Where have all the cowboys gone

The cowboys are not really gone. This is a common misunderstanding. The cowboys have temporarily walked out of the scene like bears in winter.

You shall see, ma' lady, as the cowboys will be back, and you will be coming here again for help. 

In the song I think they were never really there. The speaker dreams of something she clearly will never get from her chosen partner. From the very beginning she sets a sort of contract with him, casting both of them as consumers-suppliers. It's interesting to see what she's willing to give up, in a way how his price goes up while hers goes down.

When asking where have all the cowboys gone I think she finds some sort of solace in the dream of a better and easier past, which in reality was never a part of her existence.

A harsher view might claim she's so caught up in the cowboy fantasy, she's giving up on facing the here and now, confronting her partner and actually setting her own worth not as a dreaming romantic stereotyped woman against the muscular horse ridden John Wayne, but as a full partner in a not so dreamy existence.

This is the Youtube :-)

and here are the lyrics:

Oh you get me ready in your 56 Chevy
Why don't we go sit down in the shade?
Take shelter on my front porch
The dandy lion sun scorching,
Like a glass of cold lemonade?
I will do laundry if you pay all the bills.

Where is my John Wayne?
Where is my prairie son?
Where is my happy ending?
Where have all the Cowboys gone?

Why don't you stay the evening
Kick back and watch the TV
And I'll fix a little somethin' to eat?
Oh I know your back hurts from working on the tractor
How do you take your coffee my sweet?
I will raise the children if you pay all the bills?

(Chorus)

I am wearing my new dress tonight
But you don't even notice me.
Say our goodbyes
Say our goodbyes
Say our goodbyes

We finally sold the Chevy
When we had another baby
And you took that job in Tennessee
You made friends at the farm
And you joined them at the bar
Almost every single day of the week
I will wash the dishes while you go have a beer.

Where is my John Wayne?
Where is my prairie son?
Where is my happy ending?
Where have all the Cowboys gone?
Where is my Marlboro Man?
Where is my shiny gun?
Where is my lonely ranger?
Where have all the cowboys gone?

I don't think the cowboys are all gone--got one that sleeps in my bed every night and one that washes the clothes whenever needed--Just have to look a little harder to see the bronzed skin under the shirt and dark hair under the cowboy hat resting on the sweat glistened forehead.   dorry

The Cowboycave: http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/washington-dc/white-house.php

Jewish cowboys to bring home to your mama can be found here: http://www.kinkeyfriedman.com/

I dated one for three years and we could have even married.  You just have you be open to the idea that they're still around, and if you're lucky enough, you just might come across one.  And if you're even more lucky, you might even get to date one.  Good luck my friend.