Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads

by John A. Lomax, Alan Lomax

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Genres: Music, History, Poetry, Ebooks

431 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

John Avery Lomax was an American teacher and a musicologist.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed in this collection of cowboy songs and frontier ballads. I think it was all those ballads that got to me. Nearly every one started off with some variation of the words 'Come on, you boys, gather round and I'll tell you my sad tale.'

And they were mostly sad tales: of young men gone bad, leaving home to escape the law after 'just a little fun', leaving behind the perfect girl who (sometimes) promises to wait but (always) marries someone else before our hero can get home. A little bit of this kind of thing goes a long way, believe me.

As a matter of fact, the most interesting part of the whole book was the introduction, which gave a bit of history of the cowboy and his life, and explained that the night herders sang to the cattle to keep them calm. So it helped a cowboy to know plenty of soft, sad songs with lots of verses.

I recognized a few of the songs, and a few of the ballads as well, but most selections were new to me. I did have a bit of trouble with The Cowboy's Lament because I kept hearing The Smothers Brothers version of it no matter how hard I tried to screen their voices. The fact is, once you've heard them sing a song, you will never be able to hear the 'normal' version again without the other forcing its way into your mind.

I was moved by one song in particular, called The Last Longhorn. This breed was what used to fill the herds all of our singing cowboys tended, before the Herefords and other breeds were introduced. In this song, an ancient longhorn steer, the last of his kind, is being watched over by the last cowboy, who rides away after the steer dies, and promptly dies himself when his horse steps into a gopher hole and falls. This type of
accident happened a lot during cattle drives, so it seemed fitting here as well. The end of the poem (and the end of an era):

The cowboys and the longhorns
Who partnered in eighty-four
Have gone to their last round-up
Over on the other shore;
They answered well their purpose,
But their glory must fade and go,
Because men say there's better things
In the modern cattle show.

[Thomas Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads, Collected by John A. Lomax (1867-1948) and Alan Lomax (1915-2002), 431 pages, Dewey 784.4978, copyright 1910, 1916, 1938. 14th printing 1964.

What keeps the herd from running,
Stampeding far and wide?
The cowboy's long, low whistle,
And singing by their side. p. vii

From 1870 to 1890, 12 million cattle were driven from Texas to railheads farther north, typically in herds of about 3,000. Singing and whistling were essential job skills. p. xv. And composing songs, as poets lariat. p. 168.

Several versions of some of them:

Wake up, Jacob, p. 3.
Whoopee Ti Yi Yo, Git along, Little Dogies, pp. 4-7
Goodbye, Old Paint, pp. 12-14
The Old Chisholm Trail, pp. 28-41
The Dying Cowboy, pp. 48-51
Jesse James, pp. 152-158
Rye Whisky, pp. 163-166
Jack O' Diamonds, pp. 253-256
Old Rosin, the Beau, pp. 278-279
The State of Arkansas, pp. 283-285
Red River Valley, pp. 298-299
Sweet Betsy from Pike, pp. 388-391
The Cowboy's Lament, pp. 417-422
A Home on the Range, pp. 424-428

Doesn't have Don't Fence Me In, written by Cole Porter in 1934.


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[D.J. Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am grateful to Lomax for this work, who despite originally facing snobbery and elitism about his interest in preserving America’s musical folklore, persevered in compiling the cowboys’ songs while attending Harvard University. I give it three stars because it lacks attribution to the cowboys themselves, including the black cowboys, who shared their oral histories with him. His Forward hails and applauds these cowboys but unfortunately does not identify them by name.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t read this book. However, I want it saved so I do not forget about it, as it is quite and interesting conglomeration of old tunes. Also, it would be useful in writing an anthology of extinct species in North America as some of the cows sung about are not around anymore.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

✔️ Published November, 1910. Reprinted April, 1911; January, 1915. New Edition with additions, March, 1916; April, 1917; December, 1918; July, 1919. Reissued January, 1927. Reprinted February, 1929.
🖊 My review: Nicely written lyrics that are very American – reading this is a perfect way to end your day. Because there is no music notes published here, these should be read as poems.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🟢 E-book format found here on : Project Gutenberg .
🔲 Excerpts of note:
From the introduction:

🔹Cheyenne Aug 28th 1910 Dear Mr. Lomax, You have done a work emphatically worth doing and one which should appeal to the people of all our country, but particularly to the people of the west and southwest. Your subject is not only exceedingly interesting to the student of literature, but also to the student of the general history of the west. There is something very curious in the reproduction here on this new continent of essentially the conditions of ballad-growth which obtained in mediæval England; including, by the way, sympathy for the outlaw, Jesse James taking the place of Robin Hood. Under modern conditions however, the native ballad is speedily killed by competition with the music hall songs; the cowboys becoming ashamed to sing the crude homespun ballads in view of what Owen Writes calls the "ill-smelling saloon cleverness" of the far less interesting compositions of the music-hall singers. It is therefore a work of real importance to preserve permanently this unwritten ballad literature of the back country and the frontier. With all good wishes, I am very truly yours,
Theodore Roosevelt .

🔹THE HABIT
I've beat my way wherever any winds have blown,
I've bummed along from Portland down to San Antone,
From Sandy Hook to Frisco, over gulch and hill;
For once you git the habit, why, you can't keep still.
I settles down quite frequent and I says, says I,
"I'll never wander further till I comes to die."
But the wind it sorta chuckles, "Why, o' course you will,"
And shure enough I does it, cause I can't keep still.
I've seed a lot o' places where I'd like to stay,
But I gets a feelin' restless and I'm on my way.
I was never meant for settin' on my own door sill,
And once you git the habit, why, you can't keep still.
I've been in rich men's houses and I've been in jail,
But when it's time for leavin',
I jes hits the trail; I'm a human bird of passage, and the song I trill,
Is, "Once you git the habit, why, you can't keep still."
The sun is sorta coaxin' and the road is clear
And the wind is singin' ballads that I got to hear.
It ain't no use to argue when you feel the thrill;
For once you git the habit, why, you can't keep still.

✿●▬●✿●✿●▬●✿

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun. Free.

[Riley Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a good read for accurate history, but interesting to see the songs and learn from them directly!

[London · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had been judging individually the poems contained here, my ratings would have spanned from one to four stars. A brief explanation for my overall evaluation follows beneath. I hope it's helpful!

Lomax gathered these songs in the field with minimal censorship (ipse dixit), and because of this the range of views expressed within is quite understandable, even valuable, as a representation of the variety of the musicians' views and backgrounds. At the same time, however, this lack of selection ultimately pairs those songs that are intriguing and beautiful with those that are offensive, particularly in terms of racial slurs. These slurs are not heavy, comparatively speaking, but they are not omitted, either. In conclusion, this collection is interesting as a historical work, has great folkloric value on account of its authenticity, and is certainly worth reading once, but the audience's enjoyment of it is marred by the prejudices of some of the pieces. Until further notice, Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads has not made The Shelf.

N.B.: In the author's defense, it should be mentioned that it seems clear, both from his personal biography and from the fact that he interviewed many diverse sources and included their work, that Lomax did not share the biases that some of his sources did.

[Paul Pellicci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book for folk, rock and country fans. I say this because I found tid bits and even whole songs which have been doctored up for use by contemporary artist.

When I think of how many of these songs moved me in the past, thinking they were the brain child of one of my favorite artist only to find that they weren't original at all? Makes one think of them as mortals after all.

I still enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to budding song writers and fans alike.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

nonfiction (music history). Marginally good for song collectors, but of definite historical import for sure (and kind of interesting to learn more about cowboy history).

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cowboy Songs And Other Frontier Ballads (Paperback)
by John A. Lomax