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
Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'
Virginia Bennett
FC 11 B-69
17
Dee Strickland Johnson
Herd A-Passin'
I can see, this early mornin', In the soft gray light of dawn, A cloud of dust a-risin' As a herd comes movin' on.
A Bronco Pegasus
FC 11 L-14
113
Charles F. Lummis
The Rain
It rained, to-day!
The Bronco Busters Song Album
The Bronco Busters
FC 11 B-32
6
"Texas Ruby" Owens and "Zeke" Clements
New Coming 'Round the Mountain
She'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes.
Too Thick to Drink?Too Thin to Plow: Poems of the Cow Country
FC 11 M-04
2
John R. Markley
With a Copenhagen Ring on His Pocket and His Name on the Back of His Belt
There is a new breed of man that's emerged in the West.
More Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse
FC 11 R-13
30
Bob Ross
Wind Powered
It's a bit on the primitive side
Blood Sister, I Am To These Fields
FC 11 H-56
11
Linda Hussa
Rural Electricity - 1938
When the generator broke down the men had to milk the cows by hand. Sucking cups, hoses useless as 'tits on a boar,' they snorted.
switch, scrub board, light
What I Learned On the Way to Life: Insights and Concepts learned along the way..
FC 11 J-15
8
Hans "Jake" Jeppson
A Love Nest on Gentile Valley Road
In a rich and fertile valley of the winding river called the Bear.
Sharing the Journey
FC 11 R-30
1
Norman Edward Rourke
Sharing the Journey
As smoke rose through the opening.
Life, night, warrior, tent, elder
What I Learned On the Way to Life: Insights and Concepts learned along the way..
FC 11 J-15
57
Hans "Jake" Jeppson
Friend or Whipping Boy
When you hurt real bad inside, grab something and tan my hide.
Cowboy and Other Poetry: Thoughts by Men Who Have Mashed Their Fingers
FC 11 T-16
28
Jim Tanner
Hair
MISSING (poem has been cut out of book)
Too Thick to Drink?Too Thin to Plow: Poems of the Cow Country
FC 11 M-04
26
John R. Markley
The Kind That Put Cash in the Bank
Some like them red.
Texas Poems By A Texan
FC 11 S-62
21
D.A. Stewart
Will We Know?
At evening when twilight is stealing On earth at the set of the sun When the light in the far west is fading After the days toil is done Then I gaze at the stars shining yonder Like jewels in heaven's bright dome I view them with awe as I wonder If each is a world like our own.
Rhymes on the Range
Mike Puhallo, Brian Brannon & Wendy Liddle
FC 11 P-26
15
Brian Brannon
The Outfitter
Outfittin' ain't the life for most.
Cowboy Poetry: Cloud Watchers
FC 11 F-16
319
Rolf M. Flake
As The Crow Flies
I used to drive a "Cattle-Rack"-- (An ol' Chevrolet bobtail truck.) Hauliln' catte on Northern Arizona roads You depend a whole lot on luck. You must stay alert, keep your mind on the road Especially in places like Salt River Canyon. It's five crooked miles in--a holdin' your gears And five SLOW miles back up out of that canyon.
Waiting for the Pear to Fall
FOLK COLL 11 D-29
52
Richard M Dunlap
Felt versus Straw
Now my brother-in-law is a true buckeroo, He's worked for some pretty big spreads. And fact is you'd just never see him, Without a Stetson of felt on his head.
hat, heat, humidity, straw, felt
H
Poetic Works of Henry Lawson
David McKee Wright
FC 11 L-24
90
Henry Lawson
For'ard
It is stuffy where the second-classers sleep.
Songs of the Saddlemen
FC 11 B-06
19
S. Omar Barker
Ol' Sancho
In Atascosa County where the thickets run to thorn.
Old Sancho, longhorn, pinto calf, brasadas, Rancher Kerr, dogie, Mrs. Kerr, Mexican, pet, Esperanza Creek, 7Z, 7 Z, brand, Washita, CR, C R, loyalty, paint, Texas, Texas longhorn
Cow Country Happenings
FOLK COLL 11 G-46
5
Lonnie D Garten
Cow Reasoning
Now a cow's a funny critter Then get fed every day All throughout the winter They get their cake and hay.
cow, funny, truck, food
Land Circle: Writings Collected from the Land
FC 11 H-43
317
Linda M. Hasselstrom
Butchering the crippled heifer
First: aim the pistol at her ear.
Sittin' and A-Grinnin': A Collection of Works
Layle Bagley & Linda Merrill
FC 11 B-11
89
A. Honey
The Model T
Pa said he was gonna buy a car.
Blood Writing
Sean Sexton
FOLK COLL 11 S-75
43
Sean Sexton
Posthole Digger's Dream
He knew something inside her like the softness
dream, hope, work
Faded jeans n' wore out boots
FC 11 M-61
61
T. Matheny
Good-bye
As I touched your pretty face is that a teardrop in your eye, for so long together we have been now it's time to say good-bye.
Along Old Trails: Poems of New Mexico and Arizona
FC 11 S-06
55
William Haskell Simpson
As Waters Ran
As waters ran, there went the twisting trails
Give My Love to Children - Horses - A Collection of Stories and Poems
FC 11 J-07
64
Hans Jacob Jeppson
Plaudit III: An American Story
The windshield wipers popped back and forth in a futile attempt to clear the pouring rain from the windshield of my pickup as my wife and I drove down the land to the pasture?