Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(3.9 stars; 5 reviews)

John Avery Lomax is a towering figure in the field of early American musicology and folklore. Through intensive field work, Lomax built up the core body of work for the Library of Congress Archive. "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads" is his collection that propelled him to the forefront of his field and ignited new interest in American folklore, inspiring many to continue research. For his contributions to the field of cowboy music, Locas was inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame in 2010. Many of the verses here are accompanied by musical scores, and some may be more familiar in their musical form such as "A Home on the Range." A wide array of characters and life across the western United States is represented here. - Summary by Larry Wilson (6 hr 36 min)

Chapters

Dedication 2:24 Read by Larry Wilson
Introduction 5:00 Read by Larry Wilson
Collector's Note 16:00 Read by Larry Wilson
The Dying Cowboy 4:04 Read by Nemo
The Days of Forty-nine 2:43 Read by Nemo
Joe Bowers 2:44 Read by Nemo
The Cowboy's Dream 2:17 Read by Jack Allan
The Cowboy's Life 1:54 Read by Michael Fassio
The Kansas Line 1:53 Read by Scotty Smith
The Cowman's Prayer 1:18 Read by Larry Wilson
The Miner's Song 2:49 Read by Kurt
Jesse James 2:39 Read by Michael Fassio
Poor Lonesome Cowboy 1:30 Read by Scotty Smith
Buena Vista Battlefield 2:56 Read by Michael Fassio
Westward Ho 1:26 Read by Kurt
A Home on the Range 1:56 Read by Larry Wilson
Texas Rangers 3:06 Read by Scotty Smith
The Mormon Bishop's Lament 4:03 Read by Scotty Smith
Dan Taylor 1:53 Read by Scotty Smith
When Work Is Done This Fall 3:10 Read by Michael Fassio
Sioux Indians 2:19 Read by DrPGould
The Old Chisholm Trail 3:34 Read by Scotty Smith
Jack Donahoo 1:47 Read by Scotty Smith
Utah Carroll 3:17 Read by Kurt
The Bull-whacker 2:37 Read by realisticspeakers
The "Metis" Song of the Buffalo Hunters 1:46 Read by realisticspeakers
The U-S-U Range 2:31 Read by Nemo
The Cowboy's Lament 4:04 Read by realisticspeakers
Love In Disguise 2:25 Read by realisticspeakers
Mustang Gray 1:49 Read by realisticspeakers
Young Companions 1:58 Read by Kurt
Lackey Bill 4:49 Read by Scotty Smith
Whoopee Ti Yi Yo, Git Along Little Dogies 2:03 Read by Scotty Smith
I'm A Good Old Rebel 1:37 Read by Scotty Smith
The Cowboy 2:31 Read by Eva Davis
Bill Peters, The Stage Driver 2:20 Read by Kurt
Hard Times 3:17 Read by Michael Fassio
Cole Younger 2:19 Read by Kurt
Mississippi Girls 2:39 Read by Kurt
The Old Man Under the Hill 2:26 Read by Kurt
Jerry, Go Ile That Car 2:29 Read by realisticspeakers
John Garner's Trail Herd 3:01 Read by Michael Fassio
The Old Scout's Lament 1:45 Read by Kurt
The Lone Buffalo Hunter 2:46 Read by Kurt
The Crooked Trail to Holbrook 2:47 Read by Kurt
Only a Cowboy 1:49 Read by Kurt
Fuller and Warren 3:01 Read by Kurt
The Trail to Mexico 3:52 Read by Kurt
The Horse Wrangler 2:33 Read by Nemo
California Joe 7:45 Read by Peter Yearsley
The Boston Burglar 2:00 Read by Nemo
Sam Bass 3:20 Read by Nemo
The Zebra Dun 3:36 Read by Kurt
The Buffalo Skinners 3:33 Read by Kurt
Macaffie's Confession 3:05 Read by Kurt
Little Joe, The Wrangler 3:27 Read by Kurt
Harry Bale 2:12 Read by Kurt
Foreman Monroe 3:48 Read by Kurt
The Dreary Black Hills 1:57 Read by realisticspeakers
A Mormon Song 2:40 Read by Tim Watkins
The Buffalo Hunters 1:57 Read by Nemo
The Little Old Sod Shanty 2:53 Read by Kurt
The Gol-darned Wheel 4:41 Read by Cyndy
Bonnie Black Bess 2:36 Read by BettyB
The Last Longhorn 2:42 Read by Peter Yearsley
A Prisoner for Life 2:03 Read by Kurt
The Wars of Germany 3:26 Read by Nemo
Freighting from Wilcox to Globe 3:47 Read by Kurt
The Arizona Boys and Girls 2:46 Read by BettyB
The Dying Ranger 3:27 Read by realisticspeakers
The Fair Fannie Moore 2:40 Read by Peter Yearsley
Hell in Texas 2:40 Read by Nemo
By Markentura's Flowery Marge 2:02 Read by Kurt
The State of Arkansaw 3:28 Read by Nemo
The Texas Cowboy 3:13 Read by Kurt
The Dreary, Dreary Life 2:45 Read by Kurt
Jim Farrow 1:48 Read by Kurt
Young Charlottie 3:43 Read by BettyB
The Skew-Ball Black 1:37 Read by Kurt
The Rambling Cowboy 2:05 Read by Nemo
The Cowboy at Church 3:15 Read by Nemo
The U. S. A. Recruit 2:27 Read by Larry Wilson
The Cowgirl 1:08 Read by BettyB
The Shanty Boy 1:28 Read by Kurt
Root Hog or Die 3:05 Read by Michael
Sweet Betsy from Pike 2:55 Read by BettyB
The Disheartened Ranger 2:58 Read by Cyndy
The Melancholy Cowboy 2:10 Read by Nemo
Bob Stanford 1:35 Read by Michael
Charlie Rutlage 1:59 Read by Michael
The Range Riders 2:00 Read by Chris Pyle
Her White Bosom Bare 3:58 Read by Kurt
Juan Murray 2:13 Read by Chris Pyle
Greer County 3:14 Read by Cyndy
Rosin the Bow 2:01 Read by Kurt
The Great Round-Up 2:28 Read by Larry Wilson
The Jolly Cowboy 3:01 Read by Yanyan Zeng
The Convict 1:48 Read by Kurt
Jack O' Diamonds 3:28 Read by Kurt
The Cowboy's Meditation 2:10 Read by Nemo
Billy Venero 4:14 Read by Kurt
Dogie Song 1:06 Read by Tim Watkins
The Boozer 1:19 Read by Kurt
Drinking Song 0:55 Read by Kurt
A Fragment 0:49 Read by Larry Wilson
A Man Named Hods 2:41 Read by Lowell Moore
A Fragment 0:53 Read by Larry Wilson
The Lone Star Trail 3:37 Read by aniroo
Way Down In Mexico 1:07 Read by DrPGould
Rattlesnake A Ranch Haying Song 2:17 Read by DrPGould
The Railroad Corral 1:55 Read by Jack Albert
The Song of the "Metis" Trapper 1:58 Read by Cyndy
The Camp Fire Has Gone Out 1:35 Read by Bristol Chilton
Night-Herding Song 1:40 Read by aniroo
Tail Piece 0:39 Read by DrPGould
The Habit 1:39 Read by Nemo
Old Paint 2:00 Read by Cyndy
Down South on the Rio Grande 1:12 Read by Larry Wilson
Silver Jack 2:38 Read by Phil Schempf
The Cowboy's Christmas Ball 5:47 Read by Nemo
Pinto 1:38 Read by Larry Wilson
The Gal I Left Behind Me 1:50 Read by Wolfgang Bas
Billy The Kid 1:12 Read by Cyndy
The Hell-Bound Train 3:27 Read by Nemo
The Old Scout's Lament 1:42 Read by Phil Schempf
The Deserted Adobe 2:08 Read by Yanyan Zeng
The Cowboy at Work 1:56 Read by Yanyan Zeng
Here's to the Ranger! 1:52 Read by aniroo
Muster Out the Ranger 1:40 Read by aniroo
A Cow Camp on the Range 1:48 Read by Phil Schempf
Freckles. A Fragment 2:26 Read by DrPGould
Whose Old Cow? 3:16 Read by Larry Wilson
Old Time Cowboy 2:30 Read by Cyndy
Bucking Broncho 2:06 Read by Nemo
The Pecos Queen 1:26 Read by BettyB
Chopo 1:17 Read by aniroo
Top Hand 2:26 Read by DrPGould
California Trail 2:00 Read by Bristol Chilton
Bronc Peeler's Song 1:26 Read by aniroo
A Deer Hunt 1:48 Read by Tim Watkins
Windy Bill 2:26 Read by Michael Fassio
Wild Rovers 2:08 Read by Michael Fassio
Life in a Half-Breed Shack 1:57 Read by Larry Wilson
The Road to Cook's Peak 2:51 Read by Cyndy
Araphoe, Or Buckskin Joe 3:20 Read by Phil Schempf
Rounded up in Glory 1:17 Read by Larry Wilson
The Drunkard's Hell 2:18 Read by Michael
Rambling Boy 1:42 Read by aniroo
Brigham Young. I. 1:42 Read by DrPGould
Brigham Young. II 2:13 Read by DrPGould
The Old Gray Mule 1:16 Read by Nemo
The Fools of Forty-nine 2:25 Read by aniroo
A Ripping Trip 1:04 Read by aniroo
The Happy Miner 2:04 Read by aniroo
The California Stage Company 1:25 Read by aniroo
New National Anthem 1:24 Read by Larry Wilson

Reviews


(5 stars)

It seems there would be better places for a reader to practice their English. But mostly well read. The cowboy song are a treasure. I sing some of these songs.