“As I walked out in the streets of Laredo

As I walked out in Laredo one day,

I spied a young cowboy, all wrapped in white linen

Wrapped up in white linen and cold as the clay.

“I see by your outfit, that you are a cowboy.”

These words he did say as I slowly walked by.

“Come sit down beside me and hear my sad story,

For I’m shot in the chest, and today I must die.”

“‘Twas once in the saddle I used to go dashing,

‘Twas once in the saddle I used to go gay.

First down to Rosie’s, and then to the card-house,

Got shot in the breast, and I’m dying today.”

“Oh, beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly,

And play the dead march as you carry me along;

Take me to the valley, and lay the sod o’er me,

For I’m a young cowboy and I know I’ve done wrong.”

There’s more, too much to include here.  The song is widely considered a traditional ballad, and the origins are not entirely clear. It seems to be primarily descended from a British folk song of the late 18th century called “The Unfortunate Rake.”  Here’s a sample of the English lyrics – definitely not for the kiddies.

As I was a walking down by the [Hospital]

As I was walking one morning of late,

Who did I spy but my own dear comrade,

Wrapp’d in flannel, so hard is his fate.

Had she but told me when she disordered me,

Had she but told me of it at the time,

I might have got salts and pills of white mercury,

But now I’m cut down in the height of my prime.

I boldly stepped up to him and kindly did ask him,

Why he was wrapp’d in flannel so white?

My body is injured and sadly disordered,

All by a young woman, my own heart’s delight.

Transported to America, the song evolved into a New Orleans standard, “St. James Infirmary Blues.”  Here’s a verse from the Louis Armstrong version:

I went down to St. James Infirmary,

Saw my baby there,

Set down on a long white table,

So sweet, so cold, so fair.

Let her go, let her go, God bless her,

Wherever she may be,

She can look this wide world over,

She’ll never find a sweet man like me.

“Streets of Laredo” is closer to the original.  The old-time cowboy Frank H. Maynard (1853-1926) claimed authorship of the revised version, but most scholars believe he edited an already existing song.  As for the melody, I’m a bit confused myself.  According to Wikipedia, the British ballad shares a melody with the British sea-song “Spanish Ladies.”  Since I wasn’t able to find the music I’m not sure it’s the tune used in “Streets of Laredo.”

Be that as it may, here are links to versions sung by two of our favorite cowboys, Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash.  Do you have a favorite version of this song?  Is there anyone out there who’s never heard it?

Enjoy.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L14UKBjC5Is

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSzfWLlvlAE

Dr. Higley, an Indiana physician and lawyer, left his practice in 1871 to move to the Kansas prairie.  He built a cabin on some land awarded him by the Homestead Act of 1862.  It wasn’t fancy living, and Higley’s parcel of land was small.  But evidently it was a beautiful place, with a creek running through it and wild animals, like buffalo, deer and antelope, roaming the landscape.

Dr. Higley seemed contented there.  He was so contented that one day in 1872, he sat down on the banks of the creek and jotted down a bit of poetry he titled, “My Western Home.”  It started like this:

Oh, give me a home,
Where the buffalo roam,
And the deer and the antelope play,
Where never is heard a discouraging word,
And the sky is not clouded all day.

The poem was never intended for an audience.  But one day a friend named Trube Reese dropped by the cabin for a visit, found the poem and convinced Higley to turn it into a song.  Higley got a fiddler named Dan Kelley to help him set the poem to music.  Here are a few more of the original lines:

A home! A home!  Where the Deer and the Antelope play,

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, And the sky is not clouded all day.

Oh! give me a land where the bright diamond sand Throws its light from the glittering streams,

Where glideth along the graceful white swan,Like the maid in her heavenly dreams.

The song was an instant hit.  Before long it had taken on a life of its own.  Settlers and cowboys passing through the territory heard the song and took it with them, adapting the lyrics to each new place.  There was “My Colorado Home,” and “My Arizona Home.”  Within five or six years, hardly anyone remembered who had written the original or set it to music.

The first commercial recording of “Home on the Range” was made by a Texas singer named Vernon Dalhardt.  More recordings followed.  By 1935, the song was everywhere.  Then an Arizona couple filed suit, claiming they’d written the song 30 years earlier.  An attorney doing research for the defense came across a copy of Higley’s poem in an 1876 edition of a Kansas newspaper.  Even with the changes over the years, the poem was close enough to the lyrics to establish Brewster Higley, who’d died in 1911, as the original author.

Early in the 20^th century, Texas composer David Guion did a new arrangement of the music and sometimes credited as the composer.  “Home on the Range” was adopted as the state song of Kansas in 1947 and is commonly regarded as the unofficial anthem of the American West.

Want to here it sung?  Here’s a link.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_YK7ebcZ2o

 The version I learned in grade school is closest to the one presented by folklorist John Lomax (1910).  Do you have any special memories of “Home on the Range?”  Do you think children still sing it today?

And along those lines, a friend sent the poem below to me and I thought it would be good to share it with all of you.  At the bottom, you’ll find a link that will take you to a video of a cowboy reciting the poem.  And as a bonus, I’ve also included a link to John Denver singing Christmas For Cowboys.

A COWBOY’S CHRISTMAS PRAYER
By S. Omar Barker (1894-1985)

I ain’t much good at prayin’, and You may not know me, Lord-
I ain’t much seen in churches where they preach Thy Holy Word,
But you may have observed me out here on the lonely plains,
A-lookin’ after cattle, feelin’ thankful when it rains,
Admirin’ Thy great handiwork, the miracle of grass,
Aware of Thy kind spirit in the way it comes to pass
That hired men on horseback and the livestock we tend
Can look up at the stars at night and know we’ve got a friend.

So here’s ol’ Christmas comin’ on, remindin’ us again
Of Him whose coming brought good will into the hearts of men.
A cowboy ain’t no preacher, Lord, but if You’ll hear my prayer,
I’ll ask as good as we have got for all men everywhere.
Don’t let no hearts be bitter, Lord.
Don’t let no child be cold.
Make easy beds for them that’s sick and them that’s weak and old.
Let kindness bless the trail we ride, no matter what we’re after,
And sorter keep us on Your side, in tears as well as laughter.

I’ve seen ol’ cows a-starvin, and it ain’t no happy sight:
Please don’t leave no one hungry, Lord, on thy good Christmas night-
No man, no child, no woman, and no critter on four feet-
I’ll aim to do my best to help You find ‘em chuck to eat.

I’m just a sinful cowpoke, Lord-ain’t got no business prayin’-
But still I hope You’ll ketch a word or two of what I’m sayin’:
We speak of Merry Christmas, Lord-I reckon you’ll agree
There ain’t no Merry Christmas for nobody that ain’t free.
So one thing more I’ll ask You, Lord: Just help us what you can
To save some seeds of freedom for the future sons of man.

* Hear a recitation of this poem

* Hear John Denver sing Christmas For Cowboys

I wish you all a very merry and blessed Christmas, filled with family, love and peace.

When I was a girl, I lived on a farm, so we never really vacationed much.  In the summer time, it was too busy.  In the late fall and winter, I was in school. There was the odd trip to the Annapolis Valley for apple grower field days in the summer. But I didn’t camp.

My husband’s family, on the other hand, camped A LOT. When we started dating, I suddenly learned what Coleman stoves and lanterns were for. How to put up a tent. The taste of bacon and eggs cooked in the outdoors. How you don’t touch the sides of the tent in the morning or when it rains or else you’ll get wet.  We moved out west and had kids and bought a bigger tent. Then we bought a tent trailer – a pop up that keeps us off the ground and has a table that works out dandy when it’s raining.  I love how I can leave my dishes and necessities in it and not have to pack them up every time.  It has burners but we still take the Coleman stove and use it unless it’s pouring down rain. It wouldn’t be camping without the camp stove.

One of my favourite camping trips ever was the summer before we left Alberta. We’d already spent a few weeks in the Shuswap area of British Columbia, but after being home a few days we felt the urge to hit the road again.  The husband left the destination up to me. I think for a while he regretted it, because I picked The Great Canadian Barn Dance  in Hillspring, Alberta – I think it was 2 or 3 nights camping and then a roast beef dinner and dance included.

Now my husband is a quiet guy.  The idea of going to a “group” dinner and then a barn dance earned me a few nasty looks. The girls, on the other hand, thought it sounded marvelous.

Southern Alberta is beautiful, and the campground was only a short drive from Waterton National Park. If you’re at all familiar, you’ll know that Waterton is on the Canadian side of the Montana Border and Glacier National Park. It’s absolutely stunning. And all around it is some of the most beautiful ranch country I’ve ever seen.

And the barn dance was great. First there was dinner – roast beef, potatoes, beans, coleslaw, buns….mmmm.  And Apple Crisp for dessert. Then there was the entertainment – the place is run by the Kunkel family and they’re all pretty talented. There’s an audience participation component (can you see my husband’s eyes roll again?) and wouldn’t you know he got chosen to play the “gut bucket” aka washtub bass. But he was a good sport.  After that the kids got a wagon ride around the place and then there was the dance itself.

Don’t worry if you don’t know how to two-step or line dance.  They’ll teach you.  They’ll teach you something called The Butterfly too.  A mutual friend taught me to two-step several years ago, but this was the first time my husband ever did it, and it was great. We left before it was over to put the kids to bed, but as we sat outside we could still hear the music.  We even shared a dance beneath the stars as the party ended.

Now that we live on the East Coast, we’ll probably never make it back there again. But I’m sure glad we went.  And glad we’ve got the memories. Heck, it even inspired one of my Romances that was out in 2009.

Our camping trips inspired lots of locations, sometimes just be exploring a part of Alberta or British Columbia and finding it particularly pretty.  Such is the case with my next Harlequin Romance, Proud Rancher, Precious Bundle.  It’s out in February, but it’s out this month in the UK as a Mills and Boon Cherish.

My husband, being a bit of a comedian, started singing the Mr. Ed Song. That led to all sorts of trivia questions about the old show. It also got me thinking about famous songs about horses.  The “Mr. Ed Theme Song” is on the list, of course, of course,  but it’s not exactly a personal favorite. 

Just for fun–and because I’m still up to my chin in revisions due May 30th–here are some of my favorite songs about horses:

No. 1 on my list is Strawberry Roan by Marty Robbins.  You’ve got to love a horse that can “turn on a nickel and give you some change.”  The song is about a horse no one can ride. Right away, I’m thinking about putting that horse in a book and pitting him against a hero with a lot of patience and a lot of love.

No. 2. is Silver Stallion by the Highwaymen.  You probably know this group is made up of Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.  Talk about the Mount Rushmore of country music!  This song is full of romance and adventure. When I need inspiration, I play it.

No. 3 always makes me laugh. It’s Beer for My Horses by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson.  There’s something wonderfully outlandish about the whole picture. I’m not the only person who likes this song. In 2003 it spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts. 

No. 4 on the list is a Golden Oldie from 1948.  Ghost Riders in the Sky is a folk tale about a cowboy who envisions red-eyed, steel hoofed cattle being chased across the sky by doomed cowboys. He takes it as a warning to change his ways.  I love the drama in this song.  It’s been recorded many times, but the version I remember is by Frankie Laine. Bing Crosby sang it, too. I can’t quite imagine that! I’ve also heard the Johnny Cash version. Very cool!

No. 5 on my list is a song that sometimes I like, and sometimes I don’t. I’m not generally a Rolling Stones fan, but their Wild Horses is classic.  Susan Boyle just remade it. She put a whole new spin on it.

That’s my list.  I know there are others . . . Garth Brooks has some horse songs.  The group “America” did A Horse with No Name. That song always bothered me.  I wanted to name the horse, of course, of course! Anything but Mr. Ed!  That’s my list.  Does anyone have titles to add?