FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

159

Ray Owens

A Different Point of View

If I just had my life to live over. . .I've heard that sayin' since I was a kid And I've wondered what caused folks to say it As often as some of 'em did.

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

161

Ray Owens

Both are the Same

There's cowboys at heart and cowboys for real, An' sometimes both are the same. Some are hard to the core like an oak four by four But most are well-mannered and tame.

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

162

Ray Owens

Something of Value

Something of Value, Nothing Is Free Has its own special meaning for you and for me It's more than a phrase with a poetic ring Something of Value

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

163

Ray Owens

Ridin' Tall Thru Time

Cowboy Poetry Gatherin's are fav'rite thing of mine The traditions, codes, and values from another place and time Are sitll alive and kickin' and I'm kinda glad to say

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

164

Ray Owens

Please Pass the Confusion

There's some overwhelmin' evidence the evidence is wrong The truth gets so abused thesse days it's hard to go along With hardly anythig you see or hear or read about

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

166

Ray Owens

Someone Always Tops Your Story

Ever thought 'bout how your problems, which you thought were just your own Are the same as other people's, if the truth was only known? Maybe not the same, exactly; but they're not so far apart

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

167

Ray Owens

In the Evenin' After Supper

In the evenin' after supper, near the clson' of the day With the horses grained and watered, and fed a block of hay An' the evenin' breeze starts coolin' off the stif'lin' summer heat, I like to sit out on the porch

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

168

Ray Owens

Strong Enuff

It's been my observation, watchin' how folks live their lives That some are felled by life's hard knocks while ohters seem to thrive In spite of woes or sorrows,

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

170

Ray Owens

Where is Heaven?

Where is Heaven? folks have asked; i guess, since time began. That question's been debated by some educated men. It's a question that I've pondered some, near as long as I've been livin'

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

171

Ray Owens

What it's All About

Character, the old man said, is what it's all about; It's what keeps a feller gon' when his world turns inside out. Now, I don't know if Mr. Webster would for certain sure agree But the gumption in our gizzard is what it's always meant to me

Cowboys & Dog Tales

FC 11 O-11

Tim O'Bryne

essays

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

173

Ray Owens

Visitin' a Friend

Down a tw-lane gravel road a-piece, Not far beyond a bend; Is a place I love to visit 'Cause that feller is my friend. Now and then I got o see him And it always makes my day

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

174

Ray Owens

Fifty Some-Odd Years Ago

Just yesterday, I think it was; At least that's how it seems. The world and all it held was mine, A young man filled with dreams. Of challenges to conquer

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

178

Ray Owens

Destiny (The Perfect Husband)

It ain't easy, bein' perfect! Fact it's downright hard on you Sometimes I get plumb tuckered out formall that I go through But I fulfill my obligations, cause thereain't no use to run

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

180

Ray Owens

If you Ain't Fair if You Cain't Cheat

Ever since he'd been a little boy, he'd always bent the rules Deecivin' and connivin' had become the useful tools He skillfully employed to get whatever he desired.

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

181

Ray Owens

Bein' Me

It's odd how folks can be at times, ill-mannered and so crude Why, sometimes their behavior is just plain ol' downright rude. But if you get your feelin's hurt, they'll say,

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

183

Ray Owens

Inside by the Fire

Some daysi n January are just plain hard to admire Unless you have the luxury of sittin' by the fire They're cold and bleak and drizzly, and alot of clothes require It's sure a heap more comfortable

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

184

Ray Owens

The Secret of Longevity

I ain't opposed to usual customs It's not birthdays that I fear And since I've been getitin' older I'm tryin' to have one ev'ry year. Seems to me that reg'lar birthdays

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

185

Ray Owens

Advice Ain't Always Advice

Have you ever been real deep in thought and concentratin' hard When someone comes and interrupts, and you're caught plumb off guard? Or perhaps you're really hard at work

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

187

Ray Owens

How Come You Did it That Way Lord?

How come you made a gopher, Lord? What good is he, if any? 'Cept to maybe make us grateful You didn't creat twice as many. They're a double-barreled nuisance

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

188

Ray Owens

My Facial Growth Dilemma

I've never grown a mustache---Lately I've been wond'rin' why That's prob'ly something' everybody Should do once before they die.

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

FC 11 O-10

191

Ray Owens

No Place to Park a Horse

Our nation has its problems; we hear that ev'ry day The cities all are crumblin', our kids have gone astray. We've lost our fam'ly values; there's way too much divorce An' to top it off there's no place left for a man to park his horse.

Cow chips aren't for dippin: A guide to life in the New WIld West

FC 11 N-17

Coke Newell

Pocket book full of sayings, jokes, western philosophy.

Fair Girls and Gray Horses with other verses

FC 11 O-12

ix

Will H. Ogilvie

Fair girls and gray horses!

Fair girls and gray horses! A toast for you who never went wide of a fence or a kiss: while horses are horses and eyes are blue there is never a toast in the world like this!

Fair Girls and Gray Horses with other verses

FC 11 O-12

dedication page

Will H. Ogilvie

To Hugh Gordon

For sake of the meet and the muster, the hunts in the oak-scrub and plain;