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
Buckaroo Ballads
FC 11 B-04
110
S. Omar Barker
The Ballad of Sunset Sam
Oh, this here's the story of Sunset Sam.
women, bald, red hair, bachelor, old main, marriage
West of East
FC 11 H-17
57
Harry Elmore Hurd
Borglum's Head of Abraham Lincoln
O Man of Sorrow, tried by many fires.
gratitude, president, freedom, slavery
The Cowboy Poetry of Glenn M. Fleming
FC 11 F-04
13
Glenn M. Fleming
The Flag Girl
She stood by the road with a flag in her hand.
A Medley of Wilderness and Other Poems
FC 11 B-01
31
Elliott S. Barker
Quantity or Quality
When a guy has two sweet gals; Who are hard to choose between; Many factors must be weighed; To decide who'll be his queen.
dating, women, girlfriend, mate, marriage
Slow Smoke
FC 11 S-02
76
Lew Sarett
The Lamps of Bracken-Town
Beneath a canopy of ferns
Cowboy Stuffin'
FC 11 A-06
12
Don "Cheese" Akerlow
The Brown Trout Story
I heard about a good place to go fishin'; It was over in Kooskia, Idaho; It's said there is better fishin' than Montana; Iffin' that's true, I am ready to go.
One Hundred Poems
Waddie Mitchell
FOLK COLL 11 M-73
13
Waddie Mitchell
Lonesome
It's defined as unaccompanied, secluded, disavowed But, lonesome can be present even when one's in a crowd
alone, loneliness, attitude
North and East of Down Under
FC 11 S-46
18
Marie W. Smith
The Big Sky
The sky.
Hogwash Hokum and Heifer Dust
George Wolstad
FC 11 W-37
1
Edward E. Paramore, Jr.
The Ballad of Yukon Jake
Oh the north country is a tough country that mothers a bloody brood
Sittin' and A-Grinnin': A Collection of Works
Layle Bagley & Linda Merrill
FC 11 B-11
116
Norma Weeks
Formula 4-0-9
The crowd had filled the arena.
Old-Time Cowboy Songs
Hal Cannon
FC 11 C-34
116
Dixon Brothers
Wyoming Home
There's a place in Wyoming I'm longing to be.
The Ghosts of the Chisos
FC 11 B-10
17
J.T.H. Bickley
The Phantom of Melodies
Into the hills the young folks ride.
epic, girlfriend, boyfriend, love, romance, betrayal, infidelity, ghosts
First Roundup: Western Ballads
FOLK COLL 11 J-25
56
Dee Strickland Johnson
The Secret
I headed out west at barely fifteen, and somehow I got hired on To a cattle outfit; I's so proud I could spit To be helpin' the cook before dawn.
dream, cook, tea, immigrant
Riders of the Leafy Spurge
FC 11 L-16
16
Bill Lowman
Progress
When it comes to the workin' chute, oh what a modern mess. Iron scapin' and bangin' all in the name of progress. It's the only way to go don't be such an old fool. Be careful, son, duck your head or your temple that handles will cool.
Horseshoes, Cowsocks & Duckfeet
FC 11 B-47
21
Baxter Black
Cow Psychologist
Cowboys, Cattle, Horses, and Stuff
FC 11 B-65
37
T.L. Bush
Gone Under
Now I know there ain't no reason Why you should listen to me down here. But these words I'm sayin' ain't for me So Lord could you lend an ear?
Shorty's Yarns: Western Stories and Poems of Bruce Kiskaddon
FC 11 K-28
111
Bill Siems, ed.
The Other Feller's Beef
When some fellers start out lookin' fer meat, They get mighty careless at that. They ain't so partick'lar whose cattle they eat, So long as the critter is fat.
Maverick Western Verse
John C. Dofflemyer
FC 11 D-09
10
Doris Bricham
Morning Prelude
Though sunrise haze I watch twenty-two blue hours.
The Five Stages of Quitting Farming
John William Kulm
FOLK COLL 11 K-36
40
John William Kulm
I Wish I Was Smart Like Alan Greenspan
I wish I wish I wish I was smart like Alan Greenspan able to see into the future... using math to calculate the endless lines of cause and effect like a Hindu lama tracing the twisted consequences of an economic karma;
intelligence, wealth, money
Rhymes of the Ranges: A New Collection of the Poems of Bruce Kiskaddon
Hal Cannon
FC 11 K-12
53
Bruce Kiskaddon
The Ghosts at the Diamond Bar
'Twas a winter night at the Diamond Bar, The wind was blowin' cold.
Dry Crik Review: Summer 1992
John C. Dofflemyer
FC 11 D-20
23
J.B. Allen
New Trails
hard old shells protectin feelins lay in shambles at our feet as the lancets pierce the armor grown immune to club or sleet
Mavrick, emotions, poultice, fortress, wounds, bleed
Arizona Born
FOLK COLL 11 C-62
40
Dean Cook
The Wild Rivers
Have you hiked the East Verde, where the water runs cool? Have you seen a trout rise from a Blue River pool?
river, valley, nature
Rhymes of a Rancher
FC 11 G-13
80
E.A.L. Griffin
After the Sale
I've parted with my ranch today, the deed is signed and sealed.
sell, change, memories
A Rhyme for No Reason
FC 11 U-02
22
Bob Urry
Rodeo
Rodeo! It's a hard game
Ranch Verses
FC 11 C-09
112
William Lawrence Chittenden
To Katherine
I know a gentle maiden.
idol, beauty