Songs about Horses

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 31 Jul 08 - 04:57 PM

A four legged friend, a four legged friend
He'll never let you down
He's honest and faithful right up to the end
That wonderful one two three four legged friend

From the film "Son Of Paleface" (1952)
Written by Jack Brooks, sung by Roy Rogers

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly,
She's dead, of course

Sung by Burl Ives

Subject: RE: Looking For old beautiful song
From: GUEST,Dutch
Date: 31 Jul 08 - 06:32 PM

Back in the early '80s when I was in Kodiak, Alaska, I heard a very nice song about riding my horse or riding with my friend or how my horse was my best friend. It was a beautiful medium slow song sung by a man with a very mellow voice and at one point in the song, he went up to a nice mellow high note. I called the station but they could not give me the name of song or singer and as half a joke he said maybe it was Cowboy Copas. The recording sounded newer than to be from Copas or that era. I wish I could find it. I hope someone can help.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Beer
Date: 31 Jul 08 - 07:20 PM

I can't keep up to all these great responses so I'll just keep reading and you keep'em coming. Wish I could help Dutch. Maybe something by John Denver hitting that high note and all.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Big Mick
Date: 31 Jul 08 - 08:12 PM

Dutch, are you referring to Michael Martin Murphey's "Wildfire"? Or was that later?

Mick

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,Marymac90
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 01:50 AM

A couple more have come to my mind. One by Fred Small,
"The Heart of the Appaloosa" was about the Nez Perce people,
the horses that enabled them to travel through the
mountains, and the Cavalry Troops that cut them both down.

Another is by Lyle Lovett: "If I Had a Boat"

cho: If I had a boat, I'd go out on the ocean,
And if I had a pony, I'd ride him on my boat.
We could all .................................
Me upon my pony on my boat.

I'd better quit while I'm ahead, remembering 3 lines out of 4.

Happy trails.....

Marymac

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: quokka
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 01:52 AM

One from schooldays:

Here comes Brumby Jack
Bringing the horses down the track
Hear them come as he swings them around
Keeps them together safe and sound

-This is the chorus, sorry can't remember the verses. Maybe some other Aussies could shed some light...

Cheers,
Quokka

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: open mike
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 05:40 AM

some very choice songs here. I love Garnet Rogers' "Small Victories". There is also a song (or poem) about a woman in australia who is working hard to keep the ranch.."ON A LONELY SELECTION." In the song, she milks cows and tends to horses.

many cowboy songs contain horses..

I RIDE AN OLD PAINT,
I LEAD AN OLD DAN
I'M GOING TO MONTANA
FOR TO THROW THE HOOLIHAN..

Also Mike Beck, who is a musician and horse-trainer, has a song about PATRICK, a horse that belonged to Bill Dorrance, the original horse whisperer.

and of course there is the song (rolling stones)

wild horses couldn't drag me away...

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Beer
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 07:53 AM

If you like Garnet's "Small Victories" than you just gotta hear Brendan Nolan's "Old Ned".

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: cptsnapper
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 08:43 AM

"Heavy Horses" by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,Marymac90
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 09:36 AM

Another song that features a horse named Dan is "Cool Water". The break goes as follows:

Keep a-movin' Dan. Don'cha listen to him, Dan.
He's a devil not a man, and he spreads the burning sands
with Water, cool, clear, water.

Happy trails...

Marymac

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Beer
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 10:19 AM

Yes, and here is another on with Dan in it. Title escapes me at the moment. [THE BLIZZARD]

There's a blizzard coming on,
How I wish I was home.
My pony's lame and he can hardly stand.
Dan just think about that barn,
With it's hay so soft and warm..........and so on.


I think Jim Reeves sang it.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 11:00 AM

Beer, with respect to 'John, must you lend your fine horse for the fight?' - that's the entire song. The matter is not resolved.

Joseph de Culver City - I liked the poem 'Mother Country.'

Thanks to everybody who's posted. Such a variety of songs.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Arkie
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 11:17 AM

Beer, the song you mentioned is "The Blizzard" and I think Harlan Howard is the writer.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: topical tom
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 12:16 PM

Another one is The Silver Stallion as sung by The Highwaymen

[Lyrics]

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: kendall
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 01:18 PM

Plantonio the pride of the plains.
Billy Venero

These are quite long so I won't post the lyrics unless someone requests them.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: bankley
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 01:53 PM

"Beer for my Horses".... Willie Nelson

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,John from Elsie`s Band
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 03:16 PM

"I Love to See Those Horses Race" ........ John Hills
"Races at the Depot" .......W.Miller/John Hills
"Following the Old 'Oss"............Tony Deane

Subject: Lyr Add: THE CARTER
From: GUEST,JeffB
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 06:14 PM

And there's Creeping Jane of course, and I would also like to put in a vote for The Carter, which I first heard on Bonnet and Shawl. I've since come across another verse, the 3rd in the version below, which is the way I sing it :-

1    When I was a young man I followed the team,
      and my only delight was in keeping them clean.
    With brushes and curries I showed their bright colour
      and the name that they gave me was Hearty Good Fellow.

2    As ever in the evening when I go to my bed
      the thoughts of my horses run into my head -
    and I rise in the morning for something to eat
      just as soon as I do get my boots on my feet.

3    The first was a white horse as white as the milk,
      and the next was a grey horse as soft as the silk,
    and the next was a brown horse as sleek as a mole,
      and the next was a black horse like diamonds did show.

4    When we goes a-driving out on the highway
      if the load it be light then I feeds 'em on hay,
    and I gives 'em some water when we come to a pond,
      and then after we've drunk boys move steadily on.

5    My feet they grow weary a-walking by their side
      so I says to myself - you must get up and ride.
    And as I was riding I made this new song,
      so now you must learn it and sing it along.

6    Repeat 1

Can the usual suspects know or find out anything on this, I wonder? I think it's a fine song to sing, partly because of the lovely flowing melody, but also because of the words - the simple love of a simple man for his horses. So I suppose someone will now prove it was a stage song from late Vic music hall.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,DWR
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 11:42 PM

I suppose it is a bit like cheating with a copy of Glenn Ohrlin's The Hell-Bound Train in hand, but here are a few from that treasure of cowboy lore.

I am going to include just those songs where the horse is the main character or has at least a top supporting role - horses with names or at least great stories to tell! I don't think I have listed any that have already been mentioned.

Windy Bill
Bonny Black Bess
Walking John
He Rode The Strawberry Roan (Yes, I think it might owe something to a song already mentioned)
Tipperary
Outlaw Dunny
Midnight
Starlight
The Bronco Buster
My Old Pinto Pal

Subject: Lyr Add: ONE-TRICK PONY (Paul Simon)
From: Sorcha
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 11:49 PM

ONE-TRICK PONY
Paul Simon

He's a one-trick pony
One trick is all that horse can do
He does one trick only
It's the principal source of his revenue
And when he steps into the spotlight
You can feel the heat of his heart
Come rising through

See how he dances
See how he loops from side to side
See how he prances
The way his hooves just seem to glide
He's just a one-trick pony (that's all he is)
But he turns that trick with pride

He makes it look so easy
He looks so clean
He moves like God's
Immaculate machine
He makes me think about
All of these extra moves I make
And all of this herky-jerky motion
And the bag of tricks it takes
To get me through my working day
One-trick pony

Hes a one-trick pony
He either fails or he succeeds
He gives his testimony
Then he relaxes in the weeds
He's got one trick to last a lifetime
But that's all a pony needs
(That's all he needs)

He looks so easy
He looks so clean
He moves like God's
Immaculate machine
He makes me think about
All of these extra movements I make
And all of this herky-jerky motion
And the bag of tricks it takes
To get me through my working day

One-trick pony, one-trick pony
One-trick pony, one-trick pony
One-trick pony (take me for a ride)
One-trick pony

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: topical tom
Date: 02 Aug 08 - 12:18 AM

audio clip here

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: topical tom
Date: 02 Aug 08 - 12:20 AM

Sorry, Adrien! The title of the song is "Colorado Horses".

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: topical tom
Date: 02 Aug 08 - 12:36 AM

The complete lyrics to "Colorado Horses":

http://www.lyricstime.com/ledoux-chris-them-bareback-horses-lyrics.html

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: topical tom
Date: 02 Aug 08 - 12:38 AM

Too late at night, I guess!The actual title is "Them Bareback Riders".Sorry for screwing these posts up!

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Gray D
Date: 02 Aug 08 - 08:26 AM

Hugh Lupton and Chris Wood collaborated on a CD called The Horses and the song that Chris Wood sings is really something to hear. Saw them perform it live at St Donats Storytelling Festival a few years ago and I have to admit there was a tear in the eye by the end.

Can't find an online version to give you a sample, though.

Gray D

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 02 Aug 08 - 12:08 PM

JeffB, you have intrigued me with your reference to 'the lovely flowing melody' of the Carter. Is there anyway you could post that melody or a link to it? I agree with you that it is an unusual and pleasing song.

(you mean nobody dies of love it it? or leaves the old sod?)

Needless to say, when I googled 'The Carter' MIDI, all I got was a jillion references to the Carter Family.

Subject: Lyr Add: I LEARNED ABOUT HORSES FROM HIM
From: Arkie
Date: 02 Aug 08 - 07:14 PM

There are a couple of parodies of Kipling's poem "The Ladies" that have not made this list yet.

Here is the first:

I LEARNED ABOUT HORSES FROM HIM
by George B. German (modeled on Kipling's The Ladies)

'Twas on the Horse Shoe in old Arizona
That I rode my first bucking outlaw.
He could throw any man on the rancho,
And how that caballo could paw.
Well, I lays down my Spanish guitaro,
It was money I needed, by jim.
I hoists myself into the saddle,
And I learned about horses from him.

Then I trails to a ranch in the rimrock,
Where broncos are thicker than men.
There was one needed tamin' right badly.
I needed a job there and then.
So I curls up my maguey so neatly,
And I hangs my old pack on a limb.
Then I slips through the bars quite discreetly,
And I learned about horses from him.

Next I wanders down into Sonora,
Where horses are horses, you bet.
There was good ones, had ones, and tough ones,
And some of them darned hard to get.
A senorita wanted one for a plaything,
A black filled with hall to the brim.
She begs me with a sweet little smile-o,
And I learned about horses from him.

Then I drifts on up into Texas,
Where horses are wild, rough, and game,
And I says to the pinto I'm ridin',
"I'll get me a good one to tame."
So I takes to the hills and the canyons,
And I waits till I'm haggard and grim.
Then my loop settles down on a picture,
And I learned about horses from him.

Well, I rides up into Wyoming,
For I'd heard of a bad one called Bear,
And I heard they were offering money
To the guy that got on and stayed there.
Well, I found him, a bleary-eyed loco,
With ears that were pointed and thin.
And from the time I stepped in his middle
I learned about horses from him.

Then I stopped in Cheyenne for the rodeo.
To win me some money I tried.
A horse you all know, name was Steamboat,
That's the bugger I drew for to ride.
Now, something says, "Mister, you're crazy!"
But my bankroll says, "Don't you give in!"
Three jumps from the time the gates opened
I'd learned about horses from him.

Now, I've heard a lot about horses,
And I've rode 'em both large and small.
Sometimes I got on and I stayed there,
Sometimes what a hell of a fall!
But they's one horse I never have ridden,
It's Conscience they call it, by grim.
But I reckon when we have the last roundup
I'll learn about that horse from Him.

Subject: Lyr Add: I'VE TAKEN THE NAGS AS I'VE FOUND THEM
From: Arkie
Date: 02 Aug 08 - 07:15 PM

And here is the second:

I'VE TAKEN THE NAGS AS I'VE FOUND THEM

I've taken the nags as I've found them,
I've 'eeled and I've peeled in my time;
I've had my pickin of remounts,
An' four o' the lot was prime.
One wa a 'arf caste devil,
One was a 'orse but in name,
One I 'arf 'sited in Ogdan, Utah,
One fell in a ditch and went lame.

When I was a young one at Riley,
Tender as 'ell to begin,
Annie Austin they gave me,
And Annie was clever as sin.
Jumper they classed her at Riley,
Said she could go six feet nine;
She went up to a jump and came down on her rump,
Nurses are not in my line.

Then I was given a draft horse,
Schooled in the West Riding Hall;
Splendid four-gaiter they called him…
A walk, trot, stumble, and fall.
He wasn't so agile and supple,
But yet he could manage somehow
To turn at a trot in a four-acre lot,
So now he is hitched to a plow.

I've applied tannic acid diluted
To places not mentioned in print,
I've tumbled and fallen as you have,
I've worn all my limbs in a splint.
But now I've a nice new remount,
And wonderful things he can do;
So because you're my friend and have something to spend
I'd like to sell him to you.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,Mike B.
Date: 03 Aug 08 - 12:45 AM

These may be a reach, but they do make reference to horses -

"Love Minus Zero" (Bob Dylan)
"That Song About The Midway" (Joni Mitchell)
"Bonny Light Horseman" (Eliza Carthy & Nancy Kerr)

There's also the famous Stephen Foster song "Camptown Races" - and a little tune from the early 60s that starts out "A horse is a horse, of course, of course ...".

Subject: Lyr Add: BLOSSOM, THE MINING HORSE (John Warner)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Aug 08 - 10:34 AM

I don't think anyone has mentioned the horse songs composed by John Warner of Australia. Here's one of my favorites:

BLOSSOM, THE MINING HORSE
words: © John Warner 9/3/93; recorded on PITHEAD IN THE FERN
tune: Margaret Walters/Kim Poole 9/3/93

Now Blossom was a mining horse,
    Among the coal and slack,
Who hauled the skips with all her force,
    Get out of that, gee up you beggar,
    Come here, gee off, whoa back.

Wonthaggi miners all did know ...
What happened when Bloss refused to go ...

Now Bloss came out of the bord one day ...
Pulled to a stand and blocked the way ...

She had a full and heavy load ...
Of skips which blocked the wheeling road ...

Now Harry the wheeler cursed and cried ...
But Bloss dug in whatever he tried ...

With ears laid back our Bloss stood fast ...
No man behind in the bord got past ...

So Mac, who fired the shots, did say ...
"Let's eat, we could be here all day" ...

But, as the lads got out their lunch ...
The roof caved in with a deadly crunch ...

Our Blossom saved the miners all ...
She stood between them and the fall ...

And when the rescue team dug through ...
The lads were alive and Blossom too ...

Which goes to show, now and again ...
The mining heroes weren't all men ...

Unfortunately Warner's CD THE SEA AND THE SOIL is long out of print and it contains the beautiful "Horses of the World" and the related song "Farrier's Trade." Maybe some of our friends in Oz have already transcribed these two songs and will post the lyrics.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,Helen
Date: 03 Aug 08 - 02:41 PM

'The Carter' has been recorded by Dave Goulder on 'Stone, Steam and Starlings', amongst others.
There are some nice songs about working horses, including 'Heavy Horses' by Robin Laing, and 'Clydesdale's Dream' by Ian Tupling.

Subject: Lyr Add: LIFEBOAT HORSES (Andrew McKay)
From: Crane Driver
Date: 03 Aug 08 - 06:42 PM

Here's my Lifeboat Horses song, called ... er, 'Lifeboat Horses'

It's a traditional story from Mumbles, the fishing village at the west of Swansea bay, from the days when lifeboats were launched from horse-drawn waggons. I really want this to be a true story

LIFEBOAT HORSES
© Andrew McKay, 2004

In the village of Mumbles, at the end of the bay,
They keep two fine horses, a brown and a grey,
When the signals ring out they are harnessed away,
To go down to the sea for the lifeboat.
And the lifeboat crew's coxswain he mentions with pride,
How the brown and the grey, they would work side by side,
By day or by night, at high or low tide,
To go down to the sea for the lifeboat.
To go down to the sea for the lifeboat
To go down to the sea for the lifeboat
By day or by night, at high or low tide,
To go down to the sea for the lifeboat

And also in Mumbles there lives a proud man,
With mutton-chop whiskers and gloves on his hands,
Who makes a fine living from the dead of the land,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat.
And he's got two horses, they're regal and black,
They stand in the traces, with plumes on their backs,
He takes many folks forward, brings none of them back,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat,
He takes many folks forward, brings none of them back,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat

But the black horses sickened, they lay on the floor,
The horse-doctor came round, with his potions galore,
He said "No more hearse driving for a fortnight or more,
In your sombre black hat and your frock-coat"
"But the squire's just died, oh it couldn't be worse,
I haven't a horse for to handle the hearse!"
Then he scratched at his head, and he muttered a curse,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat,
Then he scratched at his head, and he muttered a curse,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat

Then he said "These two horses, the grey and the brown,
They were bought and maintained for the good of the town,
They do nothing all day but just wander around,
And go down to the sea for the lifeboat!"
Well, the brown and the grey didn't quite look the part,
In the nodding black plumes of the old dead-man's cart,
But they started off strongly, and the proud man took heart,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat,
But they started off strongly, and the proud man took heart,
In his sombre black hat and his frock-coat

'Twas a stormy old day but they pulled with a will,
On squire's last trip to the top of the hill,
Till the signal rang out from the coastguard so shrill,
"Come down to the sea for the lifeboat!"
Well, the horses they faltered, and then they stood still,
And then they turned round and walked back down the hill,
Though the proud man he hollered and hauled with a will,
They went down to the sea for the lifeboat
They went down to the sea for the lifeboat,
They went down to the sea for the lifeboat,
Though the proud man he hollered and hauled with a will,
They went down to the sea for the lifeboat

They pulled that old hearse right out into the bay,
The mourners stood watching in shock and dismay,
As the squire's remains drifted out and away,
Going right out to sea like a lifeboat.
And from that day to this, the brown and the grey,
Have had nothing to do but to eat grass all day,
Till the signal rings out from the coastguard to say,
"Come down to the sea for the lifeboat!"
"Come down to the sea for the lifeboat!"
"Come down to the sea for the lifeboat!"
Till the signal rings out from the coastguard to say,
"Come down to the sea for the lifeboat!"

Horses aren't as stupid as some people think.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Aug 08 - 08:39 PM

Andrew-

And another fine song about horse sense!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,Briagha
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 09:44 AM

The CD "Gentle Giants" is a compilation of songs about Clydesdale horses, including Robin Laing's "Heavy Horses," the Davy Steele song "Last Trip Home" mentioned above, and Christine Kydd singing "Gone are the Strong Ones." Great album.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,JeffB
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 09:47 AM

Leeneia, I would be delighted to send you the tune of The Carter. At present I am waiting for Mr Offer to bake me a cookie, after which I will send you a PM.

Oven's hot and ready to bake. Just send me an e-mail if you have trouble with registration, or if you are already registered and need to know how to reset your cookie.
-Joe Offer-
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,Black Hawk on Works PC
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 11:08 AM

Colorado Horses by Will Dudley

Mandrake by Tex Morton
Gunda???? Grey by Tex Morton

Running Shadow by Michael Martin Murphey
Ponies by Michael Martin Murphey

Champion the Wonder Horse by Frankie Laine
Mr Ed from TV series :-)

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: DonMeixner
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 11:13 AM

The Last Trip Home, By Davey Steele.

Subject: Lyr Add: HEAVY HORSES (Ian Anderson)
From: Mr Fox
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 11:44 AM

Little Johhny England do a nice song called 'Early to Bed' about plough horses:

"Early in the morning
In the pitch black and the cold
I lead the team across the Yard
And wait as I've been told........"

And, though it's not strictly folk, this is a classic:

HEAVY HORSES (Ian Anderson)

Iron-clad feather-feet pounding the dust,
An October's day, towards evening,
Sweat embossed veins standing proud to the plough,
Salt on a deep chest seasoning.

Last of the line at an honest day's toil,
Turning the deep sod under,
Flint at the fetlock, chasing the bone,
Flies at the nostrils plunder.

The Suffolk, the Clydesdale, the Percheron Vie
with the Shire on his feathers floating.
Hauling soft timber into the dusk
to bed on a warm straw coating.

Heavy Horses, move the land under me.
Behind the plough gliding slipping and sliding free.
Now you're down to the few
And there's no work to do:
The tractor's on its way.

Let me find you a filly for your proud stallion seed
to keep the old line going.
And we'll stand you abreast at the back of the wood
behind the young trees growing.
To hide you from eyes that mock at your girth,
and your eighteen hands at the shoulder.
And one day when the oil barons have all dripped dry
and the nights are seen to draw colder
they'll beg for your strength, your gentle power
your noble grace and your bearing.
And you'll strain once again to the sound of the gulls
in the wake of the deep plough, sharing.

Standing like tanks on the brow of the hill
Up into the cold wind facing
In stiff battle harness, chained to the world
Against the low sun racing
Bring me a wheel of oaken wood
A rein of polished leather
A Heavy Horse and a tumbling sky
Brewing heavy weather.

Bring a song for the evening
Clean brass to flash the dawn
across these acres glistening
like dew on a carpet lawn
In these dark towns folk lie sleeping
as the heavy horses thunder by
to wake the dying city
with the living horseman's cry

At once the old hands quicken
bring pick and wisp and curry comb
thrill to the sound of all
the heavy horses coming home.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE ANGELS TOOK MY RACEHORSE AWAY
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 12:42 PM

THE ANGELS TOOK MY RACEHORSE AWAY
starring Richard Thompson as Henry the Human Fly

Well the angels came to see me today
Said "We've taken your racehorse away"
And I believe it was that bookmaker from Crail
I believe that he put one in her pail

All the finest in the field
Only measure to her shoulders, they only ever see her heels
And I believe every sporting man will cry
I believe they'll see everything come passing by

She won the Lanark Silver Bell and she stole every heart away
She stood her stand at sixteen hands and I'd ride her easy
But they've taken, they've taken my racehorse away

There's a racecourse in the sky
And that's where all the racing horses must go by and by
And I believe every steward, lord and groom,
I believe that they're calling her home

She would look at me in the eyes and that was all she had to say
She stood her stand at sixteen hands and I'd ride her easy
But they've taken, they've taken my racehorse away

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: kendall
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 01:16 PM

She was only a cowboy's daughter, but, all the horsemen knew'er.

I'm not a horse person, but those Budweiser Clydesdales are some of the most beautiful beasties I've seen.

Subject: Lyr Add: IN THE DROVING DAYS (Banjo Paterson)
From: GUEST,DWR
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 07:45 PM

Andrew Barton Patterson's book, The Man From Snowy River, was published in 1917. One of the many wonderful poems in the book was In The Droving Days. I first heard this on a PBS special about his poetry many years ago. Sadly, my VHS copy of that show has long since disappeared, but I still remembered the poem when I started reading this thread.

So here's Banjo's original followed by what I think is a loose but respectful adaptation by Troy Cassar-Daley from his 1999 album Big River.


IN THE DROVING DAYS
By Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson
From The Man From Snowy River And Other Verses 1917

Only a pound,' said the auctioneer,
'Only a pound; and I'm standing here
Selling this animal, gain or loss.
Only a pound for the drover's horse;
One of the sort that was never afraid,
One of the boys of the Old Brigade;
Thoroughly honest and game, I'll swear,
Only a little the worse for wear;
Plenty as bad to be seen in town,
Give me a bid and I'll knock him down;
Sold as he stands, and without recourse,
Give me a bid for the drover's horse.'

Loitering there in an aimless way
Somehow I noticed the poor old grey,
Weary and battered and screwed, of course,
Yet when I noticed the old grey horse,
The rough bush saddle, and single rein
Of the bridle laid on his tangled mane,
Straightway the crowd and the auctioneer
Seemed on a sudden to disappear,
Melted away in a kind of haze,
For my heart went back to the droving days.

Back to the road, and I crossed again
Over the miles of the saltbush plain --
The shining plain that is said to be
The dried-up bed of an inland sea,
Where the air so dry and so clear and bright
Refracts the sun with a wondrous light,
And out in the dim horizon makes
The deep blue gleam of the phantom lakes.

At dawn of day we would feel the breeze
That stirred the boughs of the sleeping trees,
And brought a breath of the fragrance rare
That comes and goes in that scented air;
For the trees and grass and the shrubs contain
A dry sweet scent on the saltbush plain.
For those that love it and understand,
The saltbush plain is a wonderland.
A wondrous country, where Nature's ways
Were revealed to me in the droving days.

We saw the fleet wild horses pass,
And the kangaroos through the Mitchell grass,
The emu ran with her frightened brood
All unmolested and unpursued.
But there rose a shout and a wild hubbub
When the dingo raced for his native scrub,
And he paid right dear for his stolen meals
With the drover's dogs at his wretched heels.
For we ran him down at a rattling pace,
While the packhorse joined in the stirring chase.
And a wild halloo at the kill we'd raise --
We were light of heart in the droving days.

'Twas a drover's horse, and my hand again
Made a move to close on a fancied rein.
For I felt the swing and the easy stride
Of the grand old horse that I used to ride
In drought or plenty, in good or ill,
That same old steed was my comrade still;
The old grey horse with his honest ways
Was a mate to me in the droving days.

When we kept our watch in the cold and damp,
If the cattle broke from the sleeping camp,
Over the flats and across the plain,
With my head bent down on his waving mane,
Through the boughs above and the stumps below
On the darkest night I could let him go
At a racing speed; he would choose his course,
And my life was safe with the old grey horse.
But man and horse had a favourite job,
When an outlaw broke from a station mob,
With a right good will was the stockwhip plied,
As the old horse raced at the straggler's side,
And the greenhide whip such a weal would raise,
We could use the whip in the droving days.

'Only a pound!' and was this the end --
Only a pound for the drover's friend.
The drover's friend that had seen his day,
And now was worthless, and cast away
With a broken knee and a broken heart
To be flogged and starved in a hawker's cart.
Well, I made a bid for a sense of shame
And the memories dear of the good old game.

'Thank you? Guinea! and cheap at that!
Against you there in the curly hat!
Only a guinea, and one more chance,
Down he goes if there's no advance,

Third, and the last time, one! two! three!'
And the old grey horse was knocked down to me.
And now he's wandering, fat and sleek,
On the lucerne flats by the Homestead Creek;
I dare not ride him for fear he'd fall,
But he does a journey to beat them all,
For though he scarcely a trot can raise,
He can take me back to the droving days.


The place name in the first sentence of Cassar-Daley's song is a complete mystery to me. I tried various C and K variants of what sounded like Kanambo to me, but I got no results. Closest I could come with the choices I made was Koniambo which is in New Caledonia, off to the east of Australia and that's a bit of a stretch, geographically. After conferring with Arkie on other possible names, we came up with Colamba, Columba, Calambo ~~ well, you get the picture. Perhaps one of our Australian friends can set us right on this. Arkie also helped decipher some of the more difficult passages in Cassar-Daley's text.

By the way, lucerne flats refer to fields of fine quality hay.

The Droving Days
Troy Cassar-Daley
From Big River 1999

I was out at Colamba on a business trip
Tired, hungry and dry in the lip
I went past a sale yard and spotted a mate
I pulled in to see him just for old time's sake

Well, he was after a yearling that he hoped could run
In all the bush races for money and fun
Well, I was only there for a yarn, of course
But I found myself staring at an old drover's horse

He had a rough bush saddle and a single rein
Laid across his tangled mane
He brought up the memories that no-one could raise
As he took me back to the droving days

Well, my mind wandered off for most of the day
And I finally heard the auctioneer say
"Well, give me ten dollars and he's in the bag
Only ten dollars for this worthless nag"

Well, I put in my bid for a sense of shame
But God only knows why I felt his pain
He had a busted knee and a broken pride
So I'll take him home for his final ride

In a rough bush saddle and a single rein
Laid across his tangled mane
He brought up the memories that no-one could raise
As he took me back to the droving days

Well, now he's wondering, fast asleep wandering, fat and sleek
Of On a lucerne flat at Half Way Creek
And though he scarcely a trot can raise
He still takes me back to the droving days.

In a rough bush saddle and a single rein
Laid across his tangled mane
He brought up the memories that no-one could raise
As he takes me back to the droving days

As he takes me back to the droving days

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 07:59 PM

DWR-

Very nice choices.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Arkie
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 08:24 PM

Hopefully DWR's post will open the door to more suggestions from Down Under. There must be a number of other good "horse" poems and songs from the great writers and singers from Australia.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Beer
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 08:36 PM

John Williamson from down under comes to mind. Don't know all his material but a heck of a singer and writer. He does a great job at "Diamantina Drover" by Hugh McDonald. A tune that referees to in a way to horses.

DWR, thanks for all that info. and everyone else who has been posting. Been away for a bit.
Beer (adrien)

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,DWR
Date: 04 Aug 08 - 09:14 PM

I did just now see an error in my transcription of Troy Cassar-Daley's song -- wondering, fast asleep should be wandering, fat and sleek. Should have paid closer attention to Paterson's original!

Another Australian song I thought of was Saddle Boy, originally by Slim Dusty and later recorded to good advantage by the Dead Ringer Band. You can find Kasey and Bill Chambers version on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfiZThR9e_I That is one in which the horse has secondary billing, but still worth listing.

Corrections made. -Joe-

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,Black Hawk on Works PC
Date: 05 Aug 08 - 03:03 AM

Water for My Horses by Hoyt Axton

The Horse Trader by Jimmy Driftwood

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,JeffB
Date: 05 Aug 08 - 06:18 PM

DWR,

I'd love to hear those songs sung some time.

Could the name of that town be Canowindra? It's a country in mid-NSW a couple of hundred miles inland from Sydney, near or on the Lachlan River.

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: GUEST,DWR
Date: 05 Aug 08 - 10:28 PM

Jeff, that doesn't sound like it, but I've been fooled by lyrics before. Send me an email and I'll send you the song. dale8r AT hotmail.

Dale

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 06 Aug 08 - 04:57 AM

One of my favourites is Enniscorthy Fair, a.k.a.Galtee Farmer.
Man takes his old horse to the fair to sell it; dealer buys it, takes it away, cleans it up, clips and grooms it and sells it back to him at a higher price.
Man's little daughter is the only one who recognises it when he takes it back home.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Songs about Horses
From: Mick Tems
Date: 06 Aug 08 - 05:07 AM

All over South Wales, and spreading northwards, the horse ritual called the Mari Lwyd is flourishing. Y Fari Lwyd (translated, the Grey Mare or the Holy Mary) is a midwinter custom in which a horses' skull, clad in a white sheet, is carried by by a man from door to door, the party demanding in verse (pwnco) to be let in. The people in the house, again in verse, take up the challenge to keep the horse out. Eventually, the people in the house relent and let the Mari Lwyd party in - the party sing a wassail (Y Washael) and costumed characters called the The Leader, Merryman, Pwnsh and Siwan (Punch and Judy) dance around the room.

We'll be going out with the Llantrisant Mari Lwyd this Christmas; the Mari Lwyd tradition is 28 years old. On New Year's Day, I shall drive to the village of Llangynwyd to see the oldest tradition going, the Llangynwyd Mari Lwyd, kept alive by Cwmni Caerdydd, the Cardiff dancers. An estimated guess shows 20 Mari Lwyds all going strong.

The Llantrisant Mari Lwyd song version goes:

Wel dyma ni diwad
Gyfeillion diniwed
I ofyn cawn gennad
I ofyn cawn gennad
I ofyn cawn gennad i ganu.

(Well, here we are, gentle friends, asking your permission to sing)

Mae Mari Lwyd yma
A sêr a ribanau
Yn werth i rhoi goleu
Yn werth i rhoi goleu
Yn werth i rhoi goleu nos heno.

(The Mari Lwyd is here, with stars and ribbons, it's worth it to give light tonight)

Mae Mari Lwyd lawen
Yn dod yn y dafarn
I ofyn am arian
I ofyn am arian
I ofyn am arian a chwrw.

(The happy Mari Lwyd comes to the pub, asking for money and beer)

Wel, tapwch y faril
Gyllongwch yn rhugl
A rhenwch e'n gynil
A rhenwch e'n gynil
A rhenwch e'n gynil Y Gwyliau.

(Well, tap the barrel, let it flow freely, it's Christmas!)