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I came across this song in the Digital Tradition today. It has a lot of typographical errors, and no source information or tune. http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/cowboy-songs/002972.HTM has dots for our lyrics, but again no background information. Can anybody tell us about this song?
-Joe-

THE DYING COWBOY

I have a darlin' sister, she's all my joy an' pride,
I loved her from her childhood for I had none else beside,
I've loved her as a brother, an' with a brother's care
I've tried through grief an' sorrow her gentle heart to cheer.

Our country was invaded, they called for volunteers,
She throwed her arms around my neck, regardless of all fears,
Sayin' go my dariin' brother, drive them Indians from our doors,
Our hearthstone needs your presence but our country needs it more.

'Tis true I loved my country, I've give to it my all,
If it was not ior my sister I would be content to fall,
Oh comrades, I am dyin', she'll never see me more,
She vainly waits my comin' at the little cottage door.

My mother she lies sleepin' beneath the church-yard sod,
An' many a day has passed away since her spirit 8ed to God,
My father lies a-sleepin' beneath the dark blue sea,
I have no other kindred, there's none but Nell an' me.

Draw nearer to me, comrades, an' listen to my dyin' prayer,
Who'll be to her a brother, an' shield her with his carei%
Up spol;e the brave young cowboys, in chorus one an' all,
We'll be to her a brother, till the strongest one shall fall.

Then one bright smile of pleasure on the pore boy's face was spread,
One quick convulsive shudder, an' the cowboy he was dead.
Far away from his darlin' sister they laid him down to rest
With a saddle for his pillow an' his rifle on his breast.

A group had gathered round him, all comrades in a fright,
The tears rolled down each manly cheek as he said his last goodnight,
Up spoke the dyin' cowboy, sayin' do not weep for me,
I'm crossin' a dark deep river to a country that is free.

Draw nearer to me, comrades, an' listen to what I say,
I'm goin' to tell a story before I pass away,
Way up in northwest Texas, that good old Lone Star state,
There's one who for my comin' with a weary heart will wait.

@cowboy @death
filename[ DYNGCWBY
XX
oct97
Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song:

Dying Ranger, The [Laws A14]

DESCRIPTION: A cowboy/soldier tells of his sister left alone at home. His comrades promise to treat her as their sister. The wounded man dies happy. (Other details occur in localized versions; the verses -- and the dying hero -- vary widely)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910
KEYWORDS: death family farewell
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,So,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (13 citations):
Laws A14, "The Dying Ranger"
Belden, pp. 397-398, "The Dying Cowboy" (1 text)
Randolph 188, "The Dying Cowboy" (2 texts, 2 tunes) AND 216, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doerflinger, pp. 274-276, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 19, "The Shades of the Palmetto" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Ohrlin-HBT 50, "Ranger's Prayer" (1 text, not recognized as a version of this song, but with the same plot, metrical pattern, and some lyrics); 52, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 64, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text)
JHCoxIIB, #10, p. 144, "The Dying Ranger" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 243-245, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 53, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text)
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 17-20, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 689, DYRANGR DYNGCWBY
ADDITIONAL: Powder River Jack and Kitty Lee's _Songs of the Range: Cowboy Wails of Cattle Trails_, Chart Music, 1937, p. 42, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #628
RECORDINGS:
Dock Boggs, "Dying Ranger" (on Boggs3, BoggsCD1)
Cartwright Brothers, "The Dying Ranger" (Victor V-40198, 1930; Montgomery Ward M-4460, 1934; on WhenIWas2)
Buell Kazee, "The Dying Soldier" (Brunswick 214, 1928)
Glenn Ohrlin, "The Dying Ranger" (on Ohrlin01)
Luther Ossenbrink, "The Dying Ranger" (Champion 16095 [as West Virginia Rail Splitter]/Supertone 9665 [as Arkansas Woodchopper], 1930)
Johnny Prude, "The Dying Ranger" (AFS, 1940s; on LC28)
Marc Williams, "The Dying Ranger" (Brunswick 497, c. 1930)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Wisconsin Soldier" (lyrics)
File: LA14

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