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
Tracks Along the Trail
FOLK COLL 11 H-63
50
Bob Huff
The Females in My Life
I'm sick and tired of poems and songs That portray the horse as sweet and kind. The horse is not a noble beast. They're just a pain in the behind.
females, crazy, rejection
Winter Wages
FC 11 H-51
27
Barney Hill
Oren and the Bear
Young Oren, Buster, and little Joe was a ridin makin summer wages aroundin up ole mossy horns that in a zoo woulda been in cages
Poems from the Alamo Saloon
FOLK COLL 11 L-45
141
Paul Thomas Lillard
Payback Time
I knew a man who had a mule and to that critter he was awfully cruel.
mule, cruelty, revenge, kick
Western Verse or Worse
FC 11 F-10
71
Rolf M. Flake
I'll Die with My "Bird Skins" On
These "bird skin" boots are sure a treat.
boots, leather, ostrich
Passing Through
FC 11 N-03
23
Howard L. Norskog
Flowers
I guess I'll pick mother some flowers, The one's that so profusely grow
Back at the Ranch
FC 11 S-29
2
Colen H. Sweeten Jr.
An Observation
The old cowboys with enough good fingers left
Cowboy Poetry: Classic Rhymes by Henry Herbert Knibbs
Mason and Janice Coggin
FC 11 K-23
126
Henry Herbert Knibbs
Old Jim
Black thunder rolled along the mountain-height, The lightning lased in whips of burning white.
Brushstrokes & Balladeers: Painters and Poets of the American West
C.J. Hadley
FC 11 H-60
52
Larry McWhorter
The Red Cow
"I almost put my rope on her once but then I thought it through. I had my day in the sun long ago so I left her for someone like you."
bunkhouse, reputation, pride, death, pests
Humorous Cowboy Poety: A Knee Slappin Gathering
Dawn Valentine Hadlock and Madge Baird, editors
FC 11 H-42
162
Co
Working vacation
I found the answer to my boredom in the classified ad that I read; we'll give you a working vacation; that's just what the paper said.
Rhymes From a Round-Up Camp
FC 11 C-49
6
Wallace David Coburn
The Stampede
Did you ever hear the story of how one stormy night
Time Not Measured by a Clock: Cowboy Poetry from the life of a Cowboy Wife
FC 11 J-14
47
Carole Jarvis
Just For One Time
Night visitors came calling while I slept.
tracks, shrew, deer mouse, bobcat, coyote, Sonoran Desert, trails
Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads
John A. Lomax
FC 11 L-12
271
Her White Bosom Bare
The sun had gone down.
Songs from the Sage Brush
FC 11 P-03
46
Katherine Fall Pettey
Idleness
Wearied are we with the round of games, with which the days are filled
Downwind O' Cows: A Collection of California Cowboy Poetry
FC 11 O-04
33
Chip O'Brien
Measured in Human Value
His lifeblood seeped through the hole in his chest
life, death, blood
Hey! Elko
FC 11 P-05
50
M.H. Porter
Small Needs
Darling, I wonder do you know the things that set my heart aglow
Just Thinkin'
FC 11 S-17
33
Georgie Connell Sicking
Loco and Liquor
I've seen drouth depression and fire swept rangeland in this life of mine,
Echoes Of The Dawn
FC 11 B-63
29
Belvina W. Bertino
What Christmas Means
Christmas means so many things, Toys and trees and carol sings; Turkey, pie and sweets galore, Guests and relatives by the score.
Cowboy Stuffin'
FC 11 A-06
35
Don "Cheese" Akerlow
My Cowboy Town
A movie Thursday through Saturday only; A walk and window shoppin' down the street; Knowin' each others business; This is the people in a small town you'll meet.
The Humbler Poets: A Collection of Newspaper and Periodical Verse, 1870-1885
Slason Thompson
FC 11 T-04
229
Madge Morris
Rocking the Baby
I hear her rocking the baby
Hey! Elko
FC 11 P-05
54
M.H. Porter
Tomorrow's Big People
Tomorrow's big people on this range land are always a definite part
A Bronco Pegasus
FC 11 L-14
125
Charles F. Lummis
Labor Limae
The slow, unheated file, 'tis fit
Ever and Always I Shall Love the Land
FC 11 G-01
77
Clell Goebel Gannon
Winter
I love winter so.
cold, warmth, leisure, snow
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
170
The Scab's Lament
Once a little maiden climbed an old man's knee.
miners, strike, gunmen, shame, M.M.W.U.
75 Years! My Time In Rhyme
FC 11 M-65
84
E.W. "Roy" Miller
A Week With The Big Three
Santa really came early this year (For a bad boy) was sure good to me! He arranged a trip to the N.F.R., accompanied by the Big Three! Hanson and Merril contributing a bunch to this festive, gala event; And Merle, my big-little brother, me taggin' along's what it meant! But thanks to them I was their guest,
Signature of the Sun: Southwest Verse, 1900-1950
Mabel Major and T.M. Pearce
FC 11 M-02
208
Everett A. Gillis
Letter to the People
You don't know me from Adam, America, but I'm part of you.