All hat, no cattle is a term that is often synonymous with “poser” or “imitator,” used to call out those unable to fill certain boots.
With the recent rise of Western wear producing a fleet of concrete cowpokes, and as more cross-genre stars try on country music for size, the phrase rears its accusatory head fairly frequently today. It’s a way to put interlopers in their place, corralling the truest and bluest from those merely passing through.
Joshua Hedley borrows the expression for his third studio effort, All Hat, not to make a case for himself but to cop to the obvious. He may be all gusto with no real giddy-up – on the album’s title track, he boldly croons: “I ain’t milked a cow, I ain’t pushed a cart / But one thing’s for certain I look the part ” – and that’s quite alright with him.
