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
Shrewd Angles & Other Undertones
FC 11 D-16
26
John C. Dofflemyer
Earthtones
A man grows close to the ground in a circle of seasons.
Poems from the Alamo Saloon
FOLK COLL 11 L-45
32
Paul Thomas Lillard
By Any Name
Call it a toilet or maybe the throne, by many names is it known.
toilet, crapper, names
Cowboy Songs, Jokes, Lingo 'n Lore
FC 11 E-22
22
Wayne Erbsen
The Girl I Left Behind Me
I struck the trail in seventy nine, The herd strung out behind me. As I jogged along my mind went back to the girl I left behind me.
What I Learned On the Way to Life: Insights and Concepts learned along the way..
FC 11 J-15
93
Hans "Jake" Jeppson
Placard Type Slogan
Those who break the fragile, lonely heart.
The Cowboy Sings: Traditional Songs of the Western Frontier
Kenneth S. Clark
FC 11 C-33
56
Sweet Betsy from Pike
Oh, don't you remember sweet Betsy from Pike; Who crossed the big mountains with her lover, Ike.
Back Trax: Western Poetry
FC 11 P-15
6
L.R. Parker
The Last Chance Caf?
Ol' Stench was done with buck-a-roo'n.
Land Circle: Writings Collected from the Land
FC 11 H-43
80
Linda M. Hasselstrom
Thanksgiving Prayer
Behind me, the black shadow of a church reaches out from every height in Scotland
Lyrics of the Lariat
FC 11 G-10
174
Nathan Kirk Griggs
Mammon
Old Mammon is the mighty king.
morality
Wind Songs
FC 11 R-43
22
Norman Edward Rourke
9-11
Sadness grips our land today, When terror found its mark, As men with base convictions, Their evil did impart.
Mountain Echoes
FC 11 W-08
70
Jim Whilt (Poet of the Rockies)
The Last Pass
When I have climbed to the top of that last great pass,
Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems
FC 11 E-21
106
Elizabeth Ebert
Ode to Tofu
The gentle cows upon our plains Who feed upon the grass, And then, in turn, expel methane In manner somewhat crass, Are being blamed for making Our atmosphere less dense. They say someday we'll die because Of bovine flatulence.
Horse Talk & Other Poetry
FC 11 S-32
20
Larry M. Slade
Privy Social Life
Privies weren't private, when I was just a kid,
Poems: Ridin' Fence
FC 11 A-09
33
Vic Anderson
A Trip to the Pond
I used to go out to John's place on weekends when I was young.
A Cowboy in town
FC 11 H-38, no. 3 (2 copies)
Drum Hadley
A Cowboy in town
Well Stan Hall is kind of a polite, quiet man, a fine cowboy with a good steady job, and a wife and three good kids.
Songs of the Saddle and Trails Into Lonesome Land
FC 11 B-19
9
E.A. Brubacher
The Cow Man of the West
A cow man is a funny kind of critter.
cattlemen, cowman
Hung out to dry
FC 11 D-22
26
John C. Dofflemyer
Kayenta
Directed to the native waitress, the only discouraging words crack the Holiday Inn coffeeshop
Signature of the Sun: Southwest Verse, 1900-1950
Mabel Major and T.M. Pearce
FC 11 M-02
69
S. Omar Barker
When Billy the Kid Rides Again
High are the mountains and low is the plain.
Legacy Of The Land
FC 11 B-72
56
Virginia Bennett
Storms On The Divide
I saddled up the balck Morgan Mare, Headed up through the timber toward Cottonwood Crik. She danced from the hint of a storm in the air but i figgered we'd get the job done quick and soon we'd be home,
homestead, sick, God, hell, lamp
Graining the Mare: The Poetry of Ranch Women
Teresa Jordan
FC 11 J-10
58
Martha Downer Ellis
Never Let Us Think
Never let us think that Waddingham or Montoya.
Poetry of Ranch Women
Tumbleweeds and Corral Dust
FC 11 M-25
36
Vern C. Mortensen
The Hell You Say
I've sold my soul to the Devil as I've roughed and boomed
religion, belief, God, faith
Pony Nelson and Other Western Ballads
FC 11 R-09
41
Clyde Robertson
The Yellow With of Caribou
The hills are high in Caribou.
Cowboy Poetry: Classic Rhymes by S. Omar Barker (1894-1985)
Jodie and Bob Phillips
FC 11 B-44
122
S. Omar Barker
A Cowboy's Christmas Prayer
I ain't much good at prayin', and You may not know me, Lord.
Cow Country
FC 11 E-04
43
Tom Ellinwood
The Insect Repellent
He may be tough on dogs and cats.
toad, insects
Red Hills Malarky
FC 11 W-14
64
Sam Wilson
Christmas 1974
It's been a busy summer and we had a lot to do.
Cowboy Poet
FOLK COLL 11 H-64
23
Joel Hayes
Untitled 2
Boys ain't she awful pretty Just a flappin' in the breeze? Waving proud and high and handsome, And just as free as you might please.
war, veteran, patriotism