George Strait is usually at the top of the charts whenever he releases a single, making him a legendary artist. He has had 44 number one hits in his music career, more than any other country artists. However, one of Strait’s most saddest and heartbreaking songs is not included in the statistic.

In 1996, George Strait released I Can Still Make Cheyenne as the third single from the Blue Clear Sky album. The song was written by Aaron Baker and Erv Woolsey, the latter having being one of Strait’s managers. It is not known how the song was written, but one can speculate that there is is a real life event that triggered the concept of the song. The song is about a rodeo cowboy going through heartache.

The song is a phone exchange between a couple. The rodeo cowboy expresses his regrets for being out on the road but assures his spouse that he wants to be with her and will return home. However, he notices some hesitation in her voice and asks”… honey is there something wrong”. The chorus then  leads to her saying that she had found someone new. He replies that he will go onto compete in the Cheyenne rodeo.

This would have been a huge sacrifice for his career, as the Cheyenne rodeo is one of the crown jewels in that realm. This makes the listener to decide if the cowboy was neglectful when it came to their relationship, or she was tired of him living the rodeo life and found someone who ” is sure ain’t no rodeo man”.

Dispte being a popular song, and having that classic George Strait signature sound with the soft fiddle, I Can Still Make Cheyenne didnt earn Strait a #1 hit. The song debuted at the 74th spot on the US Hot Country Songs chart and spent a total of 20 weeks on the charts. On November 23rd, 1996 the song peaked at the 4th spot of the charts, behind (1) Strawberry Wine by Deana Carter, (2) Lonely Too Long by Patty Loveless and (3) Little Bitty by Alan Jackson.