Also titled The Cowboy's Soliloquy, this song originated in the 1880s.  It describes a cowboy's way of life and philosophy, or, as my father put it, "A Life in the Day of a Cowboy" (word order intentionally reversing Life and Day!).  My father, Hank Meredith, was a genuine old-time cowboy who rode mustang cow ponies and performed ranch work the old-fashioned way.  He was also a musician and a singer with a resonant low range who knew all the cowboy songs by heart, and sang them (and many other types of songs) for his family and friends (and sometimes for the cattle).  This song is the first of 29 that I recorded him singing in 1968.  The collection forms the basis of a book available from Tellwell Publishing (Victoria, BC) called "A Cowboy and His Songs - Tuneful Tales of the Old West."  The compendium contains information about Henry Meredith's life, a musical transcription of each song, plus a thorough discussion about the music and the lyrics, along with a glossary and a bibliography.  As a professional musician and educator, and his namesake son, I have written this book to preserve his legacy and share his unique voice and songs.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

01 - The Cowboy (The Cowboy's Soliloquy) - Hank Sr

The first song in this set was a review of the life of a cowboy, and the freedom and independence it provided him.  This iconic song boils down three aspects of cowboy philosophy in short vignettes:  1 – the workaday  world is fraught with difficulties (“their backs are all raw”);
2 – not even your own family can guarantee your personal happiness (so “keep singing [for yourself] from morning till night”);
3 – Death will eventually take us all away from Life’s trials and tribulations, but our most faithful friends are often animals.
This song is the second of 29 that I recorded my father singing in 1968.  He was a genuine old-time cowboy who rode mustang cow ponies and sang cowboy songs and many other types of songs for his family and friends.  His cowboy songs are the basis of a book available from Tellwell Publishing (Victoria, BC) called “A Cowboy and His Songs – Tuneful Tales of the Old West.”  The anthology contains information about Hank Meredith’s life, plus a musical transcription of each song, a thorough discussion about the music and the lyrics, along with a glossary and a bibliography.  As a professional musician and educator, and as his namesake son, I have written this book to preserve his legacy and share his unique voice and songs.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

02 - I Ride an Old Paint - Hank Sr

This song is number three in the collection of 29 that I recorded my father, Hank Meredith Sr., singing in 1968.   It is an account by an overconfident bronc buster who is surprised to meet his match in a decrepit old horse.  Moral – Sometimes we are fooled by outward appearances.  Hank was a genuine old-time cowboy who rode mustang cow ponies, including a strawberry roan named Skeeter, who bucked him off in front of a reporter with a camera (see associated photo).  All 29 cowboy songs are in the book “A Cowboy and His Songs – Tuneful Tales of the Old West” available from Tellwell Publishing (Victoria, BC).
Henry Meredith, Jr. author.

03 - The Strawberry Roan - Hank Sr

The massive cattle drives in the late 19th century started in Texas and ended up at shipping points in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and eventually Montana.  The Texas cowboy singing this song extols the virtues of Texas over Montana, and not just because the Texas winters are more favourable.    A book available from Tellwell Publishing (Victoria, BC), called “A Cowboy and His Songs – Tuneful Tales of the Old West,” contains this song as #4, plus information about Hank Meredith's life and times.  Each of the 29 songs I recorded my father singing back in 1968 is transcribed in musical notation, and also has a thorough discussion about the music and the lyrics.  As Hank’s namesake son, I have written this book to preserve his legacy and share his unique voice.  
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

04 - Texas Cowboy - Hank Sr

This pentatonic song recounts, in numerous short and often improvised verses, the adventures and misadventures of cowboys driving cattle to market along this famous trail, which started in Texas, and ended up at the railheads of Dodge City and Abilene, Kansas, where additional trails continued on to points further north.  Number 5 out of 29 songs of my father in the compendium called “A Cowboy and His Songs” (available from Tellwell Publishing), this is one that often  comes to mind when anyone thinks of cowboy songs.  My dad was a traditional cowboy of the old school who rode horses instead of pickup trucks to care for the herds under his charge.
Henry Meredith Jr. (author).

05 - The Old Chisholm Trail - Hank Sr

This song is #6 in a new book, “A Cowboy and His Songs – Tuneful Tales of the Old West,” published by Tellwell of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  It is almost completely pentatonic (except for two notes outside the scale), but has a lot of melodic interest, especially the stylized “cattle call,” sung as "Whoopee TiYiYiYo" by a passing cowboy on his way to deliver ‘dogies’ to beef markets further north.  I recorded my father, Henry Meredith Sr., singing this and 28 other cowboy songs, over 50 years ago, to preserve his rich bass voice and his cheerful interpretations of these historical songs which, already at that time, were disappearing, along with the traditional cowboy way of life.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

06 - Whoopee TiYiYiYo, Get Along Little Dogie - Hank Sr

This is a humorous and ‘tuneful’ tale presented as #7 in “A Cowboy and His Songs – Tuneful Tales of the Old West,” an analytical collection of songs published by Tellwell of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  It chronicles a braggart’s claim to being an excellent roper who could “tie” any steer.  The cowhands however pick a wily and wild old black “outlaw” steer, and bet Windy Bill that he can’t catch him.  Bill soon discovers that, while it may be OK in a rodeo arena tie-down calf roping contest, when your rope is tied to your saddle horn, instead of dallied around it, a big steer can yank you and your saddle off your horse and drag your saddle down the draw.  There are lots of cowboy terms in this song.  My father, Hank Meredith Sr. liked to sing this song and smile at the lesson it taught.
Henry Meredith Jr., author.

07 - Windy Bill - Hank Sr

My dad was the only one I know of to sing this song as a parody of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' melody.  It is less about a bucking Zebra dun horse than about its rider.  Remember how, in The Strawberry Roan, appearances could be deceiving?  In this case, all the cowboys assumed this stranger, who dropped in on their encampment, was a city slicker who could use big words but couldn’t ride.  When he asked to borrow a horse, they all thought that it would be a great practical joke to give him the outlaw dun horse in their remuda that was known for throwing all riders.  They were proven wrong, however, and discovered that “every educated feller ain’t a plumb greenhorn!”  I equate my father with the educated feller, as Dad got an honours degree at Rutgers University and had forgotten more about riding horses than most cowboys would ever know.  This comical song was one of Dad’s favourites.  It is #8 in the book about Dad and his songs, published by Tellwell, subtitled “Tuneful  Tales of the Old West.”  Hank’s choice of the melody to parody adds to the humour.
Hank Jr., author of the book, “A Cowboy and His Songs.”

08 - The Green Horn (The Zebra Dun) - Hank Sr

The tenderfoot’s initial optimism about becoming a cowpuncher turns to disappointment when he is bucked off a horse on his first attempt.  On top of that, he had trusted as true what the foreman had told him about the job – basically that it is a piece of cake, hardly any effort at all, just “like drifting with the tide.”  He ends up disillusioned and humorously discourages anyone from becoming a cowpuncher.  The song’s rhyme scheme is very unusual (mostly A A A B / C C C B).  The Cowpuncher is number 9 out of 29 of my father’s songs that were recorded in 1968 and are now included in the comprehensive book called “A Cowboy and His Songs” (available from Tellwell Publishing).
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

09 - The Cowpuncher (The Tenderfoot) - Hank Sr

A comical account of an old-time cowboy who was “asked to take a prance” in a fancy society ball in Denver.  He feels out of place (“like a burro in a pretty flock of sheep”) amongst the aristocratic upper crust in attendance until he decides just to cut loose and ‘shake the creases out of his go-to-meetin’ pants.’  The poem by James Barton Adams was published in Denver in 1899 as “The Cowboy’s Dance Song.”  The melody is anonymous, but my father may have contributed substantially to its contours and phrasing, from the way he sang it, and particularly to the stressed leading tone that recurs over and over again.  This entertaining song is included as the tenth cowboy song of 29 in my comprehensive book, available from Tellwell Publishing, called “A Cowboy and His Songs.”
Henry Meredith Jr., author.

10 - The High-Toned Dance - Hank Sr

This pentatonic song gives the story of a young cowboy hired to drive a herd of cattle into pre-statehood New Mexico Territory, often referred to simply as ‘Mexico’ at the time.  His letter to his fiancée goes unanswered.  On returning home, he is told that she married someone else with more money.  Despite her pleas that he not go back out west, “where the bullets fly,” he angrily says he’ll go back anyway, rather than seek “a girl more true than I” as she had suggested.  As number 11 in the series of 29 songs recorded by the my father, this song is included in the book “A Cowboy and His Songs.”
Henry Meredith Jr., author.

11 - The Lonesome Cowboy (The Trail to Mexico) - Hank Sr

Unlike the fickle girl in the previous song, this cowboy’s sweetheart remained faithful to the end, and beyond.  Jack comes home after a long absence on the trail, wanting to ask for her forgiveness, as he believes he’s to blame for the rift between them in the first place.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the chance, as he is told of her death as soon as he gets back.  But her last words no doubt break his heart.  This sad love song waltz is number 12 of the 29 cowboy songs recorded for “A Cowboy and His Songs” which is available through Tellwell Publishing (Victoria, BC, Canada).  The attached photo represents Jack's lost love, an angelic girl playing the harp (presumably in Heaven).
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

12 - Out on the Lonely Prairie (Cowboy Jack) - Hank Sr

Billy Venero is the first of a set of five songs about “Cowboy heroes.” Hank Meredith Sr. grouped these together from among the 29 songs he chose to record for the book “A Cowboy and His Songs” (available from Tellwell Publishing of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada).  At the beginning of the narrative, Billy is told that a gang of marauding Apache warriors have just ambushed 3 men along the same route Billy must take to warn his sweetheart of an impending attack.  When Venero  reaches the spot where they murdered those men, he himself gets shot.  But before he dies, Billy writes a note in the blood from his wound, ties it to his saddle horn and his weakening body to his saddle, and instructs his horse to deliver it to Bessie Lee.  They must “rouse before too late.”  Consequently, even in death, Venero saves the girl and the whole town, and the Apaches, who were certain they had killed Venero, are terrified at this mysterious miracle.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

13 - Billy Venero - Hank Sr

Another knight errant of the plains who, like Bill Venero, sought to save a damsel in distress.  In looking out for the boss’s little daughter, who was assisting with the roundup, Carl forgot to be on guard for his own safety.  Attempting to rescue “Leonore,” who had lost her balance trying to recover her blanket, he himself also fell into the path of the mad rush of stampeding cattle.  He managed  to distract the cattle, and instructed Leonore to “Lie still” – but he succumbed to their thundering hooves and horns when they charged over him.  This song is number 14 in my book about my father and his songs aptly titled “A Cowboy and His Songs.”
Henry Meredith Jr., author.

14 - Utah Carl - Hank Sr

An unkempt and inexperienced teenager wanders into the cow camp from a broken home, where his new stepmother “beat him every day or two.”  He is hired on to the outfit, and his main jobs consist of wrangling the horses in the remuda for the trail hands and helping the cook.  Suddenly he’s thrust into helping control a stampede and bravely rides “old blue Rocket” to head the cattle and turn them to slow their headlong rush.  Unfortunately, in the dark and stormy  night, Little Joe’s  horse goes over a cliff and falls on him,  crushing him to death.  One of the few cowboy songs with a verified composer, the poem was scrawled on a paper bag in 1898 during a trail drive by the earliest collector of cowboy songs to immortalize a true event.  Jack Thorp published his words (without a melody) in his 1908 booklet, “Songs of the Cowboys.”
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

15 - Little Joe, the Wrangler - Hank Sr

An aging cowpuncher named Charlie tells his comrades that he plans on retiring and going home  to see his mother after the fall roundup.  Naturally, he winds up on night guard duty during a storm that causes the cattle to stampede.  His horse stumbles and falls on him, and like the sad fate that befell Little Joe, Charlie dies from his injuries.  But not before he gives away his saddle, pistol, and bedding to Fred, Bill, and George.  He also asks his friends to send his wages to his mom, as now he’ll not see his mother “when the work’s all done this fall” as planned.  The song’s title is repeated in 6 out of 9  of the verses my dad sang.  The words, by D.J. O’Malley, were published as “After the Roundup” in 1893 and were sung initially to the tune “After the Ball” written a year earlier.  Hank Meredith Sr. recorded this song and 28 others for me in 1968.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

16 - When the Work's All Done This Fall - Hank Sr

Opposite the desire of the previous cowboy who, to protect his girl’s honour, became a second-degree murderer, this dying ‘youth’ does NOT want to be buried on the lone prairie.  But his comrades “paid no heed to his dying prayer” and buried him there anyway!  This song and the next (#19) both have the identical pentatonic melody.  Sung by my father as recorded in 1968.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

18 - Oh, Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie - HankSr

This pentatonic song has the very same tune as #18, “Oh Bury Me Not . . .”  It is sung as a solo by my father, and then together with my mom, sister, and me, as a 4-part “howler” – a round with the last notes of each phrase sustained until the singer’s next entrance.  A ‘howler’ provides rudimentary harmony on the range.  The single verse summarizes the demise of the cattle drives of 1860-1885.  The longhorn cattle grew out of favour with the beef eaters in the eastern cities due to their tough meat compared to the more tender, marbled meat of grass-fed beef (Herefords, Angus, etc.).  Instead of being fattened on the long drives across the fenceless plains from southern Texas to the railheads of Kansas and points north, the now preferred beef stock was pasture-raised, due to the plowed and fenced properties that destroyed the open range.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

19 - I'm Going to Leave OldTexas Now (sung as a 'howler')

In this song, Hank’s ‘basso profundo’ voice descends to his lowest note in all of the songs in the book, ‘A Cowboy and His Songs.’   His low B-flat below the bass clef is five tones (a perfect 5th) lower than the F♮ that is the usual low limit of most bass singers.  The narrator of the song reveals his dismay at his pal’s girlfriend.  She influenced him to be transformed from an honest cowboy into a gambler and gunslinger.  As a result, he protected his girl’s honour by filling another gambler ‘full of lead’ for insulting her picture.  Subsequently on the run from the rangers, he winds up getting shot, but before he dies (many of these cowboy songs with extended death scenes would make good opera plots!), he tells his comrades to “Bury Me Out On the Prairie” (the alternate title of the song).  And they do, marking the grave with big stones to let other cowboys know how a heartless woman can be responsible for the death of her lover.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

17 - I've Got No Use For The Women (Bury Me Out On The Prairie) - Hank Sr

This melody is a parody of the 17th-century jig tune The Irish Washerwoman, itself derived from a country dance, Dargason, which appeared in John Playford’s collection of instructions and tunes published in 1651 called The English Dancing Master.  As a ‘sodbuster’ (farmer) song, it is about a settler living on a “government claim" – an 1862 Homestead Act parcel of 160 acres (1/4 section) of land that was free to the person who could develop it and remain on it for 5 years.  Frank Bolar was living in a sod shanty (see song #21) made of the national soil (i.e., mud), and located in Lane County, Kansas.  He spends most of the song complaining (in a good-hearted way) about the difficulties of life on the plains, the problems with his adobe shack, the invasion of bugs. and the lack of food (especially if his crops fail).  Hank Meredith Sr. sang this with a jaunty tempo evoking the jig style of a country dance.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

20 - The Lane County Bachelor - Hank Sr

Another sodbuster song sung by a homesteader living in an mud shack on the plains, having made a “claim” for a tract of land offered by the government to people who agreed to live on the property for five years and improve it with a dwelling.  As trees were scarce or non-existent on the Great Plains, the building material of choice was sod cut into bricks held together by grass roots dug up with the sod.  The typically single male ‘nester’ (what woman in her right mind would want to suffer the hardships in the ‘adobe abode’ he describes) has a lot to complain about re: his life on the plains.  The melody of this song is virtually identical as that for Little Joe, the Wrangler, except Little Joe starts each verse on the sub-dominant, and this song only does that twice.  Hank Sr. conveys the humour of this tune by singing it very quickly.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

21 - Little Old Shod Shanty On the Claim - Hank Sr

Many settlers headed west not only for free land parcels to homestead, but also for the lure of gold.  Although not nearly as lucrative as the California Gold Rush in the late 1840s, the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1874-1877 began when Custer announced the discovery of gold, and romanticized personages like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok (who was murdered in Deadwood, SD) added to the allure and the intrigue of the Dakotas and Wyoming for population expansion.  But at first there was not much gold, and the railroads perpetrated a get-rich-quick hoax by exaggerating the amount of gold available.  The US government also got greedy and reneged on Treaties with the Indians, and, in general, the area became a place to avoid, as our singing narrator tries to warn his audience.  This is the last of the non-cowboy songs, all basically discouraging the settlement of the West for one reason or other.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

22 - The Dreary Black Hills - Hank Sr

This well-known song ranked 4th out of 100 in a poll of Western Writers of America even though it has very little to do with being a cowboy.  Most of the song is sung by a dying cowboy who admits he’s dying because he’s “done wrong.”  Despite a previous life of merit, he became an alcoholic and gambler and received a fatal bullet to his chest (we can only guess the reasons), and he anticipates his death.  However, this reprobate expects the stranger he has chosen to hear his  ‘sad story’ to notify his relatives, and then to plan an elaborate funeral with fifes and drums and at least 32 attendants to join the procession to the graveyard.  Glorifying a life poorly lived and forgiving the dishonourable fellow just because he now seems remorseful should not bestow hero status on the lamenting ‘cowboy.’  But there’s a tendency for people to wallow vicariously in self pity and empathize with a victim of his own undoing.  Nevertheless, my father’s less common melody (similar to “My Home’s in Montana”) puts a tongue in the singer’s cheek to emphasize the song’s incongruities and lessen the elements of tragedy seeking sympathy.
Hank Meredith Jr., author.

23 - The Cowboy's Lament (The Streets of Laredo) - Hank Sr

Initially sung to the tune, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, this song describes a cowboy who, as he’s dropping off to sleep on the prairie, has a vision of what the hereafter should look like and how a cowboy might ensure his admission.  He expresses himself in cowboy metaphors for everything, not once giving the literal equivalents (e.g., Sweet by and by, Boss of the riders, another big owner, great final day, etc., for Heaven, God, Lucifer, Judgment, and so forth).  He describes a big final “roundup, where cowboys, like cattle, will stand” awaiting their being “cut in the bunch with the ‘rusties’,” or in the bunch destined for “that bright, happy region.”  Hank Sr. reveled in singing the ‘Roll on’ chorus, adding additional lilting ‘roll-on’ phrases and a final low B♮ to end the song.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

24 - The Cowboy's Dream (Roll On, Little Dogie) - Hank Sr

Hank Meredith Sr. sang only two verses of this well-known folk song, and they are so general as to not impart much of a story line – just a vague description of two people who regard each other affectionately, one of whom is obviously planning to move away.  Because the word ‘cowboy’ was inserted into the lyrics of this old love ballad, it immediately became a cowboy song!  There are two Red Rivers in North America – one flowing north across the Canadian border into Manitoba and emptying into Lake Winnipeg; the other flowing eastwardly and forming the border between Oklahoma and Texas.  Though the song developed more or less equally in both disparate regions, Canadians will be happy to learn that it is the northern Red River Valley that provides the most convincing origins of the song, supported by the use of adieu in the lyrics, a word that wouldn’t normally occur in the U.S. southwest.  The ballad lends itself to adaptations for alternate story lines and characters according to the locale of its performance.  One textual variant is almost identical to song #26  here and called ‘Little Darling.’
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

25 - Red River Valley - Hank Sr

In this attractive waltz-like ballad, the rhymed Spanish words are almost exactly a direct translation of the English words – an unusual occurrence!  The lyrics are self-explanatory and imply that there may have been familial difficulties (deceased sister and mother – both kind, good and appreciated, but a father who perhaps was abusive or not present, hence his relegation to Hell).  It is unclear whether the singer is anticipating his own imminent death, or whether any of this text needs to be taken literally beyond the love song idea.  Why the singer would want a declaration of faithful love from his sweetheart, if and when he dies, is also unclear.  The association of the Spanish words as a direct translation of Nobody’s Darling exists nowhere else, so they might well be my father’s original creation, and that may account for his pleasure in singing this song.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

26 - Nobody's Darling (Adios Mi Querida) - Hank Sr

La Cucaracha is Spanish for cockroach, which, the song suggests, could not walk without having marihuana to smoke.  A key figure in the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) was the populist leader “Pancho” Villa.  He served for a time as governor of Chihuahua (1913-1915) and had designs on the presidency of Mexico that never came to fruition.  The illustration for this song on Sound Cloud acknowledges Villa’s political campaigns by displaying the placard my father used when he ran unsuccessfully for president of his high school in 1935.  Hank did get elected as Vice President of Peoria H.S., however.  Villas soldiers were called los Villistas, and despite the verse suggesting that they defeated los Carrancistas, Carranza’s soldiers were actually victorious and would not have been running away from Villa’s men.  The 2nd verse names the cities or states where you are most likely to find serapes, soldiers, and beautiful women, and suggests that love can be found everywhere.  The 3rd verse tells us that unrequited love is like a bald man finding a comb on the street.  “La Cucaracha” is one of the best known Mariachi band pieces, whether in duple meter (as Hank sang it) or in triple time.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

27 - La Cucaracha - Hank Sr

Although Cielito Lindo was composed in 1882, it still flourishes today as a very popular Mexican song, performed by mariachi bands, and sung and recorded by artists worldwide.  Cielito lindo is frequently identified as the unofficial Mexican anthem, and is considered one of the 10 most popular songs of Mexico.  The song’s lyrics vary widely from performer to performer as each singer is free to add new verses or to omit traditional ones.  After the opening stanza, Hank Sr. chose to sing only one additional verse, describing how, while flirting with this beautiful girl, the serenader suddenly found himself struck by Cupid’s arrow and actually falling in love.  Both verses are followed by the familiar “Ay, ay, ay, ay!” chorus.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

28 - Cielito Lindo - Hank Sr

One of the most globally popular Mexican cowboy songs across the past century, Allá en el Rancho Grande presents a generalized soundscape with indistinct imagery in lieu of any specific story about the Old West.  The opening words evoke personal memories of ranch life but also allow both the listener and the performer to conjure up philosophical notions.  However, it’s not the meaning of the often obscure lyrics, but rather their rhythmic energy, coupled with the unbridled exuberance of the melodies, that creates the essence of a lifestyle that is both optimistic and pragmatic.  After the standard opening stanza, and its completing refrain, my father chose to sing two of the song’s most cryptic verses that are metaphors for dealing with people through symbols such as smoking, skunks, the silent dead, and the noisy intruders in one’s life.  Most performers swap the refrain melody for additional verses probably because it follows logically only the first verse and is itself a metaphor using the ‘chaps’ the rancherita offered to make to describe a romantic relationship.  Hank Sr. correctly brings back the refrain after each verse to maintain the melodic and rhythmic balance originally intended, even if the words, out of context, make little sense.
Henry Meredith, Jr., author.

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