"Ain't Always the Cowboy" is a song written by Brandon Kinney and Josh Thompson, and recorded by American country music singer Jon Pardi.

The song achieved similar success in Canada, giving Pardi his fifth number-one hit on the Country chart, and peaked at number 52 on the Canadian Hot 100.

The accompanying music video for the single, directed by Carlos Ruiz, features Pardi barrel racing.

[1] Thompson told the same publication that upon meeting with Brandon Kinney, he only had the title in mind, and after the two writers began drinking beer together, they came up with the idea for the song.

Butler chose for the song to be recorded at a faster tempo than the demo, adding prominent fiddle from Jenee Fleenor and a lead guitar from Rob McNelley, along with several backing vocals all sung by session vocalist Russell Terrell.