Songfacts®:

• This song was co-penned by Garth Brooks with Bryan Kennedy. The Louisiana native previously collaborated with the country star on his hit singles "Good Ride Cowboy," "The Beaches of Cheyenne," and "American Honky Tonk Bar Association."
• According to Brooks, the song title says it all. "It's a cowboy's look at Shakespeare and his work," he explained. "It's a love story between a young lady and a sport she loves: rodeo."
• The song has a definite swing influence. "I haven't heard swing in a million years," said Brooks, "and it feels so fresh on this record."
• Rodeo contests began in the early days of the cattle industry when men gathered in cow towns at roundup time. Following the American Civil War, rodeo competitions emerged, with the first held in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1872.
  
  In 1882 a rodeo sponsored by Buffalo Bill Cody at North Platte, Nebraska., attracted 1,000 contestants. Its success prompted Cody to open his traveling Wild West show.
  
  The first professional rodeo, which charged admission and awarded trophies was held on July 4, 1881 in Prescott, Arizona.
  
  Other rodeo songs on our database include:
  
  "Amarillo By Morning" by George Strait (About a rodeo cowboy's life on the road and how he "lost a wife and a girlfriend somewhere along the way").
  
  "I Can Still Make Cheyenne" by George Strait (About the life and sacrifice of a rodeo cowboy).
  
  "Cowboy Attitude" by Andy Hersey (Poking fun at the cowboy attitude that some of the rodeo-ers adopt).
  
  "Texas In 1880" by Foster & Lloyd (A rodeo song about people who are willing to sacrifice everything for a dream).