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
The Poetry of 'Breaker' Morant
FC 11 M-58
56
Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant
Short Shrift
I can mind him at the start-- Easy seat and merry heart! Said he, as he threw a glance At the crawling ambulance.
Poems of Banjo Paterson
n/a
FOLK COLL 11 P-40
65
Banjo Paterson
Song of the Artesian Water
Now the stock have started dying, for the Lord has sent a drought; But we're sick of prayers and Providence - we're going to do without; With the derricks up above us and the solid earth below, We are waiting at the lever for the word to let her go.
water, well, digging
Echoes Of The Dawn
FC 11 B-63
10
Belvina W. Bertino
Rainbow Reflections
Why must a rainbow flung on high, Boldly arched 'gainst a somber sky With vivid colors rare and gay Be destined soon to fade away?
Famous Cowboy and Mountain Ballads
FC 11 F-23
8
My gal is a high born lady
Thar is gwine to be a festival this evenin' and a gatherin' of color mighty rare
Straddle the Saddle: Ballads of Courage in the Saddle
Jodie & Bob Phillips
FC 11 B-52
27
S. Omar Barker
Ol' Rankin's Son-in-Law
Outrankin' all the ranchers on the range round Caupulin, was Guddlemuddy Rankin, an' his daughter's name was Jean'
Get Down and Come In: Poetry by Jim Ross
FC 11 R-20
80
Jim Ross
Nature's Way
Every minute starts an hour,
A Living Tradition -- South Dakota Songwriters Songbook Volume 1
George B. German Music Archives
FC 11 G-02
51
John McNeill
Cowboys Sing the Lonesome Songs
Cowboys sing the lonesome songs 'cause, cowboys are the lonesome ones
Cowboy Poet
FC 11 W-03
20
Stephen R. Wilhelm
The Rodeo
When th' tenderfoot public gathers 'round
Scattered, Lasting Remnants: "Fine Lines" of Poetry and Song
Echo Klaproth
FC 11 K-25
97
Andy Wilkinson
You can't stir the day with a spoon. (from "Wildflower Moon"). Made forever, like a mother's love. (from "Handmade Gift"). A woman can find her a good man to marry; but a good man marries to his call. (from "A Woman's Life").
The Cowboy Sings: Traditional Songs of the Western Frontier
Kenneth S. Clark
FC 11 C-33
17
Cowboy
All day on the prairie in the saddle, Not even a dog, boys, to trot by my side.
Catching It Whole: A First Collection of Poems
FC 11 P-02
6
R.J. Petrillo
Sweet Shadows
Afternoon heat plods over the ridge, Nosing at yesterdays coldly beyond
Bygone Days of the Old West
FC 11 L-01
320
Fred Lambert
The Pack Train
The first faint streaks of the coming dawn/ Lighten the eastern sky
Truth, Lies & Otherwise
FC 11 R-24
25
Carl "Skinny" Rowland
The Roving Man
Now there was a roving man, who had traveled everywhere,
Cow Country
FC 11 E-04
26
Tom Ellinwood
With a Side Dish of Beans
They sell all kinds of dried-out food.
food, jerky
Muses Of The Ranges
FC 11 D-28
70
John C. Dofflemyer
Passin' The Cup
Beneath the crust thet comes with circumstance there runs a stream of undercurrents pure thet's stepped in time with her unbridled dance but never held her fast
true, sooth, wrestle, demand, smoke
Fair Girls and Gray Horses
FC 11 O-12
206
Will H. Ogilvie
Black Sheep
They shepherd their Black Sheep down to the ships, Society's banned and cursed; And the boys look back as the old land dips- Some with a reckless laugh on their lips, And some with aprayer reversed.
Trail Dust : Sketches on the Trail
FC 11 H-03 v. 2
19
W. Howard Hamm
Trail dust
Thru rollin' dust and blazin' sun.
A Rancher's Writings
FC 11 S-07
27
Harold D. Sloan
That Old Pack Rat
The good Lord made the coyote,
Appears from here
FC 11 H-45
23
Barbara Hall
On that day of no tomorrows
On that day of no tomorrows this is what I'll see: a bunch of cows with smoking brands lookin hate at me
One Man of a Kind
FC 11 B-17
25
Everett Brisendine
A Cowboys Thinkin'
The Good Book says there will be a great roundup.
Bible, Judgment Day, heaven, afterlife, angels, belief
Dry Crik Rview: Spring 1993
John C. Dofflemyer
FC 11 D-20
10
Linda Hussa
Horse Runner
He rides in darkness folding 'round. The ring of hoof on desert floor ricochets off the moon. He hears each twice and looks to see behind. He is alone. He only feels another's flesh.
desert, uncharted dunes, warning, dogs, past, German Shepherds
Poet Lariat
FC 11 S-22
12
Gene Skaug
Doggone
Cop to the cowboy - "Does that dog have a license?"
Best Loved Poems of the American West
John J. and Barbara T. Gregg
FC 11 G-09
357
author unknown
The Dreary Black Hills
Now friends if you'll listen to a horrible tale.
Ayers' Patent Pills, Cheyenne, Comanche Bill, scalp, gold, loafers, beggars, orphan
The Big Roundup: Classic and Contemporary Poetry from CowboyPoetry.com
Margo Metegrano
FC 11 M-47
143
R.L. Ron Brinegar
Graduate
On a stage bound for Reno sat a Harvard graduate, beside him a cowboy.
Cow Camp Poetry: How it was writ, a lot of truth, and a little B.S.
FC 11 W-35
15
Jack Williams
The conasewer
Now you've heard of them conasewers of fine wines, music, and little bells that ring