FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection
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.
Book Title
Composer
Call #
Pages
Author
Poem Title
First Lines
Keywords
Horseshoes, Cowsocks & Duckfeet
FC 11 B-47
146
Baxter Black
Just Say No!
The Broncho Book
FC 11 C-13
68
Captain Jack Crawford
The Keystone of the Union
O sov'reign state, thy name we hail.
patriotism
Cattle, Horses, Sky, and Grass
Warren Miller
FC 11 C-35
152
Sue Wallis
Mother Love
Ah, these -- these my precious; Pretty babies.
Horse Tracks
FC 11 K-30
40
E.J. Kirchoff
A Red Letter Day
Seems it's been a long time comin'. Sure have shovelled lots of hay. Was a-starin' in to think that Winter'd never go away. But we've had some warmin' weather. Now the snow is finally gone. And the hills are turnin' green again
Ballads of the Black Hills
FC 11 G-11
27
Charles P. "Soldier" Green
Contentment
Where the mellowed summer sunlight.
cabin, peace, pleasure, home
More Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse
FC 11 R-13
3
Bob Ross
Tester's Choice
Different colored corn cobs
Hung out to dry
John C. Dofflemyer
FC 11 D-22
preface
Rod McQueary
Our Sycamores
They cut them all down. I read his words and somehow touch his aching.
Western Travels and Other Rhymes
FC 11 G-27
108
Lysius Gough
Ida's Party
The lamp was hanging on the oak.
wickets, social
In Camp And Trench: Songs of the Fighting Forces
FC 11 B-55
55
Berton Braley
Ambition (Aviation Corps)
I have studied hard in the engine class And with math I have racked my brain,
Memories of the XIT
FC 11 L-07
17
Rosell Lewis
Stampede on XIT
The XIT lies purple and gray; In the stillness of the summer night.
Saddle For A Throne
FC 11 O-13
209
Will Ogilvie
Love Ridden
He was sweated along in the heat all day, he was tied to the fence for hours, just became someone had something to say to a girl in the burnt sun-flowers.
hide, wrong, chestnut, horse, home
Cowboy Lyrics
FC 11 C-03
174
Robert V. Carr
Love and Death
I'm camping here alone tonight.
memories, lost love, death, longing, wondering, stars, God
Cowboy Poetry from Utah
Carol A. Edison
FC 11 E-06
104
Scott McKendrick
Movin' But Stayin'
It seems like only yesterday.
work, friends, parting
The Best of Robert Service
FOLK COLL 11 S-77
161
Robert Service
Making Good
No man can be a failure if he thinks he's a success; He may not own his roof-tree overhead, He may be on his uppers and have hocked his evening dress - (Financially speaking - in the red.)
mindset, success, think
The Pony Express: An Epic of the Old West
FC 11 M-22
168
Charles Rendell Mabey
The Pioneer and his Ox
I sing my praises of the ox
The Best of Robert Service
FOLK COLL 11 S-77
1
Robert Service
The Spell of the Yukon
I wanted the gold, and I sought it; I scrabbled and mucked like a slave. Was it famine or scurvy - I fought it; I hurled my youth into a grave.
gold, yukon, wilderness
North and East of Down Under
FC 11 S-46
55
Marie W. Smith
My Home in the West
I miss my home in the Darlings.
Mountain Echoes
FC 11 W-08
77
Jim Whilt (Poet of the Rockies)
Riding
Riding in the Winter or riding in the Spring,
Prairie Vagabonds
FC 11 H-04
11
Laura Vernon Hamner
Fugitive
Shielded by a billboard.
tree, city
Cowboy Lyrics
FC 11 C-03
92
Robert V. Carr
Dance, You Punchers, Dance
Oh, whoop it up an' let's be gay.
dance, square dance, fiddle
On the Edge of Common Sense
FC 11 B-12
87
Baxter Black
Texas Hill Country - not a poem
A Little Bit of Texas: A Collection of Original Poetry
FC 11 N-10
107
Rod Nichols
Old Blue
There's stories been told 'bout hosses been rode.
bronco, boss, cayuse, broke, Pecos Bill, windy
Ever and Always I Shall Love the Land
FC 11 G-01
30
Clell Goebel Gannon
The Butte and I
The butte and I are fast in love -- as much.
butte, nature, love
Good Clean Fun
FC 11 N-09
8
Rod Nelson
The Trailer
There are things a guy needs at one time or another.
At Home On The Range
Charles W. Bell
FC 11 B-71
48
Charles W. Bell
Ridin' Bull (7 1/2 seconds)
Now I've been busy most all my life, A ridin' and wranglin' and avoidin' strife. And I've had my chance at the rodeo To do my best to put on a show.