I noticed that, too, Garg. I thought "I Ride an Old Paint" and "Goodbye, Old Paint" were two different songs, but then I came across a combination - from the Lomaxes, 1934.


OLD PAINT

My foot in the stirrup, my pony won't stan',
I'm a-leavin' Cheyenne, I'm off for Montan'.

Chorus:
Good-by, old Paint, I'm a-leavin' Cheyenne,
Good-by, old Paint, I'm a-leavin' Cheyenne.*

I'm a-ridin' old Paint, I'm a-leadin' old Fan,
Good-by, little Annie, I'm off for Cheyenne.

Old Paint's a good pony, he paces when he can,
Good morning, young lady, my hosses won't stand.

Oh, hitch up your hosses and feed 'em some hay,
And seat yourself by me, as long as you stay.

My hosses ain't hungry, they'll not eat your hay,
My wagon is loaded and rolling away.

I am a-riding old Paint, I am a-leading old Dan,
I'm goin' to Montan' for to throw the hoolihan.

They feed in the coulees, they water in the draw,
Their tails are all matted, their backs are all raw.

Old Bill Jones had two daughters and a song:
One went to Denver, and the other went wrong.

His wife she died in a pool-room fight,
And still he sings from morning to night.

Oh, when I die, take my saddle from the wall,
Put it on my pony, lead him from the stall.

Tie my bones to his back, turn our faces to the west,
And we'll ride the prairie that we love the best.


*To be repeated until one thinks of more words or the waltz stops.


Notes:

Boothe Merrill, a friend of college days, gave me this song in 1910, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where we were attending the great Frontier Days celebration.

Source: John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, American Ballads and Folk Songs (1934), page 383-385.