I was going to start this out by saying it’s been awhile since I put together a Top 10 favorite songs list for Cowboy Junkies, but some searching through lyriquediscorde has revealed that I’ve actually never put one together. I’ve written a lot about certain songs and albums of theirs, and I’ve included many Cowboy Junkies tracks on playlists made and shared here, but somehow I’ve never done a “My Top 10” for them. That musical wrong will be righted today.

Photo above, and cover photo for Cowboy Junkies – My Top 10 by Gie Knaeps.

In 1988, the year after I graduated high school, I picked up a cassette copy of Cowboy Junkies’ album, The Trinity Sessions. That cassette became a mainstay in my first car (the red Honda Civic), so much so that I ended up buying another cassette copy for my bedroom. I fell hard for the songs on The Trinity Sessions, and for Margo Timmons voice, a voice in a range that I sang in (always a plus for singing-a-long). Cowboy Junkies music reminded me of some of the classic country albums and artists my aunt and grandmother had. 8-Tracks and vinyl that I would devour whenever I stayed at their house. Their music also reminded me a bit of the Laurel Canyon 60’s folk music my mom played while I was growing up. There was more to it though. Something unique. A sound/style that would come to define a style of music I would become obsessed with in the 90’s. An obsession that has never ended.

The Trinity Sessions quickly became one of my all-time favorite albums. They hold a place on that ever growing list that will stick for always. I would collect, and love, their subsequent albums through the years, but nothing would ever replace their second studio album’s place in my heart. The Trinity Sessions has been, and I’m pretty sure will remain, my favorite Cowboy Junkies album.

All that said, there are other tracks on other albums that I have big, giant, hopelessly devoted to love for, including my #2 favorite song on the list below.

What are some of your favorite Cowboy Junkies’ songs?

Here’s mine…

Cowboy Junkies
My Top 10
June 8, 2021

Song 1: “Misguided Angel”
from the album, The Trinity Sessions (1988)

“Misguided angel hangin’ over me.
Heart like a Gabriel,
pure and white as ivory.
Soul like a Lucifer,
black and cold like a piece of lead.
Misguided angel,
love you ’til I’m dead.”

Song 2: “Angel Mine”
from the album, Lay It Down (1996)

“I search all the time on the ground,
for our shadows cast side by side,
just to remind me that I haven’t gone crazy,
that you exist,
and are mine.
And, I know that your skin is as warm and as real,
as that smile in your eyes.
But, I have to keep touching,
and smelling,
and tasting,
for fear it’s all lies.”

Song 3: “Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning”
from the album, The Caution Horses (1990)

“Lunchtime.
I start to dial your number,
then I remember,
so I reach for something to smoke.
And anyways,
I’d rather listen to Coltrane,
than go through all that shit again.”

Song 4: “200 More Miles”
from the album, The Trinity Sessions (1988)

“I got Willie on the radio.
A dozen things on my mind.
And number one is fleshing out,
these dreams of mine.”

Song 5: “‘Cause Cheap Is How I Feel”
from the album, The Caution Horses (1990)

“Half a moon in the sky tonight,
bright enough,
to come up with an answer,
to the question –
why is it that every time I see you,
my love grows a little stronger?
But, your memory leaves my stomach churning,
feeling like a lie about to be revealed.
But I’ll horde all this to myself,
’cause’ cheap is how I feel.”

Song 6: “Sweet Jane”
from the album, The Trinity Sessions (1988)

“You’re waiting for Jimmy down in the alley.
Waiting there for him to come back home
Waiting down on the corner,
and thinking of ways to get back home
Sweet Jane,
sweet Jane.
Oh, sweet, sweet Jane.”

Song 7: “If You Were the Woman and I Was the Man”
featuring John Prine
from the album, Black Eyed Man (1992)

“If I was the heart and you were the head,
would you think me very foolish,
if one day I decided to shed,
these walls that surround me,
just to see where these feelings led?
If I was the heart and you were the head?”

Song 8: “A Common Disaster”
from the album, Lay It Down (1996)

“A candle burning for everything I’ve ever wanted.
A tattoo burned for everything I’ve ever wanted and lost.
I had a long list of names that I kept in my back pocket,
but I’ve cut it down to one and your name’s at the top.”

Song 9: “Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis)”
from the album, The Trinity Sessions (1988)

“I only want to say,
that if there is a way,
I want my baby back with me,
’cause he’s my true love,
my only one,
don’t you see?”

Song 10: “Where Are You Tonight?”
from the album, The Caution Horses (1990)

“Where are you tonight?
When I left you in my dreams last night,
you promised me that we would be breaking free.
Where are you tonight?”

Cowboy Junkies – My Top Ten