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FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection

Date of Items: 1890-present
Register Prepared by: Randy Williams and Susan Gross, April 2004
Register Updated by: Randy Williams, 23 December 2009
Excel database transfered to MYSQL and uploaded (replacing PHP data): Colin Jackson, Fall 2010
MYSQL database updated: Randy Williams, January 2012
Linear Feet:20

Historical Note & Provenance

Folk Coll 11 is Utah State University's cowboy poetry collection. The collection, originally created by a generation donation by the L. J. and Mary Skaggs Foundation, includes books gathered during a fieldwork project in the early 1980s to document cowboy poetry in the U.S. west (see Folk Coll 11f). From this important fieldwork project came the impetus for the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering held in January 1985 in Elko, Nevada. Since that time, each January, the Fife Folklore Archives staff take the collection and Access database (that details each book, poem, author, first line and key words), to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering for offsite use. Through University purchases and generation donations from poets and collectors, this collection continues to grow.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of 20 linear feet of books on cowboy poetry, including press and self published works. The collection can be accessed through USU Libraries online catalog.


As well, poem titles and keywords found in each book in the collection are included in the database below. To use, type in the search term. Tip: Try and use an uncommon word from the poem to ensure less "hits." For instance, if you enter "boots" you will get many hits; but if you enter "bones" you will most liley get fewer "hits" or poems and find the item you seek faster. To return to the search page, click "home" at the bottom of the page.

Search:

Poetry table.

First Previous Next Last
IDBook TitleComposerIndexPagesAuthorPoem TitleFirst LinesKeywords
22502 Horsin' Around FC 11 C-53 18 Stu Campbell Catching a Horse Getting your hands on a horse for the day's work or just an afternoon ride can sometimes be a day's job in itself.
22503 Horsin' Around FC 11 C-53 21 Stu Campbell My Wife- the Unlikely Bronc Rider Prose: My wife, originally a city girl, used to think cowboys were a thing of the past, out of work since the last Indian uprising.
22504 Horsin' Around FC 11 C-53 23 Stu Campbell Hard Day's Luck Prose: Some days a feller shouldn't even get out of bed. I had one of those days not long ago. It started out pretty good- I saddled my best horse that morning- but that was the only thing I did right.
22505 Horsin' Around FC 11 C-53 26 Stu Campbell The Squeler and What I Finally Learned From Him Prose: A cowboy rides a lot of horses on the different outfits he rides for, some good horses and some not so good horses.
22506 Horsin' Around FC 11 C-53 29 Stu Campbell Wranglin' Dudes There are a lot of things that make a cowboy grow old: horse falls, buckin' horses, hard work and bad weather.
22507 Horsin' Around FC 11 C-53 33 Stu Campbell My Helper 'The Roper' Prose: I guess I shouldn't say anything about anybody's ropin'. I'm about the worse there is. I can catch 'em sometimes, if I get enough throws, but usually my arm gets tired before I can latch onto somethin'.
22508 Horsin' Around FC 11 C-53 37 Stu Campbell Lightning A Cowboy Never Knows When it Will Strike Prose: I've heard a lot of fellers brag about how they ain't scared of a thing, man or beast. I guess there's some people around like that, but I ain't one of 'em.
22509 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 29 Fred Lambert That Dad-Burned Little Pea The Chink was washing windows At the Cross-Bar Lazy B, When the foreman, Wild Hoss Charley, Pulled his queue and said to me:
22510 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 31 Fred Lambert Thunder Bird Tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom! Beat the tribal drums in the vale of the Pueblos; Wake the God of Thunder in the hills of the Pueblos.
22511 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 35 Fred Lambert Water Bound It was raining slow and gentle At the Cross-Bar Lazy B, When the foreman, Wild Hoss Charley, Pointed out--and said to me:
22512 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 37 Fred Lambert The Buffalo Hunt Oh, come with me to the years ago When the West was wide and the buffalo Roamed o'er the ranges, to and fro, With the will of their free endeavor.
22513 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 39 Fred Lambert Jog On, Jehosophat! Road gets roughter every mile; (Cluck) Jog on, Jehosophat, an' show some style. Mule gone lame an' hens won't lay; Corn's way down an' wheat don't pay.
22514 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 41 Fred Lambert Ruminations of a "Buster" The Chink was serving dinner At the Cross-Bar Lazy B, When the foreman, Wild Hoss Charley, Stirred his soup and said to me:
22515 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 44 Fred Lambert Calling Can't you sense a spirit sort o' speakin' in the trees, Just a sound of sighin' in the whisper of the breeze, Smoky haze a lyin' down the valleys an' the leas, And the fragrant breath of new mown hay?
22516 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 45 Fred Lambert Black Bart He wasn't a grizzled bandit With hardy bandit's poise, But ayoungster kind-a driftin' From his home in Illinois.
22517 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 47 Fred Lambert The Call Dreamy days Springy air Seems to greet me everywhere; Sort of want to drag about; Kinder feelin' all played out.
22518 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 48 Fred Lambert Sun of the West Good-Night Sun of the West, good-night, good-night! Orb of a splendid day! Slowly you sink from my eager sight Into the far away.
22519 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 49 Fred Lambert The Last Shall Be First We were fishing down a canyon On the Cross-Bar Lazy B, When the foreman, Wild Hoss Charley, Cut a pole and said to me:
22520 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 52 Fred Lambert That Dog-Gasted Saxophone We were playing penny ante At the Cross-Bar Lazy B, When the foreman, Wild Hoss Charley, Deat a par of kings to me:
22521 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 54 Fred Lambert The Pack Rat I sorter like a pack-rat-- Comic little cuss-- Gathers up the pinons Without a bit of fuss.
22522 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 56 Fred Lambert Sculduggery We were smoking after dinner At the Cross-Bar Lazy B, When the foreman, Wild Hoss Charley, Grinned a bit and said to me:
22523 Bunkhouse Tales of Wild Hoss Charley FC 11 L-37 58 Fred Lambert Adios (Good-By) Old West--good-bye; The night is falling. Go to your own where sunsets lie; From butte and plain sound voices calling The last farewell-- Old West--good-bye!
22524 Drift Wood FC 11 B-59 1 Lucy S. Burnham Drift Wood Like bits of drift wood toosed by the sea; These long lost thoughts come back to me; I gathered them in with a willing hand, A mound of drift wood upon the sand.
22525 Drift Wood FC 11 B-59 2 Lucy S. Burnham Life's Homey Things I love life's little homey things, My garden and its setting. Your kindly face and tender smile Pray will there be forgetting
22526 Drift Wood FC 11 B-59 3 Lucy S. Burnham My Patch-Work Quilt If only you might speak, dear, lovely quilt, What thoughts you might reveal, or have to say.