Back in 2000 Metchosin said:


It's a different song Easy Rider. "The Cowboy's Lament" or "The Streets of Larado" was based on the The Unfortunate Rake and still retains the odd request for a cowboy requesting a military burial.

The military burial presumably is a carryover from (or at the very least, related to) "The Young Trooper Cut Down in his Prime", which is also clearly about the young trooper dying of syphilis.   The same story line, and essentially the same tune as "Streets of Laredo".

Dave Oesterreich