to use this quote - career decisions - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts philosophy literature psychology Questions to Reflect On - What would you change if you could? - How can you find meaning in your current path? A Different Perspective Focusing on “what if” can hinder present action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Choices-and-consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices-and-consequences/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“No, not me…no….because I've already ended, and been given a new life, one that never ends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theimmortals3000/no-not-me-no-because-i-ve-already-ended-and-been-given-a-new-life-one/) TheImmortals3000 > [Every movie I've been in has ended up on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/every-movie-i-ve-been-in-has-ended-up-on-television/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [“Choices made, whether bad or good, follow you forever and affect everyone in their path one way or another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-e-b-spredemann/choices-made-whether-bad-or-good-follow-you-forever-and-affect/) [J.E.B. Spredemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-e-b-spredemann/) > [“Because I don’t even know if this life is right for me anymore. I don’t know what I want to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-i-don-t-even-know-if-this-life-is-right-for-me-anymore-i-don/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Your life is determined by the sum of the choices that YOU make.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/your-life-is-determined-by-the-sum-of-the-choices-that-you-make/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [“Have no regrets in life because of the choices you make. Good or bad, they are a learning experience, to help you grow. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hauenstein/have-no-regrets-in-life-because-of-the-choices-you-make-good-or-bad/) [James Hauenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hauenstein/) > [“How could he know this new dawn's light would change his life forever? 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Everyone have the free willing to chose which kind of life he wanna live, to be remembered or forgotten”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-hachemi-sabi/everyone-have-the-free-willing-to-chose-which-kind-of-life-he-wanna/) El hachemi Sabi > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) ## More by Dylan Thomas McCall > [“Craft the finest arrow Forage jungles for straightest shaft Forge sharpest head of glass Pluck feathers of the wisest crow Without the simplest archer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas-mccall/craft-the-finest-arrow-forage-jungles-for-straightest-shaft-forge/) Dylan Thomas McCall Explore all 2 Dylan Thomas McCall quotes ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. 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Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I'd been a cowboy, it might've ended well. Somewhere on the ramble, I'm sure I'd have to sell My guns along the highway. My coins to the table To make a gambler's double, I'd double debts to pay. Prob'ly shrink and slink away, It mightn't've ended well. What If I'd been a sailor? I think it might've ended well. From August to May For a searat of man drifting through eternal blue, aboard the finest Debris. I might've called the shanties. From daybreak to storm's set, lines stay Taught, over rhythm unbroken. But, oh, there's a schism unspoken, a mighty calling of the lee. 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