"Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other" (1981) is a song by Latin country musician Ned Sublette, whose music, according to Howard Cohen, features a "lilting West Texas waltz (3/4 time at about 60–90 beats per minute) feel". It is, according to Gene Tyranny, "the famous gay cowboy song". The lyrics satirize the stereotypes associated with cowboys and gay men, such as in the lyrics relating western wear to the leather subculture with the line: "What did you think all them saddles and boots was about?" Country musician Willie Nelson's cover (iTunes single 14 February 2006) is the first LGBT-themed mainstream country song by a major artist. The song has been recorded and released by Sublette (GPS: Life is a Killer 1982), Canadian alternative country band Lost Dakotas (Cargo: Sun Machine, 1993), and queercore band Pansy Division (Lookout: Pile Up 1995). Original version Sublette stated that the song is based on his experiences growing up in Portales, New Mexico: "I sat down at the piano and ... remembered what it felt like to feel different as a teenager, and the culture at that time, and I started to put those two things together and the song wrote itself". The song was written during the Urban Cowboy fad while living with his wife in Manhattan next to a gay country bar on Christopher Street called Boots and Saddles. He explains, "Gay life in 1981 was very vibrant in those days. It was part of the culture of the city and cowboy imagery is a part of gay iconography." He wrote the song with Nelson's voice in mind: "I was at the beginning of my songwriting career ... and used to like writing songs for my favorite voices. I've been a Willie fan since the '60s." In 2006, Ann Northrop of Gay USA described the lyrics as "the language of thirty years ago." David Nahmod, however, stated that he felt the lyrics maintain currency and say "a lot about gender identity and heterosexual elitism"; "The song aims to show Mr. Nelson's support for gays, particularly to conservative country-music fans", and suggests that, in addition to other causes, he supports gay rights. Willie Nelson's version Nelson received a tape of the song from Saturday Night Live Band bassist Tony Garnier after performing on the show in the mid to late 1980s. According to Sublette, "Willie took it from there" though Nelson recently