Like so many country, folk and blues songs, the origins of Streets of Laredo, or Cowboy's Lament as it started life, are tricky to really pinpoint. A traditional cowboy ballad that has been tweaked, added to and recorded by pretty much every country influenced artist since it was first published in the early 1900s. To this generation, it was Johnny Cash including it on his Rick Rubin produced, American IV album (the one with When The Man Comes Around) that brought it to their attention, but asking around amongst various singer/songwriters it became clear that the Jim Reeves version was their most influential - but hey, you could call it a Johnny Cash, Burl Ives, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins, Waylon Jennings, Roy Rogers or Marty Robbins T-shirt if it makes you feel better.