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
Grand River Tales and Other Poems
FC 11 E-13
45
Elizabeth Ebert
Song from the Day the Pump Broke
We fought the water pipes all day long.
Letters from Elko
FC 11 P-28
10
Scott Preston
Paul
we know the women see things differently.
Breezy Western Verse
FC 11 A-11
55
James Barton Adams
Jest Our Jim
At the school examination when we sot back in the crowd.
Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse Number 2
FC 11 R-12
63
Bob Ross
Pillar of the Past
In the days a way back when
Singing Cowboy: A Book of Western Songs
Margaret Larkin
FC 11 L-03
69
Walking John
Now Walking John was a big rope hoss, From over Morongo way.
Missouri Cowboy Poetry
Leroy Watts
FC 11 M-46
241
Francine Robison
It's Saddlin' Up Time
Billy's mole is growing; Grandma's found a lump --
Missouri Cowboy Poetry
Leroy Watts
FC 11 M-46
269
Neal Torrey
The Cowboy Code
We've heard about the Cowboy Code, also called, the Code of the West
The Nevada Cowboy's Album of Songs
Republic Features Syndicate, Inc.
FC 11 T-13
1
Dallas Turner (Nevada Slim), Arranger
Answer to House of the Rising Sun
There is a house in New Orleans
The First Twenty Five Years: Songs and Stories
Dave Stamey
FOLK COLL 11 S-76
186
Dave Stamey
Comfortable Shoes
The most underrated thing in the world Is comfortable shoes You can have your money and your beautiful girls Give me comfortable shoes
shoes, comfort, life
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
140
H.F. Johnson
The Seven Devil Mines
Come all ye bold adventurers.
ore, cayuse, equine, wealthy, lager
After the Chisholm
FC 11 R-45
131
George Rhoades
Hope
Green tinge on the mesquite, Winecups and buttercups in the field, Grass shoots popping up, Prickly pear's yellow flowers, Scissortails in the air,
warm, spring, prairie, south
Mountain Echoes
FC 11 W-08
36
Jim Whilt (Poet of the Rockies)
The Wild Flowers
I love the wild flowers in the spring,
More Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse
Bob Ross
FC 11 R-13
73
Anonymous
The Old Outhouse
Forlorn little outhouse
Ropin', Ridin' and Ranchin'
FC 11 F-22
18
Dennis Flake
Old Vet the Workhorse
We had a horse we called Old Vet And he could really buck. There was none of us could ride him. But a harness changed his luck.
Voices From the Range
FC 11 S-34
54
Rhoda Sivell
Alberta's Answer To "The Law Of The Yukon"
The sun as it rises in splendor, And sets in a halo of gold, Over the Western ranges, Sees some of her greatness unfold. The land with its wheatfields all golden; Its thousands of homes of the plain; Its valleys all teeming with people-- And still we are calling again.
Mountain Echoes
FC 11 W-08
18
Jim Whilt (Poet of the Rockies)
A Poet's World
When you live in a world where a poet lives and you see with a poet's eyes,
Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering
Hal Cannon
FC 11 C-14
77
Georgie Sicking
Old Tuff
Old Tuff was a catch dog.
Buck Ramsey's Poetry Inventory
Buck Ramsey
FOLK COLL 11 R-48
182
Buck Ramsey
The Man For Our Time
Old Dunder had been on a jaunt into town for to check on the state of the nation. It only took Dunder a short look and listen to size up the whole situation.
man, legend, cowboy
Rambler's Notebook: 50 Years of Scribblin': Songs & Poems from the Road
FC 11 A-16
57
Singin' Sam Agins
Sleeper Queen
Sleeper Queen, Sleeper Queen, she came knockin' at the door near Abilene.
Poems from the Alamo Saloon
FOLK COLL 11 L-45
75
Paul Thomas Lillard
Why?
In Eastern lands justice is swift and criminals get their due and I wonder why in hell we can't do that too.
justice, speed, punishment
Cowboy Poetry
FC 11 D-26
9
Gale Drewry
Great Grandson of Strawberry Roan
I lived right next door to the old 44 Back years ago when I was a kid I had a great grandson of the Strawberry Roan As a lot of the neighbors can atone
Wolf Tracks on the Welcome Mat
FC 11 Z-03
49
Paul Zarzyski
I believe
I have lived other lives, maybe the most recent, and most often, as a woman stalked throughout time.
Horse-Thief Gulch
FC 11 H-07
61
Samuel Harkness
Homer Spink
When Shorty hauls my month's supplies from the county seat.
character, Sousa, band music, fame, trumpet
Jesse Rogers' Song Collection and Souvenir from Old Mexico
Jesse Rogers
FC 11 R-32
23
Way out there
A lonely spot I know where no man will go
Rhymes of the Ranges
FC 11 K-04
172
Bruce Kiskaddon
The Sour Dough Bucket
I reckon old pardner, the memory still lives.
sourdough, food, foodways, chuck, biscuits, bread, bakery, cook