I do have the original with Sills, JJ. Even though I use the odd spelling for the States' side of the pond, I am of Colorado ancestry and was raised here, so the Ballad has especial meaning for me, particularly as my great-grandparents, on two sides, settled in Leadville around the same time as Tabor.

I've had the pleasure of visiting the Tabor Opera House in Leadville; alone with a wonderful old lady who wrote a book about it and who knew my great-aunt quite well. This was a few years ago, so I don't know if she is still alive or not, but she sure knew the history of the Opera house! They actually had a live circus on stage, once, with uncaged tigers not 5 feet from the audience. Quite a lively place in its heyday!