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
I'd Make an Awful Pioneer
FC 11 J-12
52
Reed C. Jensen
Indian Lore
I like to work with old Indian Joe he claims to be half Crow and half Sioux,
Where Cattle Roam
FC 11 S-15
67
Al Summers
Out and Flyin'
Those "western stars", they may be good
Rimes of the Rockies
FC 11 M-48
7
Harrison R. Merrill
Base Ball
The sport of sports is baseball still.
sports
The Big Roundup: Classic and Contemporary Poetry from CowboyPoetry.com
Margo Metegrano
FC 11 M-47
190
Bert Lloyd
It's Finished (Suvate)
This was the beginning of the end.
Guitar and Saddle Songs
Don Edwards
FC 11 E-10
57
James Grafton Rogers
Santa Fe Trail
Say, pard have ya sighted a schooner; A-hittin' the Santa Fe Trail?
The Pony Express: An Epic of the Old West
FC 11 M-22
202
Charles Rendell Mabey
My Memory
As surely as the falling of a leaf
death
Lyrics of the Lariat
FC 11 G-10
95
Nathan Kirk Griggs
Inyan Kara
O Thou, my Inyan Kara, Thou Mount, in mount's embrace.
volcano, Wyoming, mountain
Cowboy Poetry: Cloud Watchers
FC 11 F-16
248
Rolf M. Flake
Chasin' Rainbows
Now, "chasin' rainbows" is a way of life to the "commission man" that's for sure-- And the closer he gets to that elusive "buck" Just leaves him thirstin' for more. There's always a "big deal" just over the hill, Or maybe just 'round the bend. Today's deal fell through, but there's always tomorrow-- On and on, will it ever end?
Melodious Poems From the Hills
FC 11 B-58
40
Sandia Bill
The Thought I Like Best
Of all the grand thoughts this one I like best: There is nothing existent exactly at rest. That old God called "Nature," so enduring and strong, Says to all of his subjects, "Keep moving along."
Rhymes Along the Way
FC 11 L-39
56
Robert L. Laumeyer
Honest People
To honor his Honor, "Old Judge Two Pack." A retired judge told me that in 20 years on the bench no one, under oath, ever admitted to drinking more than two beers. He said most teenagers swore they found the beer.
Cowboy Odes
FC 11 M-42
11
Rusty Meador
Remedy for Brownie
Ol' Rex Meador, and an hombre named "Sam Cox"
Horses Women Mountains
FC 11 R-17
16
David Roberts
How Did Those Eagles
Sky Humour
Sid Marty
FOLK COLL 11 M-68
55
Sid Marty
At the Breaking of Drought
Steam rises from the mud The wind has banked two months of heat into this cracked clay
rain, dust, drought
I Was Raised In A Barn
FC 11 B-64
64
Mary Borm
The Gate
The boss went to an auction. Now ain't that a big surprise? I stayed to watch the cows. Deal with whatever what might arise.
An Ol' Cowboy Still Remembers?and Other Cowboy Poems
FC 11 E-12
29
Glen Enloe
Silver Screens and Silent Sagebrush
Silver screens and silent sagebrush; Once gave comfort to heavy loads.
Rhymes of a Rolling Stone
FC 11 S-63
39
Robert Service
Cheer
It's a mighty good world, so it is, dear lass, When even the worst is said. There's a smile and a tear, a sigh and a cheer, But better be living than dead; A joy and a pain, a loss and a gain; There's honey and may be some gall.
Can't Stop Rhymin' on the Range
Mike Puhallo, Brian Brannon & Wendy Liddle
FC 11 P-27
60
Mike Puhallo
Cowboy Confusion
How come they call it common sense.
Will Rogers: The Man and His Humor
Wendell Mathews
FOLK COLL 11 M-77
will rogers, autobiography, humor, poetry, impact
Coolin' Down: An Anthology of Contemporary Cowboy Poetry
Phil Martin
FC 11 M-53
17
Baxter Black
Legacy of the Rodeo Man
There's a hundred years of history and a hundred before that all gathered in the thinkin' goin' on beneath his hat.
Fenced Trails
FC 11 B-24
17
Bruce Brockett
The Corral Dog
The corral dog's life is a dog's life, you bet.
corral dog, cowboy, occupation
More Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse
FC 11 R-13
52
Bob Ross
Bangkok Style
Folks in Bangkok, Thailand,
The Lavonne Houlton Compendium: Ponies, Poetry and Prose
FC 11 G-42
154
Janet Gingold
No Sale (1960s)
Well! I got so mad this mornin' that it almost spoilt my day! I rode down to see my neighbor about buyin' up hi hay; But when I got to his corral I saw an ugly sight: He was "breakin' in" a bronco, and he had him snubbed down tight.
sweat, death, pride, pain, twist
Both Sides of the River: Western Poetry
FC 11 W-22
40
Howard E. Wright
Environmentalist Free by '93
Cattle Free by '93.
Cowboys Are My Weakness: Stories
FC 11 H-27
Pam Houston
Verse for Aussie Children
Carmel Randle
FC 11 R-27
27
Carmel Randle
Mutt
My Mutt is just a Cattle Dog -- well, mostly of that breed!