FOLK MUSIC OF THE UNITED STATES Moti.on Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Recording Laboratory AFS L28 COWBOY « »lOlNGS~ ~ ULAID-~~

From the ArchiveofFolkCulture

Edited by Duncan Emrich

CollectedbyJohn A. Lomax

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON

PREFACE

With the single exception of "Colley's Run-I­ to the attention of the scholarly world and the 0," a traditional Maine lumberjack song in­ general public. cluded here for comparison with its western The voices of the men who sing these songs descendant, "The Buffalo Skinners," all of the are untrained musically. There is nothing here material on this record comes from Texas and is of the drugstore cowboy or of the sweet and sung hy Texans. All of it relates to the life of the PQlished renditions heard in the jukebox. These cowboy on the ranches and ranges, and all of the men sat on their horses more easily than any songs are sung by men who have, at one time chair on a concert stage. As a result, the listener or another, been closely associated with the cat­ hears---perhaps for the first time-the songs as tle industry, usually in a direct capacity as work­ they were actually sung in the cow country of ing hand or boss. With the exception of two songs, all were recorded on portable disc equip­ the West. The difference between the real folk song and the more popularized versions to which ment in Texas by John A. Lomax of Dallas, and Mr. Lomax himself sings "The Buffalo Skin­ he has been accustomed may come as a distinct ners." It is most fitting that his voice appears on shock. It will be no shock, however, to those this record, for he was-apart from early asso­ men whose roots lie in the cattle industry, who ciation with the then Archive of American Folk know the western land from Texas to Montana, Song-the first and greatest collector of the and who have participated in roundups, trail cowboy songs of the West. It was he who first herding, campfire relaxation, night herding, and "discovered" most of the songs on this record, bunkhouse entertainments of their own making. who rescued "The Buffalo Skinners" from obliv­ For these men-the old-timers and their imme­ ion, and who tracked down the men who com­ diate descendents-these songs are as true as posed-or made up in the folk manner-"Good­ the smell of saddle leather and the dust of the bye, Old Paint" and "The Night Herding Song." plains. Fortunately they h~ve been preserved Folklorists are indebted to bim for bis untiring for us, so that we may, vicariously at least, work as collector and for tbe many books and experience something of the real ways of the articles that brought the results of his findings early West.

General References for Study

In addition to the specific references which stand the full texts of the songs. John Lomax's may be given with individual songs, the follow­ Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (New ing books and journals may be consulted by the York: The Macmillan Company, 1910; 191 interested student. The Publications of the Texas pp.) appeared in its first edition without music Folklore Society (Austin, Tex.) has appeared but was later reissued (1938; 431 pp.) with as an annual volume since 1916 and contains music. It is the standard work. Additional bib­ much material relating to cowboy and frontier liographical material will be found in Vance songs, as well as to the general life of the cow­ Randolph, Ozark Folksongs (Columbia, Mo.: boy. Raymon R. Adams's Western Words, A Missouri State Historical Society, 1946-1950; Dictionary of the Range, Cow Camp and Trail 4 vols.) which lists, in volume I, various spe­ (Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, cial studies on cowboy songs; and in Charles 1944; 182 pp.) is the standard and highly read­ Haywood, A Bibliography of North American able reference work on cowboy vocabulary, Folksong (New York: Greenberg Publishers, most useful to the student who wishes to under­ 1951.)

1 At & A2-COLLEY'S RUN-I-O and moved to Texas via Michigan; it did not move THE BUFFALO SKINNERS from Pennsylvania, at least from our version given here, since the Pennsylvania song also The two fo ll owing songs are considered as a bears the date 1873. It is quite probable, how­ unit because the juxtaposition of them illus­ ever, that it went directly from Maine to Texas, trates, rather uniquely, a very nice point in the carried there by a lumberjack turned cowboy, transmission of folk song from one area of our who altered the song to suit the changed locale country to another. The first song, "Coll ey's and circumstances. We have, then, a song which Run-I-O," is not, of course, a cowboy song, jumped directly from Maine to three widely but a lumberjack or woodsman's song from scattered points-Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Behind the Pennsylvania version, Texas-and was not slowly diffused. [The mate­ in turn, lie the originals of Maine and England. ri al for this portion of the note has been drawn There is a Michigan variant to color the picture from the excellent article by Fannie H. Eck­ as well. A brief hi story of the song follows. storm, "Canaday I 0," in Bulletin of the Folk­ An original English love song, "Caledonia," song Society of the Northeast, Cambridge, appeared in print somewhere before 1800 in Mass., 1933, no. 6, p. 10.] The Caledonia Garland (Boswell Chapbooks, The opening and closing stanzas of the For­ XXVIII, I I , Harva rd Uni versity Library), and get-rne-not love song of the sea and the Maine this song was used as the base upon which was folk original are given here for comparison with built the English sea song, "Canada I 0," which the songs on this record. The Forget-rne-not was printed in the Forget-rne-not Songster, text, it will be noted, bears virtually no relation (New York: Nafis and Cornish, 1847, pp. 114­ to the very marked folk improvement upon it. 15) and elsewhere. The small pocket songsters of the period had wide circulation, and it is probable that a copy of the Forget-rne-not fe ll Forget -rne-not: into the hands of Ephraim Braley, a lumberjack Stanza 1 who lived in Judson, Maine. He was known as "a good singer with a comic and highly satiric There was a gallant lady, all in her tender youth, turn, who made up many songs about local She dearly lov'd a sailor, in truth she lov'd him people and events." In 1853 Braley and other much, local men hired out to go work in the woods And for to get to sea with him the way she did in the region beyond Three Ri vers, Province of not know, Quebec, and fo ll owing his return after the win­ She long'd to see that pretty place called ter, Braley composed the song on his experi­ Canada I O. ences, also calling it "Canada I 0." This song circulated only in oral tradition among the lum­ Stanza 6 berjacks. Maine lumberjacks, however, moved out of Maine fo ll owing the lumbering trade and Come all you pretty fair maids wherever you certain of them took the song with them to both may be, Pennsylvania and Michigan, localizing the song You must follow your true lovers when they are in each state with "Colley's Run-I-O" and gone to sea, "Michigan-I-O," respectively. The song next And if the mate proves fa lse to you, the captain turned up in Texas as "The Buffalo Skinners" he'll prove true, in 1873 or immediately thereafter, since within You see the honour I have gai ned by wearing the song itself we have "It happened in Jacks­ of the blue. boro in the year of seventy-three." We have, then, positive evidence of its creation in 1854 Ephraim Braley's Mai ne folk original: as a lumberjack song in Maine and equally posi­ tive evidence that in 1873-74 it appeared as a Stanza 1 "cowboy" song in Texas-in other words a twenty- y~ar span for its transference to the West Come all ye jolly lumbermen, and listen to my and its alteration. It is possible that the song song,

2 But do not get discouraged, the length it is not Our sweethearts they will welcome us, and bid long, others not to go Concerning of some lumbermen, who did agree To that God-forsaken gehooley of a place to go called Colley's Run-i-o! To spend one pleasant winter up in Canada I O. Stanza 11 A2-THE BUFFALO SKINNERS (II). Sung But now our lumbering is over and we are and recorded by John A. Lomax of Dallas, returning home, Texas, at Washington, D.C., 1941. To greet our wives and sweethearts and never more to roam, "The Buffalo Skinners," the Texas variant of To greet our friends and neighbors; we'll tell the Maine lumberjack song, was first discovered them not to go by John A. Lomax and was published by him in To that foresaken G-D- place called Canada the first edition of Cowboy Songs (Macmillan, 10. 1910). It was one of Mr. Lomax's favorite songs, and one which he sang very frequently for his own pleasure. It is most appropriate that he himself sings it here. AI-COLLEY'S RUN·I·O (I) (Lumberjack It happened in Jacksboro in the year of Song). Sung, with guitar, by L. Parker 'seventy-three, Temple at Washington, D.C., 1946. Re· A man by the name of Crego came stepping up corded by Rae Korson. to me, Saying, "How do you do, young fellow, and Come all you jolly lumbermen, and listen to my how would you like to go song, And spend one summer pleasantly on the range I'll tell you all my story, and I won't detain you of the buffalo?" long, Concerning some husky lumbermen who once It's me being out of employment, boys, this to agreed to go Crego he [I] did say, And spend a winter recently on Colley's Run-i-o. "This going out on the buffalo range depends upon the pay; We landed in Lock Haven in the year of But if you will pay good wages, give trans­ 'seventy-three, portation too, A minister of the gospel one evening said to me: I think that I will go with you to the range of "Are you the party of lumbermen that once the buffalo." agreed to go And spend a winter pleasantly on Colley's The season being over, old Crego he did say, Run-i-o?" The crowd had been extravagant, was in debt to him that day. "Oh, yes, we'll go to Colley's Run, to that we We coaxed him and we begged him, and still it will agree, was no go: Provided you pay good wages, our passage to We left old Crego's bones to bleach on the and fro, range of the buffalo. Then we'll agree to accompany you to Colley's Run-i-o, Oh, it's now we've crossed Pease River, boys, Then we'll agree to accompany you to Colley's and homeward we are bound, Run-i-o." No more in that hell-fired country shall ever we be found, But now the spring has come again, and the Go home to our wives and sweethearts, tell icebound streams are free, others not to go, We'll float our logs to Williamsport, have friends For God's forsaken the buffalo range and the we'll haste to see; damned old buffalo.

3 A3-GOODBYE, OLD PAINT (I). Sung, with Charley was working for my father in Bell fiddle, by Jess Morris at Dalhart, Texas, County, Texas, as father sold his interests in 1942. Recorded by John A. Lomax. Williamson County and moved over to Bell County, on Indian Creek, buying a black land In "Goodbye, Old Paint," we come, through farm in Bell County. Charley played a jews-harp, Jess Morris of Dalhart, Texas, which is up in and taught me to play it. It was on this jews­ the Panhandle, as close to the precise origin of harp that I learned to play 01' Paint, at the age the song as is now possible. Morris claims to of 7 (seven) . In later years I learned to play the be the composer of the song, and in terms of fiddle, and played 01' Paint on the fiddle, in my the folk tradition by which a song is recreated own special arrangement-tuning the fiddle ac­ as it passes from one person to another, he quite cordingly." rightly is, and no one would deny him the very As a footnote, Morris in one letter adds: pleasant honor which is his. However, Morris "Many publishers swiped my song and had it himself, being an honest and forthright Texan, published, and many old maverick 'Paints' has written us at the Library of Congress detail­ were running wild and unbranded." ing the full history of the song as he knew it. 1 Morris's brand on "01' Paint" is clear and quote verbatim from his letters, including also unmistakable: he has the oldest known version; some family background, since it seems of inter­ he traces it to what may be its point of origin, est: Charley; he made his own "special arrangement" "My father, E. J. Morris, landed in William­ for the fiddle; and he has, in the folk tradition, son County, Texas, in 1850, with a wagon train his own song. of immigrants from Springfield, Missouri. After locating a ranch on Donahugh creek, my father Farewell, fair ladies, I'm a-leaving Cheyenne, did farm and ranching, and for a while, around Farewell, fair ladies, I'm a-leaving Cheyenne, 1854 and on until the 60's, freighted from Goodbye, my little Dony, my pony won't stand. Houston, Texas, and the seaports, to Belton, Old Paint, old Paint, I'm a-leaving Texas, and among other things, he was a circuit Cheyenne, rider Baptist Minister. My father was in the Goodbye, old Paint, I'm \caving Cheyenne, Civil War in Texas and Louisiana, but really Old Paint's a good pony, and she paces did not want to fight against the Government. when she can. "After the Civil War in 1865, father hired an ex-slave by the name of Charley Willis­ In the middle of the ocean there grows a green colored-who was about 17 yrs. old, to break tree, horses for him. Charley was born in Milam But I'll never prove false to the girl that loves County, Texas, an adjoining County. Possibly, me. during the work for my father on up until Old Paint, old Paint, I'm a-leaving around 1891, when my father moved to Ama­ Cheyenne, rillo, Texas, Charley had gone up the trail to Goodbye, old Paint, I'm leaving Cheyenne, Wyoming-the neighborhood of Cheyenne. D. Old Paint's a good pony, and she paces H. and J. W. Snyder of Georgetown, Texas, when she can. . Williamson Co., were famous cattlemen & trail drivers. Snyder brothers, having driven their Oh, we spread down the blanket on the green first herd to Wyoming in 1867, but later in grassy ground, 1871, the Snyders drove ten (10) herds, con­ And the horses and cattIe were a-grazing all sisting of about 1,500 head in each herd, and it 'round. was [with] one of those herds that Charley took the trail, and on one of those trips, Charley Oh, the last time I saw her, it was late in the fall, learned to sing 01' Paint. She was riding old Paint, and a-leading old Ball. "I was born June 12th, 1878, in Wi lliamson County, Texas, just one mile and a half from Old Paint had a colt down on the Rio Grande, the line of Bell County, where Bartlett, Texas, And the colt couldn't pace, and they named it was at the time, and is now. In 1884, and 1885, Cheyenne.

4 For my feet's in my stirrups, and my bridle's in I saw the Yankees coming, I heard them give a my hand, yell, Goodbye, my little Dony, my pony won't stand, My feelings at th at moment no tongue can ever Old Paint ... tell ; I saw their glittering lances; they seemed to Farewell, fair ladies, I'm a-leaving Cheyenne, pierce me through, Farewell, fair ladies, I'm a-leaving Cheyenne, We fought full nine hours before the strife was Goodbye, my little Dony, my pony won't stand. o'er. In 1874 the Texas Rangers turned their atten­ A4-GOODBYE, OLD PAINT (II). Sung by tion to hostile Indians, and the present variant Sloan Matthews of Alpine, Texas, at Pecos, of the song first appeared at that time. Mr. Mat­ Texas, 1942. Recorded by John A. Lomax. thews's version is a brief three stanzas, but, My foot in the stirrup, my pony won't stand, nevertheless, succinctly gives the basic story. Goodbye, old Paint, I'm a-leaving Cheyenne, Come all you Texas Rangers, wherever you may I'm a-leaving Cheyenne, I'm off for Montan', be, Goodbye, old Paint, I'm a-leaving Cheyenne. I'll tell you of some trouble that happened unto I'm a-riding old Paint, I'm a-leading old Fan, me; Goodbye, old Paint, I'm a-leaving Cheyenne, At the age of seventeen, I joined the jolly band, With my feet in the stirrups, my bridle in my We marched from San Antonio unto the Rio hand, Grande. Goodbye, old Paint, I'm a-leaving Cheyenne. Our captain he informed us, perhaps he thought Old Paint's a good pony, he paces when he can , it right, Goodbye, little Angie, I'm off for Cheyenne. Before you reach you r station, my boys, you'll Oh, hitch up your horses, and feed them some have to fight; hay, I saw those Indians coming, I heard the savage And set yourself by me as long as you'll stay. yell, I thought to my so rrow, this is my time to die. My horses ain't hungry, they can't eat your hay, My wagon is loaded and rolling away, We fought them bravely all day long, and when I'm a-riding aid Paint, I'm a-leading old Dan, the battle was o'er, I'm a-going to Montan' to throw the hoolihan. · Such a like of dead and wounded I'd never seen before ; • "Hoolihan" is a form of bUlldogging where the [I thought] of myoId mother, in Texas she snout of the calf or steer is seized and pressed, did say, forcing the. animal's head to the ground and thus "You know that they are strangers, you'd throwing it, rather than twisting its head in the better keep away." common practice of rodeos today. I thought she was old and childish, the best she did not know, My mind was bent on ranging, and I was AS-THE TEXAS RANGERS. Sung by Sloan bound to go . Matthews of Alpine, Texas, at Pecos, Texas, 1942. Recorded by John A. Lomax. L: "How o ld are you, Mr. Matthews?" During or immediately after the Civil War, M: "Sixty-two." the hallad of "The Texas Rangers" first made L : "Sixty-two. How long've yo u been in the its appearance, presumably written by a fifteen­ West?" year-old soldier of the Arizona Brigade. It was published in F. D. Allan's Lone Star Ballads M: "Sixty-two years. Bad luck to be born any­ (Galveston, 1874, p. 38). The following stanza where only in Texas. Not bad luck, but mis­ from that hallad is clearly related to the second fortune. Some have to be born somewhere stanza as sung by Mr. Matthews: else."

5 A6-(I) CATILE CALLS: STARTING. Spo­ L: "Allright, allright." ken and illustrated with cattle calls by Sloan Matthews of Alpine, Texas, at Pecos, M: "Making the roundup. Well, for instance, Texas, 1942. Interviewed and recorded by you want to save a little ride out to one John A. Lomax. side, you'd start those cattle by hollering." As a matter of simplifying certain aspects of L: "Holler." their work with cattle, the cowboys developed M: "You'd try it anyway." individual yells and hollers, some of which, as used by Sloan Matthews, are given here. A L: "Holler. Turn yourself loose." broad collection of these calls would point up M: "For that purpose?" the fact that no two of them are ali ke and that each cowboy improvised his own, suiting th em L: "Yes." to his own mood of the moment and to th e rela­ M: " If I had a horse, I could." tive orneriness of the cattle. The calls in them­ selves differ; the tone of the night herding call L: "Well, do the best you can. Of course, is clearly distinguished frdm others by its sooth­ I . ..." ing quality, and it can properly be called a M. "For instance, if they's out there a hundred working lullaby of the plains. Texas cattlemen yards, and you wanted to save that ride. will recognize the authenticity of Mr. Matthews's [Calls) shouts and hollers and will also appreciate the difficulties under which he labored to reproduce L: "Well , now what would that make the cat­ them. " If I had a horse . ..." tle do?" L: "I'm particularly anxious to make records M: "They'd start." of all the calls that the cowboys used to control the cattle, to turn them, to quiet (II) Cattle Calls: Driving them, and maybe to stop them. Now go along and tell me about the different calls, L: ·'Mr. Matthews, I want to talk a li ttle and when you ... and illustrate your more about the cattle calls, how they were points. In handling the cattle, how'd you used, and then give illustrations of them." use ,the voice to control them." M: "Well, I'll first say that I'll imagi ne I'm out M: "Illustrate each one?" on a drive, which is a roundup, and cattle to one side anywhere from a hundred yards L: "Yes, well just say each ...." off to a half a mile, and I want to start M: "Uh huh.... To do that a fellow'd have to them. The holl ering I would do would be imagine that he could take it early in the [calls). Something like that, especially if morning when he'd first start on the drive, there was a rimrock behind them. The echo and then till he gets them throwed to­ would be double on that if you had to start gether. ... and then the roundup, during them down a canyon or up. Then, under the roundup, working the roundup, he other conditions, for instance after they had wouldn't use any calls. Probably they'd cut traveled a mile or two, and slowed down herd, and he'd start somewheres with them, down a canyon, and you was wanting to and then he'd use them. And then night push them up a little, it was [calls). That herding would be separate, or penning generally had effect on them." would be separate." (III) Cattle Calls: Night Herding L: "Allright, well go ahead and give the early morning calls ... I mean shouts that he'd L: "Now tell me about the night calls." use. Starting the herd out." M: "Well, if a herd was drifting or milling, I M: "Well, say we're rounding up, not starting would say most men would say [calls). herd. It's already loose." Something simi lar to that. And then most

6 men would say [calls]. Kind of a half way of When springtime comes, double hardships singing and half way of hollering . . . and begun, anything that would console ... that would The rain it's so fresh and so cold, sound easy enough to make .. . to not scare We almost freeze from the water on our clothes, the cattle and at the same time attract their And the cattle you can scarcely hold. attention, and let the cattle know that you're there, and let the cattle know that it is not Cowboys, take my advice, setting out for to something else, that it's a man on a horse. roam, And then the other call, in case of stam­ But you better stay at home with yo ur kind and pede, which I've often heard from boys and loving little wife. some men is what I would say taking hys­ terics. And it-I couldn't imitate it at all . BI-THE DYING RANGER. Sung by Johnny It's just a scream from the excitement, and Prude at Fort Davis, Texas, 1942. Re­ not knowing what they're. . . . I doubt if corded by John A. Lomax. they know where they're at, or what they're doing, or why they're hollering, or know Vance Randolph indicates that this song is a that they did holler." Western adaptation of an older song known as "The Dying Soldier." In the earlier song, the soldier is a New Englander rather than a Texan, and his enemies are "traitors," presumably A7-THE COWBOY'S LIFE IS A VERY meaning Confederates. In the various other DREARY LIFE. Sung by Sloan Matthews Texas versions of the song, the enemies are of Alpine, Texas, at Pecos, Texas, 1942. clearly stated as being Indians, whereas in the Recorded by John A. Lomax. song given here th ey remain "traitors." In other This song appears, without note of prove­ version s al so, the Texan is somet imes a cowboy nience, in Lomax's Cowboy Songs and in Lar­ and not a Ranger. This would indicate that the kin's Singing Cowboy. Both va ri ants are con­ present variant is descended in a fairly close line siderably longer than Mr. Matthews's. The from the original, and that the enemies are prob­ inexplicable "Chinaman's charms" is probably ably meant to be Union soldiers. Just as the the result of purely oral transmission. In Lomax, North used Southern songs, so also the South the line in question appears as "You are speak­ (Texas here) adopted Northern ones. ing of your farms, you are speaking of your The sun was sinking in the west, and it fell with charms"; and in Larkin, the line is "Talk about a lingering ray your farms and your city charms." The song Through the branches of the forest where a itself is a realistic account of the cowboy's life wounded Ranger lay; and offsets somewhat the glamorous picture 'Neath the shade of a palmetto and the sunset which has been built up in recent years. For silver sky, purposes of comparison, see John A. Lomax, Far away from his home in Texas they laid Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (New him down to die. York, J938, p. 15) and Margaret Larkin, Sing­ ing Cowboy (N.ew York, 1931, p. 39). A group had gathered 'round him, his com­ rades in the fight, Chorus: A tear rolled down each manly cheek as he bid You can talk about your farms and your a last good night. Chinaman's charms, One tired [tried] and true companion was You talk about your silver and your gold, kneeling by his side, But the cowboy's life is a very dreary life, To stop the life-blood flowing, but, alas, in vain It's a-riding through the heat and the cold. he tried. Early every morning, you'll hear the boss say, When to stop the life-blood flowing he found "Get up, boys, it's the breaking of day;" 'twas all in vain, It's now for to rise with your little sleepy eyes, The tears rolled down each man's cheek like And the bright dreamy night's passed away. light showers of rain.

7 Up spoke the noble Ranger, "Boys, weep no Up spoke Ihe noble Rangers, they answered more for me, one and all, I'm crossing the deep blue waters to a country "We'll be ti> your sister as a brother to [till] that is free. the last one of us do fall." "Draw closer to me, comrades, and listen to One glad smile of pleasure o'er the Ranger's what I say, face was ' spread, I am going to tell a story while my spirit One dark, convulsive shadow, and the Ranger hastens away: boy was dead. Way back in northwest Texas, that good old Far from hi:: darling sister we laid him down Lone Star State, to rest, There is one that for my coming with a weary With a saddle for a pillow and a gun across heart will wait. his breast. "A fair young girl, my sister, my only joy, my pride, B2-THE DYING COWBOY. Sung by Sloan She was my friend from boyhood, I have no Matthews of Alpine, Texas, at Pecos, one left beside. Texas, 1942. Recorded by John A. Lomax. I have loved her as a brother, and with a father's care, "The Dying Cowboy" is a Western adapta­ I have strove for [from] grief and sorrow her tion of a song called "The Ocean Burial," Ibe gentle heart to spare. words of which were written in 1839 by the Reverend E. H. Chapin (The Southern Literary "My mother she lies sleeping beneath the Messenger, September 1839), and the music churchyard sad. for it was copyrighted in 1850 by George N. And many a day has passed away since her Allen. The very close relationship of the text spirit fled to God. is readily apparent, and these lines from the My father he lies sleeping beneath the deep earlier song will suffice as illustration: blue sea, I have no other kindred, there are none but "0 bury me not in the deep, deep sea." Nell and me. The words came low and mournfully, From the pallid lips of a youth who lay, "But our country was invaded and they called On his cabin couch at the close of day. for volunteers; She threw her arms around me, then burst into He had wasted and pined 'till o'er his brow, tears, The death-shade had slowly passed, and now, Saying: 'Go, my darling brother, drive those When the land and his fond loved home were traitors from our shore; nigh, My heart may need your presence, but our They had gathered around to see him die. country needs you more.' "0 bury me not in the deep, deep sea, "It's true I love my country, for her I gave my Where the billowy shroud will roll over me, all, Where no light will break through the dark, If it hadn't been for my sister, I would be cold wave, content to fall. And no sunbeam rest upon my grave." But I'm dying, comrades, dying, she will never [For full study references, see J. Frank Dobie, see me more, "Ballads and Songs of the Frontier Folk," Pub­ But in vain she'll wait for my coming by a lications of the Texas Folklore Society (Auitin, little cabin door. Tex., vol. VI, 1927, p. 173) and Vance Ran­ dolph, Ozark Folksongs (Columbia, Mo., 1948, "So, comrades, gather closer and listen to my vol. II, p. 184).] dying prayer, , Who will be to her as a brother, and shield "Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie." her with a brother's care." These words came low and mournfully

8 From the pallid lips of a youth who lay It must be obvious, even to those uninitiated On his dying bed at the close of day. in the folklore process of the transmission of material, that the present song did not originate He had wasted and pined till on his brow in Texas or the West. What cowboy, for ex­ Death's shadows are slowly gathering now ; ample, was ever buried to the sound of drums He thought of his home and his loved one nigh and fifes? The song actually goes back to a As the cowboys gathered to see him die. British ballad recounting the death and burial "Oh, 'bury me not on the lone prairie of a soldier. Here the military band is wholly Where the wild coyote will howl o'er me, appropriate: Where the grass ... sweeps .... and the Muffle your drums, play your pipes merrily, grasses wave, Play the dead march as you go along, And the sunbeams beat on a prairie grave. And fire your guns right over my coffin, "Then bury me not on the lone prairie There goes an unfortunate lad to his home. In a narrow grave just six by three, Where the buffalo paw and [on] the prairo The British ballad itself may have an original [prairie] free, Irish source, going back to 1790. In any event, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie. very noticeable changes occur in the song to lo­ calize it in cattle country. In the British ballad, "I've always wished to be lain when I die the soldier is found "down by Lock Hospital," In the little churchyard on the green hillside, and not on "the streets of Laredo" or "down By my father's grave there let mine be, by Tom Sherriman's barroom." Also, his death Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie. is the result of a slow and lingering social dis­ ease, the manner of death accounting in the "Oh, [give] me then a mother's prayer, British ballad for the "hospital." As the song And a sister's tear might mingle there, moved to the Southwest, it took on a variety of Where my friends can come and weep o'er me, local trappings-knife, six-shooter, cowboys, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie. gamblers, spurs, rifle, saddle, and card house-­ " ______may be shed all of them tending to obscure the British origin. For one who lived [lies] on the prairie bed; The song has, of course, in the process of trans­ It pained me then and it pained [pains] me mission become American, and it is certainly now- one of the half dozen most popular folk songs She had curled these locks, she had kissed this of the cowboy. For purposes of comparison, the brow. student should listen to the following Library of Congress recordings: "One Morning in May" "Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie on AFS Ll, and "The Dying Cowboy" on AFS Where the wild coyote can howl o'er me, L20. He should also consult H. M. Belden, In a narrow grave just six by three, Ballads and Songs (The University of Missouri Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie." Studies, vol. XV, 1940, p. 392). [Mr. Matthews's broken text-the result of for­ As I walked out in the streets of Laredo, getfulness and perhaps of initial misunderstand­ As I walked out in Laredo one day, ing as the song first came to him-is, from the I spied a poor cowboy wrapped up in white fo lklorist's point of view, an excellent example linen, of the folk process of the transmission of mate­ Wrapped up in white linen as cold as the clay. rial, and of what can happen by way of "recre­ ation" and of deterioration as the song passes Oh, beat the drums slowly, and play the fife from one person to another.] lowly, Play the dead March as you carry me along, Take me to the green valley, there lay the sad B3-THE STREETS OF LAREDO. Sung by o'er me, Johnny Prude at Fort Davis, Texas, 1942. For I'm a young cowboy, and I know I've done Recorded by John A. Lomax. wrong.

9 Let sixteen gamblers come handle my coffin, He as ked us for some breakfast, he hadn't had Let sixteen cowboys come sing me a song, a smell, Take me to the graveyard, and lay the sad o'er We opened up the chuck box, and bid him help me, himself, For I'm a poor cowboy, and I know I've done He took a plate of beefsteak, some bread, and wrong. some beans, And then began to talk about those fairy queens. It was once in tbe saddle I used to go dashing, It was once in tbe saddle I used to go gay, First to the dram house, and then to the card He talked about the weather, ropes, spurs, and house, other things, Got shot in the breast, and I'm dying today. He did not seem to know much 'bout working on the range, Get six jolly cowboys to carry my coffin, But he just kept on spouting till he made the Get six pretty maidens to bear up my pall, boys all sick, Put bunches of roses all over my coffin, And they began to study just how to playa trick. Put roses to deaden the sods as they fall. Oh, bury me beside my knife and my six-shooter, He was traveling across the country, straight My spurs on my heel, my rifle by my side, 'cross the 7 D's, And over my coffin put a bottle of brandy, It seemed he'd lost his job down on the Santa That's the cowboy's drink, and carry me along. Fe's, He'd had some trouble with his boss, he did not We beat the drums slowly, and played the fife state tne cause, lowly, But said he would like to get a fresh, fat saddle And bitterly wept as we bore him along, horse. For we all loved our comrade so brave, young, and handsome, We all loved our comrade, although he'd done "Yes, we can let you have one, just fresh and wrong. fat as you please." This tickled the boys almost to death, they laughed down in their sleeves, B4-THE ZEBRA DUN. Sung by J. M. Wad­ So Shorty grabbed the lariat, and he caught the dell of Kermit, Texas, 1948. Recorded at Zebra Dun, Washington, D.C., by Duncan Emrich. And turned him to the stranger, then waited for The "Zebra" Dun is, of course, a ready cor­ the fun. ruption of the Z Bar brand, and the song itself, according to Lomax, "is said to have been com­ Old Dun he's a rocky outlaw, and being very posed by Jake, the Negro camp cook for a ranch wild, on the Pecos River belonging to George W. He could paw the white out of the moon every Evans and John Z. Means." jump for over a mile, Whatever its origin , it is a favorite with cow­ Old Dun he stood quite still, and did not seem boys who enjoy a practical joke at tbe expense to know, of a greenhorn, and who also appreciate top­ The stranger had him saddled wheru he was hand riding when they see it. a-fixing up to go. Well, I was camped out on the draw at the head of Cimarron, But when that chap mounted, old Dun he quit Along came a stranger who wanted to auger the earth, [argue] so, He traveled perpendicular for all he was worth, He was an educated fellow, his words just came Old Dun he pitched and bellered, just like some in herds, yearling calf, And he astonished the natives with his big, jaw­ The stranger was sitting in ills saddle, just breaking words. a-twirling his mustache.

10 He thumbed him in the neck, and he spurred stage elaboration, and the point of ori gin may him as he whirled be Cheyenne itself. Mr. Stephens's introductory To show us flunky punchers he was the wolf of remarks, in answer to John Lomax's questions, the world, are entertaining and valuable comments on the Old Dun he picked up his head, and decided to real nature and quality of cowboy singing. His let him ride, statement that singing was done by the indi­ l! hurt the old boy's feelings, he'd rather to have vidual rather than the group may be underlined died. for the whole field of folk song in the United States, excepting, of course, the singing of re­ He turned him back to the camp, he'd pitched ligious and work groups. for over a mile, The stranger being very tired, though he began S: "Heard this up in Wyoming and Montana, to smile; up there on those cow ranges in 19 and 7. He rode up and dismounted. Said I, "You need L: "Well, when would the cowboys sing a song not go, like this?" I can give you a lasting job, and bank you up with dough. S: "Well, after they'd tied up their night horses, and the day's work was done, why, they'd " If you can sling the catgut just like you rode always build up a campfire and sit around old Dun, till they was ready to go to bed. Then they'd Well, you're the man I've been a-looking for just always see which was the finest sin ger and since the year of one." knew the most songs." "Well, I can sling the catgut and do not do it L: "Well, wou ld you sing this song all together slow, or would one man sing it by himself?" I catch by both fo refeet nine times out of ten for dough. S: "Well, they'd generally each one of them have such a different kind of tune that each "And when the herd's stampeding, I'm right one would have to sing by himself. Then there on the spot, they'd recite different st uff. They'd all come I put them back to milling li ke stirring in the from different places, and been all over the pot." West."

But there's one thing for certain, and that you L: "Recite? What kind of stuff would they re­ cannot scorn, cite?" All educated fellows are not greenhorns. S: "Well , some of them couldn't ... couldn't hit any kind of a tune unless they'd pack it over their shoulder in a gunny sack, so they'd just have to kind of say it. And they'd make B5-THE DREARY BLACK HILLS. Sung by out how they'd heard others say it in other Harry Stephens of Denison, Texas, 1942. places. They'd probably hit a little bit of a Recorded at Dallas, Texas, by John A. tune, but it wouldn't be much of a one." Lomax. Kind friends, you must pity my horrible tale, I'm an object of pity, I'm looking quite stale, "The Dreary Black Hills" is not, of course, a I give up my trade selling Wright's Patent Pills cowboy song, but it circulated among cowboys To go hunting gold in the dreary Black Hills. just as many other songs did. The reference to Cheyenne and the proximity of the Black Hills Don't go away, stay at home if you can, to cow country, plus the topical nature of the Stay away from that city, they call it subject, made the song a favorite. Of its origin Cheyenne, little is known, but from internal textual evi­ For old Sitting Bull and Comanche Bill dence, one can guess at a minstrel or vaudeville They'll lift up your hair on the dreary Black source. The words lend themselves easily to Hills.

11 The roundhouse in Cheyenne is filled every night this song, why, we always had so many dif­ With loafers and bummers of most every plight; ferent squalls and yells and hollers a-trying On their backs is no clothes, in their pockets to keep the cattle quiet, I thought I might no bills, as well have a kind of a song to it. So I Each day they keep starting for the dreary Black drifted on up into Yellowstone Park, and got Hills. a job a-herding stage horses for Wylie [Per­ mannin?] Camping Company. That was back I got to Cheyenne, no gold could I find, in 19 ... 1809 [1909]. So I had ... they I thought of the lunch route I'd left far behind; run out of timothy hay, and I had to herd Through rain, hail, and snow, froze plumb to the these horses day and night at double pay, gills, about sixteen hours. Well, I had all night to They call me the orphant of the dreary Black myself, and black gnats eating me up, and Hills. those horses didn't have sense enough to Kind friends, to conclude, my advice I'll unfold, stay together-they wasn't like cow ponies­ Don't go to the Black Hills a-hunting for gold ; and had to ride on the head of it all night Railroad speculators their pockets you'll fill long. So I went ahead and put this song to­ By taking a trip to those dreary Black Hills. gether after several nights' trying." Don't go away, stay at home if you can, Oh, slow up, dogies, quit your roving around, Stay away from that city, they call it You've wandered and tramped all over the Cheyenne, ground, For old Sitting Bull and Comanche Bill Oh, graze along, dogies, and feed kind of slow, They'll lift up your hair on the dreary Black And don't forever be on the go- Hills. Oh, move slow, dogies, move slow. Hi-yoo, hi-yoo-oo-oo, B6-THE NIGHT HERDING SONG. Sung by Woo-oo-oo-oo-oo. Harry Stephens of Denison, Texas, 1946. Recorded at Dallas, Texas, by John A. I've circle-herded, trail-herded, cross-herded, too, Lomax. But to keep you together, that's what I can't do; My horse is leg-weary, and I'm awful tired, Of "The Night Herding Song" little need be But if I let you get away, I'm sure to get fired­ said, since we have in Harry Stephens the author Bunch up, little dogies, bunch up. himself, a very rare and unusual occurrence in Yoo-oo-oo-oo. the field of folk song. Mr. Lomax originally col­ Hey, cattle! Whoo-oop! lected the song from Stephens when he was gathering material for his book of Cowboy Oh, say, little dogies, when you going to lay down Songs and, fortunately for us, recorded it in And quit this forever sifting around? 1946 together with Stephens's very interesting My limbs are weary, my seat is sore; Oh, lay down, dogies, like you've laid down remarks on its creation. before- L: "Harry, tell me :rbout the famous night Lay down, little dogies, lay down. herding song which you sent to me many Hay-yup, cattle! cattle! years ago." Hi-yoo, hi-yoo-oo-oo. S: "Well, we always got night herd years ago Oh, lay still dogies, since you have laid down, when they didn't have so many fences and Stretch away out on the big open ground; corrals, and that was the biggest job of the Snore loud, little dogies, and drown the wild cowboy. We generally have a two-hour shift, sound, and two to four men on a shift according to They'll all go away when the day rolls 'round­ the size of the herd. And when I made up Lay still, little dogies, lay still.

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Library ofCongress Catalog Card Number R53-318 rev

Available from the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library ofCongress, Washington, D.C. 20540