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
Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse
FC 11 R-11
57
Bob Ross
Sure We Had Running Water
The soothing sound of the babbling brook
A Range Rider's Prayer
FC 11 W-27
Bill Wood
A Range Riders' Prayer
O' Lord, grant that I may soon ride again to the far side of the horizon.
Poster with poem on it. 19 July 1983. OUT FOR REPAIR
Poems from the Alamo Saloon
FOLK COLL 11 L-45
102
Paul Thomas Lillard
Chinese Fare
Now I'm a great movie fan. I especially like Charlie Chan. It is always a pleasure to me.
movie, actor, chinese
Cowboy Poetry: The Reunion
Virginia Bennett
FC 11 B-33
148
Ross Knox
Memories
You sit in your chair and you stare at the wall and you relive the days when you rode proud and tall while making the big drives, rope and brand and just practice the art of making a hand.
Rhymes of Today and Yesterday!
FC 11 G-17
39
June Brander Gilman
Hard Times
Present day economies; Frightful as they may be.
A Cowful of Cowboy Poetry
FC 11 B-43
89
Baxter Black
Renegade Cow
Just bring'er on home, the foreman had said; That is, if I found her, of course.
The Code Of The West - Then, Now, Forever -
FC 11 B-68
31
Don Bishop
At Five
At five, I rode my pony Over mom and dad's ranch. I was the best cowboy ever. You could tell at half a glance.
Farm Ballads
FC 11 C-02
51
Will Carleton
Over the Hill to the Poor House
Over the hill to the poor house I'm trudgin' my weary way.
aging, poverty, widow, mother, abandonment
After the Chisholm
FC 11 R-45
11
George Rhoades
Casino Paradise
The Apaches and the Comanches, The Cherokees and the Shawnees, The Kiowas and the Choctaws, The Chickasaws and the Tonkawas; Indian casinos by the score,
thrill, poker, slots, profit, defeat
Cowboys, Cattle, Horses, and Stuff
FC 11 B-65
25
T.L. Bush
A Cowboy Gets His Wish
A cowboy quit the ranching game, And moved into the city. He left behind his hat and boots, To wear business clothes so pretty.
A Medley of Wilderness and Other Poems
FC 11 B-01
23
Elliott S. Barker
Exile
Sing me the songs of the wilderness, The songs of the mountain bowers.
nature, wilderness
Muleshoe Ballads of Oklahoma Bob
FC 11 M-16
53
Marjorie Sawyer Munson & Colonel Bob Kirkbride
Wife Don't Like Guns
My wife has got me too dang civilized
wife, civilized, gun, rifle, Arbuckle Mountains, coyote, jail.
American Cowboy Songs
Robbins Music Corporation
FC 11 A-02
34
Night Herding Song
Go slow, little dogies quit your roving around.
feed kind of slow, snore, stretch
Galloping Shoes
FC 11 O-7
56-57
Will H. Ogilvie
The Timber Team
No medal and no cross they wear No ribbon gleaming on the breast The burden that they bravely bear Only their daily tasks attest.
Poems from Where the West Begins
FC 11 H-25
13
Bill Hooton, Jr.
Sifting Bulls
The bull parades before us.
One Man of a Kind
FC 11 B-17
3
Everett Brisendine
To Harry Cooney -- Albuquerque
In the mail I got a letter.
letter, mail, poet, writing, friendship
A Cowboy on the Last Frontier
FC 11 M-24
96
Bill May
Thanksgiving Day at Cow Camp
Thanksgiving day at Cow Camp, 'stead of turkey
food, holiday, celebration, stew
Poems of American Cowboys & Nature
FC 11 C-04
94
Bob A. Carson
Riding Broncs All Day
Riding broncs, toils at his work all day.
Stories and Poems
FC 11 J-03
5
Bob Johnston
Day Dream
Cattle grazing on a hill.
dream, past, buffalo, stream, change, pickup truck
Corral Dust
FC 11 F-05
62
Bob Fletcher
The Exile
Take me out of old Nevada.
desert, Nevada, dry, longing, language, terms, words, Montana, regionalism
A Little Bit of Texas: A Collection of Original Poetry
FC 11 N-10
173
Rod Nichols
Three Godfathers
Sam knowed it might happen that one day.
alone, old, solitude, line shack, memories, emptiness, winter, stranger, half-frozen, baby, storm, Bible, spring
Where Old Trails Meet the New on Oregon High Desert
Ramona Turmon and Lona Tankersley Burkhart
FC 11 T-12
50
Ramona Turmon
Kid's Pony
So you think you can ride them tough
Loose Cow Party
FC 11 B-67
20
Baxter Black
The Horse Show Conversation
"A fine lookin' horse you've got there (if yer into modern art) I had a horse like that one time (but he wasn't very smart),
Ride For the Brand
FC 11 S-53
69
Red Steagall
Rosalee's Smile
One night in Paducah, we danced until dawn.
love, bronc stomper, camp, Paducah
Original Cowboy Poetry
FC 11 S-25
27
Colen H. Sweeten Jr.
Cowboy Gone Crazy
My calves are all dwarfs,