15 Road-Worthy Cowboy Songs

i n t h e SADDLE C 15 Road-Worthy I O N W D B I O A Y Cowboy Songs N S S SUMMER RODEOS AND ROPINGS REQUIRE A LITTLE DRIVE TIME TO GET TO. HERE ARE SOME CLAssIC WESTERN TUNES FOR THE ROAD. By William C. Reynolds OR SUCH AN AUSPICIOUS OCCASION AS THE VAQUERO SONG the 15th anniversary of Cowboys & Indians Dave Stamey — Tonopah magazine, I figured we should celebrate with Dave Stamey is the Charlie Russell of cowboy music. His F a list of 15 great cowboy songs. These 15 words and music take the listener deep into the stories he memorable Western sing-a-long songs are perfect to load in tells. “The Vaquero Song” is an ode to the vaqueros of Old the iPod for some grand summer $4-a-gallon driving. Whether California and their mystical ways with horses and cattle. you’re headed to a roping or a local rodeo or just stuck in some rush-hour traffic on the way to work, these should bring a RANCHO DELUXE smile to your inner-cowboy. Some of them are classic oldies, Jimmy Buffett — Rancho Deluxe (Soundtrack) some are newer, and some may have you scratching your This title song from the 1975 film Rancho Deluxe is classic head wondering where they came party-time Buffett. It harks back to from. Consider these a start for those wacky 1970s, and while the film your own summer Ultimate Cowboy never really captured a wide audience, Collection. Happy trails! the film soundtrack did give us such standards as Livingston Saturday Night. SOMEDAY SOON Judy Collins — Colors of the Day: IN THE REAL WEst The Best of Judy Collins Tish Hinojosa — Culture Swing Many people have covered this Ian Tish Hinojosa is a folk singer who Tyson classic about the road life of records in both English and Spanish a rodeo cowboy and the girl who and has one of the most beautiful wants him to stay. Collins’ haunting voices in Western music. Her heartfelt version is timeless in its message lyrics tell the stories of the working and delivery. It’s Tyson at its best. people of the Southwest — on both sides of the border. EL PASO Marty Robbins — Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs PATRICK This unforgettable ballad became Robbins’ signature song Mike Beck — Mariposa Wind after its release in 1959. He was inspired to write the song There have been many songs written about horses over the having grown up hearing stories of range wars and cantina years. Mike Beck loves the world of the vaquero and the bridle fights from his grandfather “Texas” Bob Heckle — who horse, and this song is a fond and eloquent memory of a had experienced them all. favorite horse. J U LY 2 0 0 8 BACK IN THE SAddLE AGAIN purest sense, not in the many com- Gene Autry — The Essential Gene Autry mercials and videos it has been used Leaving Gene Autry off this list in, this classic sums up the essence would be an act of cowboy treason. of the romance of the cowboy life This classic “happy anthem” of for every kid who ever dreamed of the joy of being horseback speaks heading West. C of a simpler time in America when I O PRAIRIE IN THE SKY N W cowboy heroes kept our spirits high D B and entertained. Mary McCaslin — Prairie in the Sky I O It was a tough decision whether to A Y N S THIS COWBOY HAT include this version of the song or S Chris LeDoux — Chris LeDoux: The Tom Russell’s. But since we have Ultimate Collection another Russell song we tipped our “You’ll ride a black tornado, across a Stetson to the original. McCaslin is Western sky ... ” No cowboy song collection would be com- another folk singer who consistently grabs the hearts of plete without a song from the late, great Chris LeDoux. Westerners with her earthy romanticism. His was a life of inspiration for every cowboy who ever crawled on a bronc. Just LeDoux It! TONIGHT WE RIDE Tom Russell — Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs HIGH NOON Many of Tom Russell’s story songs make you grab for the Tex Ritter — His Best night latch and hold on for dear life. This song is no excep- Another film song that sums up the quiet strength of the tion and tells the story of Black Jack Pershing and the hunt cowboy is this song from the film High Noon starring Gary for Pancho Villa. By design it makes for a great road song. Cooper. Ritter’s voice echoed through the words about a cowboy who, when everyone else failed him, dug deep into FOR STRONG WINDS his own personal strength. Ian Tyson — I Outgrew the Wagon Tyson’s ode to a cowboy’s dreams has been recorded by the SOUTH COAST likes of Joan Baez, Sarah McLachlan, and The Kingston Ramblin’ Jack Elliott — Hard Travelin’: Songs by Woody Guthrie Trio, among others. Neil Young recorded it twice and and Others called it one of the greatest songs he had ever heard. Tyson’s This song by Lillian Boz Ross tells the story of a own version is still the best. cowboy’s life between California’s rugged Big Sur area and the little town of Jolon. It has been recorded by many, Lastly, including the Kingston Trio, but nobody does it better than Ramblin’ Jack. GOODNIGHT IRENE The Weavers — The Weavers Greatest Hits AMARILLO BY MORNING How can we end this dance without the final song? George Strait — Strait Hits Somewhere out West, on any given Anybody who has hit the rodeo road Saturday night after the rodeo, a with a truckload of cowboys, saddles, dance is being held — maybe at and gear bags knows the feeling Strait a local Grange hall. After all the so perfectly presents in this timeless encores, the band will play its good- road song. Gene Elder’s fiddle playing is night with this classic American song, as haunting as the winds of West Texas. and the assembled will find their way back to the pickups, humming a fond MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS farewell. Another Western tradition BEEN COWBOYS lives on, and we are the better for it. Willie Nelson — The Essential Willie Nelson Here is another song that simply To find these songs and more, visit Apple could not be left off of our list. In its iTunes or Amazon.com. COWBOYS & INDIANS .

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