New York City and cowboys might not sound like an obvious combination, but Dave Goddess Group has never needed to look far for a good American story.
“Last of the West Side Cowboys” draws on a fascinating piece of New York history, turning the final days of the city’s real-life West Side Cowboys into a character-driven roots-rock story that feels perfectly at home in the band’s catalog.
Dave Goddess first discovered the story while living on 10th Avenue in New York City. Long before today’s West Side took shape, freight trains traveled directly along the avenue carrying goods from the Meatpacking District towards Midtown. The route became so dangerous that it earned the nickname “Death Avenue.” In response, riders known as the West Side Cowboys were employed to travel ahead of the trains, waving lanterns and warning people to clear the tracks.
It’s the kind of image that almost sounds fictional. The cowboys operated from 1850 until 1941, eventually becoming unnecessary as New York moved the trains away from street level. Their final ride was made by George Hayde on a horse named Cyclone, giving Goddess the character he needed to transform a piece of history into a song.
From there, he imagined a wider life for Hayde and placed him inside the changing New York of the era. But underneath the history sits an idea that remains surprisingly current.
“Last of the West Side Cowboys” became just as much about obsolescence as it was about cowboys. What happens to a working person when progress suddenly means their job no longer exists? It’s a question that belonged to Hayde’s imagined world, but one that continues to follow each new generation as industries and technology change.
That mixture of history, working-class storytelling and American roots feels particularly suited to Dave Goddess Group.
Originally from Eastern Pennsylvania before moving to New York City, Goddess formed the group in 2012, drawing inspiration from The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Byrds and Bob Dylan. Since then, releases including Something New, Beautiful World, Once in a Blue Moon, Back in Business and Kitty Hawk have helped establish their rough-edged blend of roots rock, Americana and folk.
Years of performing have shaped that sound too. Goddess has performed live music at every scale, from playing in front of 10 people to audiences of 10,000. Rather than trying to create something that appeals to everyone, he has increasingly focused on making music that feels authentic to himself and seeing where that leads.
Even the visual world surrounding “Last of the West Side Cowboys” stays close to its history. Its video was filmed among huge steam locomotives at Pennsylvania’s Steamtown National Historic Site, helping to bring some of the song’s imagery into the present.
For Dave Goddess Group, that’s ultimately what makes the story worth revisiting. The West Side Cowboys might be gone, but the uncertainty surrounding their final ride hasn’t disappeared with them.
More than a century later, “Last of the West Side Cowboys” gives an almost forgotten piece of New York another chance to ride.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2FXqf7ur5U764C7eatGWSq?si=8b060d31e8d04c29
