He was born to slavery In the white man's Tennessee From a time that we won't know When we were so alone Headed to Texas after the war His freedom pushed him to explore A ranch hand that's much desired And quickly he is hired He was an underdog And you know what that means He was an underdog He forged a legacy He found his home right here On the Alberta frontier From Montana to Calgary His talents they did need He found Mildred and settled down Had five children, Toiled the ground Poor Mildred died in 1905 and John ain't far behind He was an underdog He came from slavery A black cowboy so strong He made his destiny When were underdogs He made a place for me His name forever carved Into our history He was an underdog He came from slavery A black cowboy so strong He made his destiny When we were underdogs He made a place for me John Ware is his name And we carry his legacy