After
writing my last blog on two of our most legendary singing cowboys, Gene Autry
and Roy Rogers, I thought I would research more in depth the origin of cowboy
music, as well as the history of other classic western music. Like a lot of western
writers, I love today's country music. Many of the songs reflect the sound and
romance of songs and ballads, many written and sung over 150 years ago.
The birth of the American cowboy as we
know him emerged with the advent of long-distance drives to move cattle to
northern markets after the Civil War. These itinerant livestock herders
included men from all walks of life and nationalities. For entertainment, they
sang the songs from their native cultures and homelands, and these songs were
often reshaped to fit the new landscape. “The Ocean Burial”—originally written
in 1839 by Bostonian Edwin Chapin—and its lyric “O! bury me not in the deep,
deep sea,” eventually became “The Dying Cowboy” with “Oh, bury me not on the
lone prairie.” Other music was influenced by Celtic, slave, and parlor songs.
Between
1870 and 1890, probably 10 million longhorn cattle traveled from Texas to
Kansas and other northern markets. A group of cowboys rode with each herd of
from 2,000 to 5,000 cattle to push them up the trail by day and herd them after
dark. Any unusual noise after the cattle were asleep might send them into a
wild and destructive stampede. To drown those disturbing noises, the cowboys
crooned or yodeled to the cattle. From these cattle calls grew some of the
trail songs descriptive of cowboy life. So long as the cattle could hear a
familiar voice singing some lullaby, they had no fear of the howl of a wolf,
the scream of a panther, or any of the other sudden noises of the night. What
the men sometimes called "dogie" songs soothed the cattle to sleep.
Like
the song, "Git Along Little Dogies."
Whoopee
ti yi yo, git along little dogies
It's your misfortune and none of my own
Whoopie ti yi yo, git along little dogies
You know that Wyoming will be your new home.
Cowboys
sang because they were lonely and because singing helped them in their work.
They sang around the campfire and in the saloons to amuse themselves. They made
up new songs and adapted old ones that told about themselves and their work in
their own lingo.
"Home on the Range" is a classic western folk song, sometimes called the
"unofficial anthem" of the American West. The lyrics were originally
written by Dr. Brewster Higley of Kansas in a poem entitled, "My Western
Home" in the early 1870's. In 1947, it became the state song of the U.S.
state of Kansas. The song was eventually adopted by ranchers, cowboys, and
other western settlers and spread across the U.S. in various forms. Members of
the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the top 10 Western songs of
all time.
"Red River Valley" is another folk song and cowboy music standard, although of
controversial origins that has gone by different names, depending on where it
has been sung. It also is listed one of the top 10 Western songs by the members
of the Western Writers of America. Do any of you remember the lyrics?
From this valley they say you are going.
We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile,
For they say you are taking the sunshine
That has brightened our pathway a while.
So come sit by my side if you love me.
Do not hasten to bid me adieu.
Just remember the Red River Valley,
And the cowboy that has loved you so true.
The
first and greatest collector of western songs was John A. Lomax. His songbook
published in 1910, Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads, introduced the country
to music of the American West and helped propel the cowboy to iconic status.
Even
though the songwriter, Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826 - January 13, 1864)
was primarily known for his parlor and minstrel music, many of his songs were
chosen among the top 100 Western songs by the members of the Western Writers of
America. Named "the father of American music", he wrote over 200
songs, among his best-known are "Oh! Susanna", a minstrel song first published in 1848,
"Camptown Races"," Old Folks at Home", "My Old
Kentucky Home", an anti-slavery ballad composed and published in 1853,
"Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair", "Old Black Joe", and
"Beautiful Dreamer".
Many
of his compositions remain popular more than 150 years after he wrote them. His
compositions are thought to be autobiographical. He has been identified as
"the most famous songwriter of the nineteenth century", and may be
the most recognizable American composer in other countries.
Foster was such a talent, sadly his life ended
way too soon. In 1857,
economic difficulties led him to sell all rights to his future songs for just
under $2,000. Near the end of his brief life, he lived alone in New York City
and suffered from alcoholism. In 1864, at age 37, he died in Bellevue Hospital.
He had been taken to the hospital after suffering from a protracted fever which
left him so weak that he collapsed and hit his head on a washbasin.
Delving
into the history of such memorable music and songs, I found it fascinating to
read about them and surprised that I actually remembered some of their lyrics.
I hope you enjoyed reading about a few of these classics. Of course, there are
hundreds more, so many written and published during both the good times and hard
times of our nation's history.
You
can check out more Top Western Songs listed with the Western Writers of America
at their web site: www.western100.com
