"The Beaches of Cheyenne" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

. It was released in December 1995 as the third single from his sixth studio album '' Fresh Horses''. The song became Brooks's 15th ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Number One hit in March 1996. The song was written by Brooks, Dan Roberts and Bryan Kennedy.

Background and writing

On the 1995 TV special, ''The Garth Brooks Story'', Garth explains that the song's meaning did not end up the way he planned: " t wassupposed to be real funny. Kind of like cowboys on the beach, kind of, swingin' kind of thing. Then it went to a guy on the beach that would come home from a suit and tie job. He never had any cowboy talents, but he always wanted to be one. So he just comes home, slips off his shoes and goes out and walks on the beach and dreams of Wyoming and stuff. Then out of just a fluke, one time passing through, it came with...every night she walks the beaches of Cheyenne. We looked at each other and said, "This ain't gonna be funny, boys."

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

, is home to Cheyenne Frontier Days, one of the most notable rodeo events that takes place every summer.

Content

"The Beaches of Cheyenne" is a mid-tempo set in the key of

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

. Brooks's vocals range from C4 (

middle C C or Do is the first note of the C major scale, the third note of the A minor scale (the relative minor of C major), and the fourth note (G, A, B, C) of the Guidonian hand, commonly pitched around 261.63 Hz. The actual frequency has d ...

) to E5. The lyrics describe a woman who "just went crazy" after her husband decides to participate in a

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

against her wishes in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, and is killed in the

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

event after he "drew a bull no man could ride". The grieving woman, distraught that her last words to her husband were "I don't give a damn if you never come back from Cheyenne", ran out into the ocean. Although her body was never found (it's suggested she may even still be alive), the narrator explains that "If you go down by the water / You'll see her footprints in the sand / 'Cause every night she walks the beaches of Cheyenne."

Track listing

European EP single #"The Beaches of Cheyenne" #" Standing Outside The Fire" #"

If Tomorrow Never Comes "If Tomorrow Never Comes" is a song by American country music artist Garth Brooks. Written by Garth Brooks and Kent Blazy, it was released in August 1989 as the second single from his self-titled debut album. The track was his first number-one s ...

" U.S. DJ promo CD single Capitol D-Pro-10332, 1996 #"The Beaches of Cheyenne" - 4:11 U.S. 7" jukebox single Capitol Nashville 19022, 1996 #"The Beaches of Cheyenne" - 4:13 #"Ireland"

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

considered "The Beaches of Cheyenne" one of the stronger tracks on the album, saying that Brooks "let his guard down" because, unlike the rest of the album, he was not "trying too hard." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' critic Alanna Nash called it a "confusing ghost story."

Chart history

The song debuted on the ''

'' country charts on the week of December 9, 1995, along with four album cuts from ''Fresh Horses'': "The Old Stuff", "Rollin'", " It's Midnight Cinderella" and " That Ol' Wind", of which the latter two were later released as singles. On the chart week of March 16, 1996, it became Brooks's fifteenth ''Billboard'' Number One hit, holding the position for one week.

Chart positions

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaches Of Cheyenne 1996 singles 1995 songs Country ballads 1990s ballads Garth Brooks songs Songs written by Garth Brooks Song recordings produced by Allen Reynolds Capitol Records Nashville singles Songs about beaches Songs about Wyoming