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
The Caney Creek Collection
FC 11 C-32
3
Frank Carpenter
The Boss
He had long been the boss of the Lazy C Three.
boss, man, hero, family, son, respect
Remuda Dust
FC 11 E-11
63
Fred Engel
Mustang Roundup
"Head 'em off boys, they're comin' yer way!
From Bull Durham to Marlboros
FC 11 G-15
28
Gordon Green
Remembering
With quiet thoughts I fly away.
memories
Second Thoughts of Rattlesnake Annie's
FC 11 P-24
26
Linda Pishion
Thankfulness
Cindy and Linda rode alone.
More Cow Country
FC 11 E-05
67
Tom Ellinwood
Rodeo
What started out as contests for.
rodeo
Maverick Western Verse
John C. Dofflemyer
FC 11 D-09
92
Jennifer Olds
Cutting the Heard
When the new chick flopped wretched from its shell.
Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse Number 2
FC 11 R-12
58
Bob Ross
Johnny at the River
Perched out o'er the river bank
Our West to You
Idaho Writers League
FC 11 I-01
1
Alma Hanson
Winning the West
The fair western terrain was not won in a moon.
settlers, settlement, history, past
The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses
FC 11 P-16
121
Banjo Paterson
Song of the Future
New Cowboy Poetry: A Contemporary Gathering
Hal Cannon
FC 11 C-30
67
Joel Nelson
Sundown in the Cow Camp
The hoodie's washed the dishes.
evening, sunset, night, cook, foreman, horse shoe, game, eloquent, cattle, drive, guitar, time of day, chuck, fire, poems, politics, price of beef, BLM, bedroll, sleep
Western Verse or Worse
FC 11 F-10
18
Rolf M. Flake
Commodore
Commodore Perry Owens was the name of the man.
lawman, sheriff, outlaw, sheepmen, cattlemen, shoot, shooting
Roped and Tied
FC 11 W-11
18
Mary Mabel Wirries
Chili and Beans
"Squabs?" asks the waitress, "Chicken a la King?
Rawhide Rhymes
FC 11 B-05
92
S. Omar Barker
A Wolf in Camp
Step easy, boys, and warble low.
sing, melody, song, lament, sadness, happiness, Happy Joe, cheerfulness, noisiness, night, stars, fire, quietness, cook, coosie, pots, pans, guard, mouth harp, silence, avoiding noise, cussing, shooting, melancholy, prod, temper, touchiness, anger, rage, steaming, truth, ache, pain, toothache, teeth, politeness, dynamite, night-herding
Coming Out Of The Cowboy Closet (Cowboy Poetry, Pictures, and Other Stuff)
FC 11 C-56
7
D.L. Chance
Dressed For The Dance
These three cowboys took out walking to a dance on Saturday night. There was a big full moon shining out overhead so they had plenty of moonlight.
Lyrics of the Lariat
FC 11 G-10
125
Nathan Kirk Griggs
O Give Me Your Hand
When night has veiled the earth, so fair.
life, belief
Country Images
FC 11 L-30
35
Lowell Long
Distance
Fleeing prairie.
Rhymes from the Rangeland
FC 11 B-09
108
Wesley Beggs
Down at the Alamo
A solemn thought comes o'er me.
song, Texas, Brazos, Lone Star state, Rio Grande, Sam Houston
Night Herding Song
FC 11 H-10
24
Gerald Hausman
Chicken Poem
They wear spurs.
The Cowboy Sings: Traditional Songs of the Western Frontier
Kenneth S. Clark
FC 11 C-33
20
Cowboy's Dream
Last night as I lay on the prairie; And look'd at the stars in the sky.
Bygone Days of the Old West
FC 11 L-01
96
Fred Lambert
The Legend of Abo Crag
We dismounted on the rimrock; To rest our weary nags.
More Cow Country
FC 11 E-05
48
Tom Ellinwood
Product of the Times
The beef a hundred years ago.
cattle, longhorn
Cowboy Poetry Matters: From Abilene to the Mainstream: Contemporary Cowboy Writ.
Robert McDowell
FC 11 M-54
114
Linda McCarriston
On Horseback (for McFauns)
We are only walking. This is not the romance of horseback riding
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
82
Joe Hill
Casey Jones, the Union Scab
The workers on the S.P. line, to strike sent out a call.
engineer, strike, Angels Union
Cow Tracks on the Land
Lona Tankersley Burkhart
FC 11 B-66
110
Charlie Hunt
Badlands Music
In the badlands of North Dakota The moon was round and bright. The day had been a long one An' welcome was the night
A Medley of Wilderness and Other Poems
FC 11 B-01
34
Elliott S. Barker
Catastrophic Prescription
The Veterinarian's hearing was bad, The errors he made very often were sad.
veterinarian, humor, cat, cats, castor oil, domestic animal