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
Maverick Western Verse
John C. Dofflemyer
FC 11 D-09
91
Jennifer Olds
The Murder OF Crows
Shots rang out and birds spun down like rain, a heavy black hail of crows.
Best Loved Poems of the American West
John J. and Barbara T. Gregg
FC 11 G-09
337
Francis Henry
The Old Settler's Song
I'd wandered all over the country.
gold, prospecting, Puget Sound, timber, climate
Rope and Pan
FC 11 E-02
63
Martha Downer Ellis
All of Us
The earth is full of our bodies.
earth, home, past, future, former life, afterlife
Songs of the Saddle and Trails Into Lonesome Land
FC 11 B-19
56
E.A. Brubacher
An Old Song
There's an old song tonight in the willows.
aging, time, past, memories, phantom, Buck Horn Pass
Bell Ranch Glimpses
FC 11 E-01
74
Martha Downer Ellis
The Old Villages
Along in the seventies and eighties.
Spanish, Spaniards, town, past, progress, change
After the Chisholm
FC 11 R-45
149
George Rhoades
Symbols
How amazing for humans That one thing can stand For something else. A symbol can mean Whatever the mind conceives; Words, pictures, sounds, gestures,
plan, love, hate, communicate, experiences
Riding the Range With Floyd
FC 11 O-09
29
Floyd Oyhus
The Old Kickin' Tree (Saddle)
There's an old kickin' tree that hangs in the barn, Next to the old bronc stall, It's worn and weathered and beaten; The tales it could tell are tall.
Cowboy Poetry: Horse Tracks Through The Sage
FC 11 H-47
168
Jesse Smith
The Three Wheeler
I've ridden lots of old spoiled horses, I've had my share of wrecks. I've had 'em buck me off, rear over backwards, And damn near break my neck. I took a lot of chances, Never had a lot of brains. I've had my share of breaks, Scrapes, bruises, cuts, and pains.
Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out
FC 11 O-10
158
Ray Owens
Truth in Labeling
Have you got any Christian poems? a feller asked one day. Well, I don't rightly kow, sez I, never thought of them that way. It never really crossed my mind 'til you brought it up just now
Singing Sioux Cowboy
FC 11 C-10
4
Ann Clark
My House
My house stands on a hill top.
sun, wind, grass, nature, stars, logs, trees
The Poetry of 'Breaker' Morant
FC 11 M-58
15
Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant
His Masterpiece
Never before was daughter of Eve endow'd with a face so fair, There be none of God's holy angels with a beauty half so rare.
More Cow Country
FC 11 E-05
90
Tom Ellinwood
Far Sighted
Now there's three head up in that draw.
sight, practice
Stories and Poems
FC 11 J-03
42
Bob Johnston
As Others See Me
This man, in an overweight body that gives no hint of the young athlete that challenged the world with his bronc riding ability in the 1940's & 50's, comes across as a somewhat severe person.
City Cattle: Humorous Western Political Satire
FC 11 J-06
18
Derwin J. Jeffries
The "Liberal" Robbing Hoods
Ol' Harvey, he can sure git hot.
Government, taxes, corruption, politicians, politics, bureaucrats
Saddle Bag Wit and Wisdom
FC 11 T-17
6
Dave Tingey
Dads Old Saddle Bag
Ya' know shortly after my Dad died.
A Little Bit of Texas: A Collection of Original Poetry
FC 11 N-10
157
Rod Nichols
Texas Waltz
I remember that evenin' by the sleepy Sabine.
love, music, tear, goodbyes, dance
Saddle Songs: A Cowboy Songbag
FC 11 E-19
36
Don Edwards
Song; Barbara Allen
Western Travels and Other Rhymes
FC 11 G-27
97
Lysius Gough
Despair
There is no one to comfort me.
maiden, alone, grief, broken heart
Buckaroo Ballads
FC 11 B-04
45
S. Omar Barker
A Cowpuncher Watches the Crowd
Hi, Pete! Yeah, I'm a-playin' corner post.
city folk, Tex Austin, crowd, watching people, cows
The Humbler Poets: A Collection of Newspaper and Periodical Verse, 1870-1885
Slason Thompson
FC 11 T-04
388
author unknown
Guilty, or not Guilty
She stood at the bar of justice,
Cowboy Lore
FC 11 A-01
132
Jules Verne Allen
The Cowman's Prayer
O, Lord, please lend me not Thine ear.
round-ups, thunder rolls, water drop, gold
City Cattle: Humorous Western Political Satire
FC 11 J-06
73
Derwin J. Jeffries
A Friendly Dog!
I'm just a friendly dog, I guess.
friendship
Rimes O' Round-Up
FC 11 F-08
39
Chester Anders Fee
I Am the Voice
I am the voice of the pioneers.
pioneers, settlers
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
135
John A. Stone
The Happy Miner
I am a happy miner, I love to sing and dance.
Wolf Tracks on the Welcome Mat
FC 11 Z-03
24
Paul Zarzyski
Bucks in rut
Too young to hunt, but old enought to relish killing, I dwelled on the animal world during nights of insomnia at the camp