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| ID | Book Title | Composer | Index | Pages | Author | Poem Title | First Lines | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24038 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 70 | Danny W. Dutton | The Cowboy in the Steel-Toed Tennis Shoes | Irreversible are the trends of the modern fashion scene. They dress people up in ways that are sometimes obscene. | ||
| 24039 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 72 | Danny W. Dutton | Just Ask Chance | On a hot summer day down Saginaw way I went to see my first real ranch rodeo | ||
| 24040 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 79 | Danny W. Dutton | Ridin' Herd | A horseless rider His mind a high hope Brandin' iron one hand The other, a rope | ||
| 24041 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 81 | Danny W. Dutton | Due Respect | About some old cowboys I'd care to speak 'Cause some say they're gone Their legends too weak | ||
| 24042 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 83 | Danny W. Dutton | Jack | Winter yearlings on the field Bad weather no cause for yield Dad on Jack riding through No matter the norther blew | ||
| 24043 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 84 | Danny W. Dutton | Twice Missed | I feel like this That my loop was too big Which caused me to miss | ||
| 24044 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 86 | Danny W. Dutton | The Glitter Or The Gather | Violet rays, ethereal, mix with orange and he rides a silhouette Dashing, donning broad-brimmed hat, he sits a good horse | ||
| 24045 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 89 | Danny W. Dutton | Better Man Than Me | This feller, I said to myself, has got his ducks all in a row He just looks like the kind of a feller who is in the know | ||
| 24046 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 91 | Danny W. Dutton | Butch's Old Hat | See the hat? Black felt and dirty, Sweat marks encircling the crown; Crease of the High Plains cowboy; rugged | ||
| 24047 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 96 | Danny W. Dutton | Call Him Mr. Pete | Limping over to the gatepost, Mr. Pete came from the heavy morning fog. Trailing close behind him was his friend; Simply named him, "Dog". | ||
| 24048 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 98 | Danny W. Dutton | Wasted Youth | A kid in the country The country in the kid A place for him to play | ||
| 24049 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 100 | Danny W. Dutton | Country Cook | How are you and your wonderful wife? Tell me some more about married life. | ||
| 24050 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 102 | Danny W. Dutton | Ivory Moon | In a far-off dusty plac where the wind always blows where the sand never quits movin' and nothin' ever grows | ||
| 24051 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 105 | Danny W. Dutton | Mistaken Identity | A lot of people will look at me and say that I look like someone they know. Usually, they tell me they're sorry and let me go. | ||
| 24052 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 107 | Danny W. Dutton | Midnight Mass On The Mesa | Throwing my rigging on the little bay, I tried to remember what the day was and could not. | ||
| 24053 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 110 | Danny W. Dutton | Eclipse | Leaves rustle telling of breezes coming, cooling in waves Sudden and subtle. | ||
| 24054 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 115 | Danny W. Dutton | Dignity | I guess I'm a kind of monarch Lord over all that I survey Splendid atop a dashing steed With a royal order to purvey | ||
| 24055 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 116 | Danny W. Dutton | Native Tongue | Sunset brought unburdened peace and the ranch took heed and the dust began to settle while I put out the horses' feed | ||
| 24056 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 120 | Danny W. Dutton | Porchstep At Sunrise | I have breathed so cool the morning air And a silent moment pondered there Wispy water and frozen dew Crispy branches the cold wind blows through | ||
| 24057 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 121 | Danny W. Dutton | Equi-Dawn | Out there On the rolling plains I saw them on a mesa They were playing | ||
| 24058 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 125 | Danny W. Dutton | Bonita | We cursed the drought and thirst Dust had blown and mesquite pods burst Persevering desert brown and summer death we persevered the worst | ||
| 24059 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 127 | Danny W. Dutton | Whirlwind | Yellow pine, oak, and hickory reach for the sky, limbs outstretched and intertwined. Creating an image of a crowd of people whose elbows are tangled in a panic. | ||
| 24060 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 132 | Danny W. Dutton | Cold Front | The ghastly hue The winter blue From the north the wind that frets Its presence known | ||
| 24061 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 133 | Danny W. Dutton | Cathedrals In The Sky | Show me the Plains in all their awesome glory where the horizon meets the sky, where the meeting is almost imperceptible | ||
| 24062 | Between The Fences | FC 11 D-25 | 135 | Danny W. Dutton | The Dean Ranch Raid | Off the South Plains of Texas there is a place along and below the Caprock called Indian Canyon. |