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
Along Old Trails: Poems of New Mexico and Arizona
FC 11 S-06
37
William Haskell Simpson
Hopi Love Song
Was it a flute
Poems Mostly Cowboy
FC 11 N-16
6
Dick Nichols
Mountain Homestead
I walked along the shore Of a lovely mountain lake, Looking for the perfect setting For a picture I would take.
Welcome to Querecho Flats
FOLK COLL 11 B-78
51
Curt Brummett
Querecho Quilting Club
So once again we are faced with yet another dilemma in Querecho Flats. The Querecho Quilting Club needed a place to quilt that would not only leave their husbands alone for a couple of hours each week, but would give them a place to gossip where no one but the women present would know who they were talking about.
quilt, club, community center, blackmail
City Cattle: Humorous Western Political Satire
FC 11 J-06
34
Derwin J. Jeffries
It's Always Halloween
Ol' Harvey's got it figured out.
Mass media, media, government, inflation, taxes, politics, politicians, society, fear
Counting the Aerie Escalator's Steps: Bald Mountain Poems Winter 80/81
FC 11 P-06
13
Scott Preston
Hyndman Ode
Pinched, rat furtive faced along all motions of this day
Just More Thinking
FC 11 S-69
23
Georgie Connell Sicking
No Life For A Lady
Afer ridin' all day in the hot summertime, It is evenin' and canyons are shady. This is the time I begin to believe that cowboyin' Is no life for a lady.
Song of the Cowboys
N. Howard Thorp
FC 11 T-11
119
N. Howard Thorp
Old Paint
Every time I see an old paint horse, I think of you,
Yarns and Rhymes of Cowboy Times
Don and Phil Kennington
FC 11 K-15
24
Don Kennington
New Boots
When Johnnie went to town last week he bought some brand new boots.
Songs of a Sourdough
FC 11 S-03
21
Robert W. Service
The Spell of the Yukon
I wanted the gold, and I sought it
Cattle, Horses, Sky, and Grass
Warren Miller
FC 11 C-35
174
Paul Zarzyski
A Cowboy Reel
"Ain't a hand been hatched since 1950."
Cow-Gals Love Their Cowboys
Jodie and Bob Phillips
FC 11 B-50
55
S. Omar Barker
Cowboy's Resolutions
As one that's been a cowhand since the wildcats learned to spit, I've made some resolutions for the comin' year, to wit:
The First Twenty Five Years: Songs and Stories
Dave Stamey
FOLK COLL 11 S-76
134
Dave Stamey
The Mission Bell
We came to the mission; they promised us food The men there said we should stay and learn to do good They said the land belonged to God now, and we must all obey They taught us to make adobe brick And how to kneel and pray
mission, native americans, culture
Passing Through
FC 11 N-03
3
Howard L. Norskog
Diamond Studded Overshot
If there's drilling rigs in heaven, When it's time we all must go
afterlife
A Little Bit of Texas: A Collection of Original Poetry
FC 11 N-10
102
Rod Nichols
New Year's Eve
I'll saddle the roan then ride out alone.
hillside, time, silence, present, past
Musings from Cowboy Country
FOLK COLL 11 R-46
136
George Rhoades
Texas and the Big Bang
The old West Texas cowboy, In town for the rodeo, Wandered into the lecture hall And sat on the very first row.
texas, science, humor
Galloping Shoes
FC 11 O-7
94
Will H. Ogilvie
The Hoofs of the Horses
The hoofs of the horses Oh witching and sweet Is the music earth steals from the iron-shod feet
Ranch Reveries
Oscar Herem
FC 11 H-21
7
Lilly Sams
Orchids to Letha
Aches and pains? Chills and woes?
cure, ailment, remedies, remedy, cold
The Pony Express: An Epic of the Old West
FC 11 M-22
174
Charles Rendell Mabey
Henry Johnson of Albany
Von Ritter is crawling with four score men up over scarp and slide
world war, New York, National Guard
Faded jeans n' wore out boots
FC 11 M-61
44
T. Matheny
Mustangs
Seems there's some dude always wantin' to take pot shots at anything for any danged old confused reason.
Riding With Jim: Adventures with Cowboys and Farriers: Stories and Cowboy Poetry
FC 11 N-13
111
Andy Nelson
Defining The Endangered Cowboy
Quarter-Horse Nuts, Tight Wrangler Butts, and Calvers on cold spring nights; Old Pickup Trucks, a horse that bucks, and Scrappers not afraid of fights. Old West Riders, Up-All-Nighters, and them handy with a rope; Nighthawk Watchers, Gun Handle Notchers, and those who fear bars of soap.
Prairie Wife
FC 11 E-20
57
Elizabeth Ebert
Tribute to Roy Rogers
Long years ago when I was young It would have been my joy To be a cowby's sweetheart and ride the range with Roy. We'd watch a western sunset We'd hear the coyotes wail.
Best Loved Poems of the American West
John J. and Barbara T. Gregg
FC 11 G-09
195
Harry Stephens
Night-Herding Song
Oh, slow up, dogies, quit your roving round.
circle-herd, night-herd, trail-herd
Cowboy and Other Poetry: Thoughts by Men Who Have Mashed Their Fingers
FC 11 T-16
6
Jim Tanner
Jack Vest
Jack Vest was a hand of ours.
More Rhymes of a Ranch Hand
FC 11 L-06
24
Frank D. Lemon
Who's Hooting and Why?
A great horned owl perched in our tree.
Cowboy Poetry: Rhymes, Reasons, and Pack Saddle Proverbs by Chris Isaacs
Janice Coggins
FC 11 I-02
190
Chis Isaacs
The Lucky Man
The old cowboy's face was weathered and cracked.