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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
23727 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 27 Mary Borm Desperation We, in the cattle raising business, find ourselves in a tight spot in this year of 1995. With the price of cattle being so low, the cost of feed and simply living being so high, it is threatening our very existence.
23728 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 28 Mary Borm The Storm Outside, the storm's a ragin', The snow drifts pilin' high. I hear the wind a blowin', I hear the cattle cry.
23729 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 29 Mary Borm Radios I'm the world's worst worry wart, I bite nails and walk the floor. And when the boss is gone too long, I seem to worry more.
23730 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 30 Mary Borm The Ducks The ducks stop awhile, But often don't stay. They rest a few days then, They're on their way.
23731 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 31 Mary Borm Mother's Love For years, as I sat and watched TV, There's an ad I would review, Telling folks, "You are wasting your lives." "And the Peace Corps is for you."
23732 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 33 Mary Borm Progress We watched as a tradition died, And progress reared it's head. That day when hay stacks bit the dust. Round bales were made instead.
23733 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 34 Mary Borm The Calico Cat When the winter was still a bit frosty, But the sunshine was toasty and warm. Our young, Calico cat went to folic, She'd been couped up for days in the storm.
23734 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 35 Mary Borm Help! This little ranch is heaven. Just the perfect size for two. As hayin' season rolls around, There's just so much to do.
23735 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 36 Mary Borm Auctioneers I've been to tons of sales in my life, But can't say that's my forte'. There's a farm sales, and antique sales, Or estate sales that last all day.
23736 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 38 Mary Borm The Nightmare We had gone to the Valentine Livestock Barn, With the thought, We'd buy us some light steers.
23737 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 42 Mary Borm Morning As I wake on an autumn morn, And fight for clarity. I wonder, as I always do, What this day holds for me.
23738 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 44 Mary Borm The Christmas Gift My office is the kind of place A rat pack could reside. And though I do get messy, It's a trait, I can't abide.
23739 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 45 Mary Borm Old Red Old Red was the best bull we had, For a while. When it came to the ladies, That devil had style.
23740 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 49 Mary Borm Snow I weep when leaves die and fall, Yet rejoice with the coming of snow. It spills from a slate grey, ominous sky, And covers the ground below.
23741 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 50 Mary Borm The Egg As we sat and watched out the window, A turkey laid an egg. She'd squatted an dpuffed up and wriggled, Then regained her legs.
23742 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 52 Mary Borm Mountain Oysters I was raised on a farm in the valley, 'Long where the Platte River flows. We had cattle, crops and hardships, Just like every dirt farmer knows.
23743 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 55 Mary Borm Weight Conscious I've always known that I was small, There's nothin' I can do. And when you get to be my age, Your bloomin' days are through!
23744 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 56 Mary Borm Spoiled We moved to the ranch, It's been a while now. I wanted two pigs, Some sheep and a cow.
23745 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 58 Mary Borm Interdependence My husband knows I'm crazy, It don't bother him at all. In fact, he stand behind me, Just to catch me if I fall.
23746 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 60 Mary Borm Hermits We moved up here a few years back, Some folks don't comprehend. How we can live so far away, And never see our friends.
23747 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 61 Mary Borm Questions The saddest sights to meet my eye, As we're driving our back country roads. Are empty ranches with barns falling down, And houses left to erode.
23748 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 62 Mary Borm The Boquet I know, for years you watched me, And it broke your heart in two. Although you wished me happiness, There nothing you could do.
23749 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 63 Mary Borm Sue 'Em There's times when we're together, That we gals start to complain. It helps to ease the tension, So we don't all go insane.
23750 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 64 Mary Borm The Gate The boss went to an auction. Now ain't that a big surprise? I stayed to watch the cows. Deal with whatever what might arise.
23751 I Was Raised In A Barn FC 11 B-64 65 Mary Borm It's Ours It's ours, for a while, This ranch in the hills. We work and we struggle, To pay all the bills.