“Mammas Don’t Let You Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” Co-Writer Patsy Bruce Dies At 81

Trey Bruce / Instagram

Patsy Bruce, a respected songwriter who wrote on the classic “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” has died at age 81. 

Patsy wrote the song “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” with her husband at the time, Ed Bruce. Ed recorded a version of the song before it was later made famous by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. The couple also co-wrote “Texas (When I Die),” which was a Top 5 hit for country star Tanya Tucker. 

According to Nashville’s Tennessean, Patsy served time as the Nashville Songwriters Association International president and held the title into the early 1980s. Patsy also spent time as a casting director for popular television shows and movies, including Urban Cowboy and Maverick. 

“I will miss so many things, but mostly our long conversations,” Patsy’s daughter-in-law, Laci, shared on her personal Instagram. “You could never run out of things to talk about with her, because she knew about everything of course! And always had the best advice, even when it was for me to just ‘get over it’! I learned so much from her…”

 

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A post shared by Laci Bruce (@lacibruce)

Relive one of Patsy’s most popular songs in the following video.