Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SAILOR BOY'S GRAVE
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Jul 04 - 07:42 PM

Of the earlier songs mentioned here, "The Ocean Burial" by George N. Allen, 1850, is in the DT.
"The Sailor Boy's Grave" from 1841 is in Levy Sheet music. The copy is hard to read.

THE SAILOR BOY'S GRAVE
Written and composed by J. Martin, Esq. of Clifton

Oh bury me not in the dark cold grave
With the rank weeds growing o'er me,
Let me sleep 'neath the silent wave,
The sea-nymphs watching o'er me.

I ask no proud marble to mark the spot
Where the sailor boy is sleeping,
He is not there alone, he will not be forgot
Where the mermaids are nightly weeping.
*He is not there alone, he will not be forgot
*Where the mermaids are nightly weeping.

No- the spirits that hover o'er the deep,
Even in the silent night,
Will pause by his grave, but not to weep.
When the stars are shining bright
There'll be nought to disturb the stillness there,
But the night wind gently driven
Or the low flutter of the sea-fowl near
Or the distant echo given.

The flowers may bloom and the gay birds sing
Where the Cypress waves its head,
But what care I if the violets spring-
Are they heeded by the dead!
Then bury me not in the dark cold grave
Where the worms their vigils keep.
Let my winding sheet be the ocean's wave-
Oh! 'tis there I'd wish to sleep.

* Repeated in the sheet music but not in the broadside. Clifton Pub., Baltimore, Geo. Willig Jr., 1841, sheet music. Sailor Boy's Grave
(http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/display.pl?record=042.117a.000&pages=3)

Also printed in broadside by T. G. Doyle, Baltimore (American Memory).

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: belfast
Date: 24 Jul 04 - 09:21 AM

Sometime ago I heard a radio programme presented by "Hank Wangford". He played a bit of "The Dying Cowboy" as recorded by Jules Vernes Allen. A wonderful version - recorded, and I'm guessing wildly, in the 20's or 30's. It sounded like something Harry Smith should have included in his majestic Anthology of American Folk Music. I'd be surprised if it isn't available somewhere in CD format.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Stewie
Date: 24 Jul 04 - 08:48 PM

Belfast, I posted a transcription of Allen's version some time ago:
CLICK HERE.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: GUEST,kristen
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 09:18 AM

I am looking for a version of "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie", probably one made during the 1930's-1950's, to play at my Grandpa's funeral. The funeral is Thursday, Aug. 12. My mom and uncle seem to remember hearing my Grandpa sing this when they were children. I would love any help that I can get. Thanks,

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Amos
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 12:02 PM

Kristen:

Read the thread prior to your post. If you need a recorded version, call CAMSCO Music. 1.800.548.FOLK (3655)and ask Dick Greenhaus for help.

A

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DYING COWBOY (from Jules Allen)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 01:46 PM

Kirsten, not sure what you are looking for. Posted in this thread are two versions, Powder River Jack Lee from the 1930s, and Thorp's from earlier, but the basis for many later singers.
Here is the one sung by Jules Allen in the 1930s, the favorite of many of us raised at that time.

THE DYING COWBOY
Sung by Jules Verne Allen

"Oh bury me not on the lone prairie"
These words came low and mournfully,
From the pallid lips of a youth who lay
On his dying bed at the close of day.

He had wailed in pain till o'er his brow
Death's shadows fast were creeping now;
He thought of his home and his loved ones nigh
As the cowboys gathered to see him die.

O bury me not on the lone prairie
Where the wild coyotes will howl o'er me,
In a narrow grave just six by three,
O bury me not on the lone prairie.

In fancy I listen to the well known words
Of the free, wild winds and the song of the birds;
I think of home and the cottage in the bower
And the scenes I found in my childhood's hour.

It matters not, I've oft been told,
Where the body lies when the heart grows cold;
Yet grant, O grant this wish to me,
O bury me not on the lone prairie.

O then bury me not on the lone prairie,
In a narrow grave just six by three,
Where the buffalo paws o'er a prairie sea,
O bury me not on the lone prairie.

O bury me not on the lone prairie
In a narrow grave just six by three,
Where the buzzard waits and the wind blows free;
Then bury me not on the lone prairie.

O bury me not, and his voice failed there,
But we took no heed of his dying prayer;
In a narrow grave just six by three
We buried him there on the lone prairie.

Where the dew-drops glow and the butterflies rest,
And the flowers bloom o'er the prairie's crest;
Where the wild coyotes and winds sport free
On a wet saddle blanket lay a cowboy-ee.

O bury me not on the lone prairie
Where the wild coyotes will howl o'er me,
Where the rattlesnakes hiss and the crow flies free
O bury me not on the lone prairie.

O we buried him there on the lone prairie
Where the wild rose blooms and the wind blows free,
O his pale young face nevermore to see,
For we buried him there on the lone prairie.

Yes, we buried him there on the lone prairie
Where the owl all night hoots mournfully,
And the blizzard beats and the wind blows free
O'er his lowly grave on the lone prairie.

And the cowboys now as they roam the plains,
For they marked the spot where his bones were lain,
Fling a handful of roses o'er his grave,
With a prayer to Him who his soul will save.

O bury me not on the lone prairie
Where the wolves can howl and growl o'er me;
Fling a handful of roses o'er my grave,
With a prayer to Him who my soul will save.

With music, pp. 116-118, 1933 (1935) Jules Verne Allen, "Cowboy Lore," The Naylor Company, San Antonio, Texas.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From:
Date: 15 Sep 04 - 01:41 PM

At a ceremony to place a marker on the great western trail located at the Wilbarger County Courthouse in Vernon, Texas, Violinist James Streit played "Oh, Bury me not on the lone Prairie." Local legend has it that this version of the song originated at Doans Crossing by a friend of a dying cowboy, who they buried north of doans crossing. The legend goes that the dying cowboy begged his friend not to bury him in this desolate place, but conditions at that time didn't allow the Cowboys to transport a body on a cattle drive. They had no choice but to bury him there. His dying words haunted the friend his whole life, and in later years, wrote the ballad.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: GUEST,Ben
Date: 26 Sep 04 - 06:10 PM

Fascinating
Hope you don't mind me gatecrashing this forum, but I decided to do a search on this song, which has haunted me since We practiced it for a few sessions in about 1985. "We" being the Basingstoke Concert Band. I left the band in 1992, but for all I know it is still in their library'
It was in one of those American band books for schools with titles such as "Cadet Concert Folio" etc.
It was a very good score, with answering phrases, but of course, no vocals. I am not generally in to that type of music but I was struck by how haunting it was. I have a good ear for music, and I can still hear the band playing it in my head as if it were yesterday. It was played in a major key and a lot of "6ths" were in corporated.
I had a quick look at the melody of "Ocean Burial" and it is similar to, but not the same as, what our band played.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 27 Sep 04 - 11:23 AM

I guess the inverse (or converse, whichever) of the thought here is found in I've Got No Use For the Women", sometimes called by Bury Me Out On The Prairie.

The narrator/singer has (surprise!) no use for the women, because a woman caused the fall of his cowboy friend, who killed a gambler who insulted her picture, was hunted and shot down by a posse, and who WANTED to be buried out on the prairie. He asked to be covered over with boulders, so that the coyotes couldn't disturb his bones.

This is one of my favorite cowbow songs.

This good old tearjerker is found in the DT, HERE

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 27 Sep 04 - 12:36 PM

Uncle Dave, seemingly first recorded by Travis V. Hale in 1927 as "Oh Bury Me Out on the Prairie."
Recorded by Vernon Dalhart and Bradley Kincaid under the same title; "I've Got No Use for the Women" appeared on recordings about ten years later. See Traditional Ballad Index for others.

I would guess that the song was written by Travis V. Hale, using "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" as inspiration. This needs to be checked out for attribution.

Certainly worth singing, since it can be played for humor and usually gets audience reaction. We used to moan it as kids, and I also remember singing it in the Army in some of those 'hurry up and wait situations.'

Subject: Lyr Add: I'VE GOT NO USE FOR THE WOMEN
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 27 Sep 04 - 01:33 PM

Lyr. Add: I'VE GOT NO USE FOR THE WOMEN
Myra Hull Collection, 1939

I've got no use for the women;
A true one may never be found;
They'll stand by a man when he's winning,
And laugh in his face when he's down.
My pal was a straight young puncher,
Honest and upright and square;
He became a gambler and gunman,
And a woman sent him there.
If she'd been the pal that she should have,
He might have been raisin' a son
Instead of out there on the prairies
To fall by the ranger's gun.

---------------
---------------
When a vaquero insulted her picture
He filled him full of lead.

All the night long they trailed him
O'er mesquite and gay chaparral;
And I couldn't help think of that woman
As I saw him pitch and fall.
He raised his head on his elbow,
The blood from his wounds flowed red;
He looked around at his comrades,
Whispered to them and said:

Oh, bury me out on the prairie
Where the coyotes may howl o'er my grave.
Bury me out on the prairie,
Some of my bones to save.
Wrap me up in my blanket;
Bury me deep in the ground,
Then cover me over with boulders
Of granite huge and round.

So we buried him out on the prairie,
Where the coyotes still howl o'er his grave;
And his soul is now a-resting
From the unkind touch she gave;
And many another young puncher
As he rides by that pile of stones,
Recalls some similar woman,
And envies his mouldering bones.

Printed with music. Myra Hull comments: "Sometimes the cowboy songs are cynical in mood. Such a one is "I've Got No Use for the Women," as sung by Freda Butterfield, Iola [KS] (footnote 22- a request for information). I know nothing as to the origin of this 'gambler and gunman' song. Such terms as "mesquite," "chaparral" and "vaquero" indicate that it hails from the Southwest."

From Kansas State Historical Quarterly. "Cowboy Ballads," by Myra Hull, Feb. 1939 (Vol. 8, No. 1), 35-60.
On line at http://www.kshs.org/publicat/khq/1939/39_1_hull.htm
Cowboy Ballads

My comment about this possibly being written by Travis V. Hale is premature; it could be traditional. Ms Hull doesn't explain the missing lines in verse 2.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Lighter
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 12:06 PM

"I've Got No Use for the Women" doesn't appear in Lomax 1910 or 1916. If it existed then - which I doubt - John Lomax evidently didn't find it.

The earliest appearance seems to be Travis Hale's 1927 commercial recording found by Q. It hurts to say so, but a 1927 appearance on wax would have given plenty of time for Duncan Emrich's youthful informant to have learned it in 1928 "through the oral tradition."

The song was copyrighted in 1930 by a "rodeo trio," according to Joe Bob Tinsley.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 01:59 PM

The recording of "Oh Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" by Hale listed in The Traditional Ballad Index shows up on the Victor Orthophonic list as performed by "Hale Derry Jr." Victor 20796, flip side Dying Hobo. 1927. I can find no further information, but I presume that it was copyright by Victor at that time.

The absence of the song prior to the Hale recording in any of the collections or studies of western song prior to the publication of the article, "Cowboy Ballads" by Myra Hull in the Kansas Historical Quarterly,1939, supports Lighter's contention that the song may not have existed prior to the 1927 date.

I cannot find any evidence of a re-issue of the Hale recording, either under the name Travis Hale or Hale Derry Jr.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Feb 07 - 05:10 PM

THe poem by E. H. Chapin in the "Southern Literary Messenger," Sept. 1839, pp. 615-616, "The Ocean-Buried," and the many other poems in the "Southern Literary Messenger," are readily available since the journal has been put on line in the Univ. Michigan "Making of America" collection.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Jul 07 - 05:15 PM

A high stepping march based on "Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie" was called "PrairieJump" We used to play it in the fifties in hilgh school. I'm looking for any kind of sheet music, audio, Midi that might have this tune. Will appreciate any help I can get. [e-mail] Thank you , Freddy.............

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: GUEST,Randy Viscio
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 09:19 AM

The song def. goes back to the late 1800's...and there is evidence that it actually comes from an old sea shanty (Bury me not in the deep blue sea) so it probably has that shanty sort of sound.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 01:20 PM

Guest, you are covering old Mudcat territory and mis-stating facts. See post by Metchosin, 05 Apr 00 a. o. See lyrics in the DT, "Ocean Burial," and "Bury Me Not in the Deep Blue Sea," and the several threads that come up if one puts- ocean burial -in Search.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Aug 08 - 04:42 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 12 Aug 08 - 06:12 PM

Put a semi-literate or barely educated young fellow of sixteen to twenty out in the middle of nowhere, which is where most of those cattle drives went, bore him to death one minute and scare hell out of him the next. Let him witness the maiming or violent death of a friend or two. Keep him in the saddle, choking on trail dust, for 12 or 14 hours or more, day or night, rain or shine. Feed him nothing but rancid bacon, beans, weevily buiscuits and coffee for about three or four months. Then, take this testosterone-charged boy, give him a few bucks and turn him loose in a town full of card sharks and "soiled doves." Talk about ample source material...

He probably had little to no musical ability or training, but a rough sort of cowboy poetry was a common way of sharing these experiences in the west, so maybe he wrote or memorized a few verses. Since he couldn't write music, he probably borrowed a familiar air, related or not. Shared, first, around campfires, the songs take on a life of their own, often modified by succeeding singers.

That's my version, and I'm stickin' to it.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Mr Happy
Date: 13 Aug 08 - 10:18 AM

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i89z9rIGEpM

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 13 Aug 08 - 11:14 AM

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

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Louie Roy
Date: 13 Aug 08 - 12:22 PM

The words to this song that I learned in 1935 or 1936 are the same words that Q posted 9/27/04 and was written and recorded by Gene Autry in 1935 and he called it (I've got no use for the women) and at one time I had this recording on an old 78 by Gene Autry.Many artists have made recording of this song since such as Robbins Ives Cash.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 13 Aug 08 - 01:04 PM

Louie Roy, if I understand your post correctly, I have to disagree with you. "I've Got No Use for the Women" takes almost the opposite tack from "Bury Me Not on the Prairie".

In contrast to "Bury me not", "I've Got No Use for the Women says, in part:

Bury me out on the prairie
Where the coyotes can howl o'er my grave
Bury me out on the prairie
But from them my bones please save . . .

The central thought of "I've Got No Use" is not about the undesirability of a prairie burial but about the perfidy of "a gal named Lou" who made him fall in with evil companions, leading to his death.

The song can be found in the DT, HERE

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Louie Roy
Date: 13 Aug 08 - 04:07 PM

Dave I'll not argue about whose right or whose wrong but there is two different songs that we are discussing here.To start with Peter T thread requesting info on Bury me (not) on the lone prairie is entirely a different song than Bury me (out)on the lone prairie and Gene Autry did indeed record this tune in 1935 and he also wrote the words and music

Subject: Lyr Add: I'VE GOT NO USE FOR THE WOMEN (G Autry)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 13 Aug 08 - 04:26 PM

"I've Got No Use For the Women" was recorded by Travis B. Hale in 1927, Crowder Bros. 1938, Tune Wranglers 1937. (Traditional Ballad Index).
Fife and Fife, 1969, "Cowboy and Western Songs," use a text from the collection of Stella Hendron, Idaho; they comment that there is little variation to the many texts that they have collected. ("No Use for the Women," no. 65, pp. 177-178 with music and chords.

Autry may have used the title "I've Got No Use For Women." The following lyrics are from the site of Kristin Hall. They are not the same as those I posted from the Myra Hull Collection, Kansas State Historical Society. They seem to be somewhat garbled and need checking against the Autrey recording. I have 'guessed' in some seemingly obvious corrections. I don't like posting inaccurate lyrics, but a few of the lines are distinctive.

The song, of course, is derived from "The Dying Cowboy," or "Bury Me Not ....,"
and as DaveO says, is from a different viewpoint.

Lyr. Add: I'VE GOT NO USE FOR WOMEN
"Words and Music Gene Autry"

I have got no use for the women, a true one may never be found.
They'll stick a man for his money and when it's gone, they turn him down.
They're all alike at the bottom, selfish and g(r)asping for all.
They'll stand by a man while he's winning and laugh in his face when he falls.
2
My pal was a straight, young cowpuncher, honest and upright and square.
But he turned to a gambler and gunman and a woman sent him there.
He fell with his (in with) evil companion(s), the kind that's better off dead,
When a gambler insulted her picture, he hauled off and filled him with lead.
3
All through the long night they trailed him through mesquite and thick chaparral.
And I couldn't help crusing that woman as I saw him pitch, stagger and fall.
If she'd been the pal that she should have, he might have been raising a son.
Instead of out there on the prairie to die by a cruel Ranger's gun.
4
Death's slow sting did not trouble, his chances for life were too slim.
But where they were putting his body was all that worried him.
He lifted his head on his elbow, the blood from his wound flowed bright red.
He gazed at his pals grouped around him and whispered to them and said:
5
"O bury me out on the prairie, where the coyotes may howl over my grave.
Bury me out on the prairie and some of my bones please save.
Wrap me up in my blanket and bury me deep in the ground.
Cover me over with boulders of granite, gray and round."
6
So we buried him out on the prairie where the coyotes can howl o'er his grave.
And his soul is now a-resting from the unkind act (cut) she gave. Any one, (And many) another young puncher as he rides past that pile of stones
Recalls from the sinful woman and think of his moanful bones.
(Recalls that sinful woman and thinks of his moldering bones).

O bury me out on the prairie,
Where the coyotes will howl o'er my grave.

http://kristinhall.org/songbook/USFolk/IveGotNoUseForWomen.html

I could not find data on the Autry recording.

Subject: Lyr. Add: O BURY ME DOWN BY THE RIVER'S SIDE
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 13 Aug 08 - 09:43 PM

Lyr. Add: O BURY ME DOWN BY THE RIVER'S SIDE
Nathan Barker, 1855
1
O bury me down by the river's side,
Where the gentle wavelets murm'ring glide,
Where the blue-eyed violets sweetly spring,
And the birds in the willows my requiem sing.
'Twill not be lonely there I know,
Where the peaceful waters gently flow,
And the wild flow'rs bloom and the grass will wave
O'er the lovely spot, where you'll make my grave,
O'er the lovely spot, where you'll make my grave.
2
Yes, lay me there when my voice is still,
When my throbbing heart is cold and still;
'Tis a quiet spot and I love it well,
When my end has come, Oh, there let me dwell.
I could not sleep in the churchyard old,
It is lonely there and the earth is cold--
Then chide me not if I long to rest
In the sunny spot I have loved the best,
In the sunny spot I have loved the best.
3
'Tis near my home, I could not bear
To be far away from loved ones there,
For a thousand bonds are around my heart,
They are stronger than death and they cannot start.
'Tis a little way- ye will shortly come,
I fear not now I am almost home--
But tell me now that my grave shall be
In the quiet spot, 'neath the willow tree,
In the quiet spot, 'neath the willow tree.

Nathan Parker, Parker Family. Oliver Ditson, Boston, 1855.
Sheet music at American Memory. The music is similar to that of "The Dying Cowboy," or "O Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie."

The Parker song was printed some five years after "Ocean Burial" by E. H. Chapin (1839) was set to music and published by Oliver Ditson in 1850. According to the Traditional Ballad Index, the 1850 sheet music tune is not the same as used in "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" (Dying Cowboy), and it maintains that the music must be listed as "by unknown."

"Ocean Burial" is in the DT, credited to George N. Allen whose name is on the 1850 sheet music, but E. H. Chapin should be credited with the lyrics. See post by rich r, up above a ways, for details.

"Ocean Burial" was distributed on at least one song sheet, printed by H. De Masran, NY, no date (mid-19th c.), no author cited. Copy at American Memory.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 Aug 08 - 11:18 PM

Don't know how I missed this so many years ago! What a fantastic thread. Now, I have to go listen to my dad's tape to see if I can remember his version.

Thanks, too, for the mention of the Nightingales. I am listening to samples of their CDs at CDBaby. Great stuff!!

Subject: Lyr Add: BURY ME NOT ON THE LONE PRAIRIE (Randolph
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Aug 08 - 04:17 PM

This seems to be an old version. "... father learned the song in Camden Co., MO, about 1880."

OH BURY ME NOT ON THE LONE PRAIRIE

1
Oh bury me not on the lone prairie,
These words came slow an' mournfully
From the pallid lips of a youth who lay
On his cold damp bed at the close of day.
2
He had wasted and pined till o'er his brow,
Death's shades was slowly gatherin' now,
He thought of his home an' his loved ones nigh
As the cowboys gathered to see him die.
3
Again he listened to the well-known words,
To the wind's soft sigh an' the song of birds,
He thought of his home an' his native bowers
Where he loved to roam in his childhood hours.
4
I've ever wished that when I died
My grave might be on the old hillside,
Let there the place of my last rest be,
Oh bury me not on the lone prairie.
5
O'er my slumbers deep a mother's prayers,
An' a sister's tears will be mingled there,
Oh it's hard to know that the heart throb's o'er
And that its fountain will gush no more.
6
In my dream I saw- but his voice failed there,
An' they gave no heed to his dyin' prayer,
In a shallow grave just six by three
They buried him there on the lone prairie.
7
May the light-winged butterfly pause to rest
O'er him who sleeps on the prairie's crest,
May the Texas rose in the breezes wave,
O'er him who sleeps in a prairie grave.
8
An' the cowboys now, as they roam the plain,
For they marked the spot where his bones was lain,
Fling a handful of roses o'er his grave
With a prayer to him who his soul did save.

"Miss. Myrtle Lain, ...MO, ...1929. Miss Lain's father learned the song in Camden County, MO, about 1880."
Vance Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, vol. 2, pp. 186-187, with brief score.
I wonder if this came originally from a periodical.

The tune is not the same as "Ocean Burial." "Trail to Mexico" is closer.
Looking through songbooks, singers have put their own signatures on the tune, as well as lyrics, so there are many slight variants. We may never know where the 'standard' comes from.

A possible source of authorship is mentioned in Randolph; "Mr. Ed Stephens, Jane, MO, tells me that the song was "made up" by Venice and Sam Gentry, who herded cattle for Alf Dry near Pilot Grove, Texas, in the '70's."

Subject: Lyr Add: O BURY ME NOT ON THE LONE PRAIRIE
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 01:44 AM

What I find so far is a book of Dad's called He Was Singin' This Song by Jim Bob Tinsley, with forewards by Gene Autry and S. Omar Barker. "A collection of forty-eight traditional songs of the American cowboy, with words, music, pictures, and stories." University Presses of Florida, Orlando. 1981.

In the index, the citation for "The Dying Cowboy" directs you to go look up "O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" (80-82). There were lots of variations, according to this article, and one image example included in this article is the cover art of the sheet music that came out in 1907, "Words and Music by William Jossey."

I won't transcribe two full pages of text here, but the discussion of this song is on pages 80 - 82. Here are the first few interesting tidbits (I'll scan and save these as a PDF to email if anyone wants one. PM me and I'll send it.) I don't know which song came first, but clearly, the Lone Prairie song makes liberal use of the earlier poem. I'd hazard a guess that the story in Joe's song makes reference to the earlier maritime poem discussed in this article.

Perhaps the best-known of all cowboy songs is not a cowboy original. "O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie," expressing the last wishes of a dying cowboy, is an adaptation of a poem about a burial at sea. In the mid-1800s, in a period of less than twenty years, a national magazine printed three poems with the "bury me not" theme, all involving marine burials.

The only one of them to endure was written by Edwin Hubbell Chapin, a Universalist clergyman in Boston. Chapin studied law at Tufts University for a time, but he adopted Universalism and was ordained to the ministry in 1838. A year later, his poem, "The Ocean-Buried," appeared in the Southern Literary Messenger¹. In spite of the youth's dying pleas not to be buried in the deep deep sea, his friends were unable to honor his last request. Cowboy lyrics, which retained many passages word for word, were later developed from Chapin's poem.

¹ E.H. Chapin, "The Ocean Buried" Southern Literary Messenger 5, no 9 (September 1839):615-16.


Here is the song as it was published in the book:

O BURY ME NOT ON THE LONE PRAIRIE

"O bury me not on the lone prairie,"
These words came low and mournfully.
From the pallid lips of a youth who lay
On his dying bed at the close of day.

He had wasted and pined till o'er his brow
Death's shades were slowly gathering now.
He thought of home and loved ones nigh,
As the cowboys gathered to see him die.

"O bury me not on the lone prairie,
Where the coyotes howl and the wind blows free.
In a narrow grave just six by three--
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

It matters not, I've oft been told,
Where the body lies when the heart grows cold.
Yes grant, o grant, this wish to me,
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

I've always wished to be laid when I died
In a little churchyard on the green hillside.
By my father's grave there let me be,
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

"I wish to lie where a mother's prayer
And a sister's tear will mingle there.
Where friend can come and weep o'er me.
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

"For there's another whose tears will shed
For the one who lies in a prairie bed.
It breaks my heart to think of her now,
She has curled these locks; she has kissed this brow."

"O bury me not. . . " And his voice failed there.
But they took no heed to his dying prayer.
In a narrow grave, just six by three,
They buried him there on the lone prairie.

And the cowboys now as they roam the plain,
For they marked the spot where his bones were lain,
Fling a handful of roses o'er his grave
With a prayer to God, his soul to save.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: The Dying Cowboy
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 08:27 AM

Two thoughts after I closed down the computer last night.

There are some poetical spellings in those songs/poems, especially the 1839 one, so I'll double check this against the printout later, to be sure I got it all (I had to type these in, no cut and paste available for either).

Second, the book I referenced did say that there were at least three poems with this maritime burial theme, and the one I shared here was the only one extant at the time the book I referenced was published (1981). Considering how Chapin's poem was used so thoroughly for "Lone Prairie," the chances might be very good that it was one of those others that got the same treatment for the "Dying Ranger/Soldier" variations. A look through Google Books and JSTOR and other sites with old books and periodicals could take a while, but you might find one or two of those others. I would suggest using keywords from the song variants to see if you can track down the poems.

SRS

Subject: Lyr Add: THE OCEAN-BURIED (Edwin Hubbell Chapin)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 08:38 AM

I next went into the university library databases and found the Chapin poem in Southern Literary Messenger from September, 1839. In this day and age so much has been digitized.

Edwin Hubbell Chapin, "The Ocean Buried" Southern Literary Messenger 5, no 9 (September 1839):615-16.


THE OCEAN-BURIED*
(Edwin Hubbell Chapin)

"Bury me not in the deep, deep sea!"
The words came faint and mournfully,
Form the pallid lips of a youth, who lay
On the cabin couch, where, day by day,
He had wasted and pined, til o'er his brow
The death shade had slowly passed--and now,
When the land and his fond-loved home were nigh,
They gathered around him to see him die.

"Bury me not in the deep deep sea,
Where the billowy shroud will roll over me--
Where no light can break through the dark cold wave,
And no sunbeam rest sweetly upon my grave.
'It boots not' I know I have oft been told
'Where the body shall lie when the heart is cold'--
Yet grant ye, oh! grant ye this boon to me,
Bury me not in the deep, deep sea!

"For in fancy I've listened to well known words--
The free, wild wind, and the song of birds--
I have thought of home, of cot and bower,
And of scenes that I loved in childhood's hour.
I have ever hoped to be laid, when I died,
In the church-yard there on the green hill side--
By the bones of my fathers my grave should be--
Bury me not in the deep, deep sea!

"Let my death slumber be where a mother's prayer
And a sister's tears can be blended there.
Oh! 'twill be sweet, ere the heart's throb is o'er,
To know when its fountain shall gush no more,
That those it so fondly has yearned for will come
To plant the first wild-flowers of spring on my tomb.
Let me lie where the loved-ones can weep over me--
Bury me not in the deep, deep sea.

"And there is another--her tears would be shed
For him who lay far in an ocean-bed.
In hours that it pains me to think of now,
She hath twined these locks and kissed this brow--
In the hair she hath wreathed shall the sea-snake hiss?
The brow she hath pressed shall the cold wave kiss?--
For the sake of that bright one who waits for me,
Bury me not in the deep, deep sea.

"She hath been in my dreams." His voice failed there.
They gave no heed to his dying prayer.
*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *
They have lowered him slow o'er the vessel's side--
Above him hath closed the solemn tide.
Where do dip her wing the wild fowl rests--
Where the blue waves dance with their foamy crests--
Where the billows bound and the winds sport free--
They have buried him there in the deep, deep sea.

*selected

Subject: RE: DTStudy: The Dying Cowboy
From: Richie
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 10:07 AM

Stilly,

The Chapin poem is a great find. Of course it's a different song. It's still difficult to find the basis of these older songs. Good work.

Richie

Subject: RE: DTStudy: The Dying Cowboy
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 12:24 PM

If there were three poems that came out in that 20 year period that our previous scholar knows of, that all had the same general context of death at sea, they might be still varied enough in content to have spawned these different songs, but still along the same lines as what I introduced above.

This is sort of the "lost wax" approach to tracking down a song--the suggestion that there is an as-of-now unidentified poem that was hanging around in the period from 1839 - 1859 that might have gone through this process. It's a long shot, but it might give someone a direction to follow.

SRS

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: maple_leaf_boy
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 12:28 PM

The first version that I learned was written in F Lydian in
Common Time. I re-wrote the music in G Ionian in waltz-time.
Does anyone else think that it sounds good as a slow waltz song?

Subject: RE: DTStudy: The Dying Cowboy
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 12:38 PM

Slaps forehead

In my own note the from the book it says the three poems were published in one popular journal. Since I found the first poem, this would also be where the other two appeared. Who can say what and when the first one was, but if you find any hint of who wrote the others, or when, I'll go back in and track them down. That is, if anyone else is interested in following this faint trail into the literary underbrush. . .

The prospect of reading 20+ years worth of mid-1800 American literary journals is a little daunting, even for this English MA! :)

SRS

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 02:00 PM

Compare the 1839 poem by Chapin with "The Ocean Burial" published in 1850 by Oliver Ditson (and in the DT). It is called a "new and improved edition."
The sheet music cites George N. Allen as composer of the music, but does not name the author of the lyrics. Sheet music at Levy.

In 1857, Ditson published sheet music in guitar arrangement by "Converse."
H. De Marsan published "The Ocean Burial" as a song sheet, but without attribution.
Both the above in American Memory.

The Traditional Ballad Index correctly cites Chapin 1839 as author (Southern Literary Messenger), but mistakenly says the "entire thing" is credited to Allen in the 1850 sheet music. Allen is credited with the music in the Ditson sheet music, but he is not cited as author of the poem; no author is cited.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 06:59 PM

I grew from small boy to young man on a ranch near a small town in which a rodeo was THE singular social event of the year. In the 1940's and early 1950's, I heard a lot of cowboy songs - some of them even clean, though I committed few to memory then. My friends and I rode horses, "played cowboys" and saw a lot of cowboy movies. Many of our childhood heroes were from that genre.

If you look back at a typical western movie, particularly those made from the 1930's through the early '50's, you will see many cowboys, outlaws, townspeople and others portrayed by actors in their forties and fifties - and older. They wore very stylized outfits, many made by "Nudie," the old Hollywood tailor to the western stars.

In the real west, older people were fairly scarce. Women were scarcer. Most cowboys were likely well under 25; many were in their teens. Many outlaws were the same. Young, wild, full of piss and vinegar - and, often, bad alcohol - they were frequently lonely and melancholy, being far from family and on their own. They smelled like horse sweat and harness leather and were usually covered with dust.

They saw a good deal of premature death and likely brooded on it. Many of the songs reflect that uncomfortable truth. Theirs was a hazardous and lonely line of work. While cowboy poets speak of the grand spaces, freedom and starry skies, the reality was often bad food, long stretches of grinding boredom and physical discomforts most of us can't imagine, relieved only by moments of sheer terror.
Of such stuff are these songs made.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE LONE PRAIRIE
From: Lighter
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 08:53 PM

THE LONE PRAIRIE

1. Oh, a trapper lay at the point of death,
And, short his bank account, short his breath,
And as he lay, this prayer breathed he, "
Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie!"

2. "Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie,
Where the wild coyote can howl o'er me,
Where the rattlesnakes hiss and the winds blow free,
Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie!"

3. But they heeded not his dying prayer,
On the lone prairie, they buried him there,
Where the rattlesnakes sing, and the wind blows free,
They buried him there on the lone prairie!

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Lighter
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 09:00 PM

That's from the Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 25, 1913, p. 278: "Some Aspects of Folk-Song," by Phillips Barry, an important American folksong scholar.

Barry also gives the text (and tune) of Chapin's "The Ocean Burial" [sic] for comparison.

Subject: Lyr Add: BURY ME NOT IN THE DEEP, DEEP SEA
From: masato sakurai
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 09:30 PM

"The Ocean Buried" had appeared in The Rural Repository, vol. XI [new series], no.13 (Nov. 29, 1834, p. 104), with some minor differences. The title is "Bury me not in the deep, deep Sea," and the author "E.H.C."

BURY ME NOT IN THE DEEP, DEEP SEA

'Bury me not in the deep, deep sea'--
The words came faint and mournfully
Form the pallid lips of a youth, who lay
On the cabin-couch, where day by day
He had wasted and pined, 'till o'er his brow
The death-shade had slowly passed, and now
When the land and his fond-loved home were nigh,
They had gathered around him to see him die.

'Bury me not in the deep deep sea,
Where the billowy shroud will roll over me,
Where no light can break through the dark cold wave,
And no sunbeam linger above my grave.
It boots not, I know I have oft been told,
Where the body shall lie, when the heart is cold,
Yet grant ye, oh! grant ye, this boon to me--
Bury me not in the deep, deep sea!

'For in fancy I've listened to well known words,
The free wild wind, and the song of birds;
I have thought of home, of cot and bower,
And of scenes that I loved in childhood's hour.
I have ever hoped to be laid, when I died,
In the church-yard there, on the green-hill side;
By the bones of my fathers my grave should be,
Bury me not in the deep, deep sea!

'Let my death-slumber be where a mother's prayer
And sisters' tears can be blended there,
Oh! 'twill be sweet, ere the heart's throb is o'er,
To know, when its fountain shall gush no more,
That those it so fondly has yearned for, will come
To plant the first wild-flower of Spring on my tomb;
Let me lie where the loved ones can weep over me,
Bury me not in the deep, deep sea!

'And there is another, her tears would be shed
For him who lay far in an ocean-bed;
In hours that it pains me to think of now,
She has twined these locks and kissed this brow.
In the hair that she wreathed shall the sea-snake hiss?
The brow she pressed shall the cold wave kiss?
For the sake of that bright-one who waits for me,
Bury me not in the deep, deep sea!

'She hath been in my dreams'--His voice failed there--
They gave no heed to his dying prayer,
They have lowered him slow o'er the vessel's side,
And above him hath closed the solemn tide,
Where do dip her wing, the wild-fowl rests,
Where the blue waves dance, with their foaming crests,
Where the billows bound and the winds sport free,
They have buried him there in the deep, deep sea!

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Lighter
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 09:44 PM

Outstanding, Masato! I don't believe anyone had noted that earlier appearance before.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 10:07 PM

"E. H. C." of course is Edwin H. Chapin. According to this website, he wrote the song in 1830, but I haven't found an actual printing of that date. The "Southern Literary Messenger" printing seems to be copy.

The American Folk Song Tradition

That article has a very good list of references at the end.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 11:00 PM

Chapin (1814-1880) wrote the poem when he was still a student at the Bennington Seminary, with the title "Bury Me Not in the Deep, Deep Sea."
He was still in his teens.
The poem is quoted in full in his biography in the section "Schooldays."
"Life of Edwin H. Chapin, D. D.," 1882, Sumner Ellis, D. D., Copyright Universalist Publishing House; John Wilson & Son.

http://www.archive.org/stream/lifeofedwinchap00elli

Mention is made of publication in the Southern Literary Messenger and its copying in other periodicals, but no publication dates are given.
His biographer characterizes him as an orator, poet, wit, mimic, ventriloquist, a singer of songs, and a story teller.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Lighter
Date: 22 Nov 08 - 12:42 AM

If he wrote those verses when he was only 16, I suppose we should forgive him.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 08 - 12:50 AM

It was clear in the journal that I quoted from that that version wasn't complete. It had the asterisk and the note below that it was just "selections."

I suspect the Southern Literary Messenger operated something like the Reader's Digest in presenting popular works but in expurgated versions. Again, the row of asterisks before the final few lines of the poem would indicate that parts are missing. I'm glad masato found the earlier version.

We've made a lot of progress with this song, even if it isn't where Joe Offer was heading recently when he opened a DTthread to look into the "Dying Cowboy" history. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Lighter
Date: 22 Nov 08 - 11:30 AM

The word "Selected" in the _SLM_ printing certainly seems to imply abridgment, but the earlier 1830 printing, unearthed by Masato, looks to be identical except for some punctuation and two or three words.

The line of asterisks in the 1839 text therefore must represent a fade-out, or the passage of time, between the sailor's last speech and his actual burial.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 08 - 12:57 PM

Q, that link doesn't work. I can't tell where the archive was taking you back to.

To get a PDF of that page at the Rural Repository link, I think you would have to download the entire book PDF then select that particular page to save as an isolated file. If anyone is wondering how. Then dump the rest (though you should also keep a file of the cover page to have all of the particulars). I couldn't get it to open directly from the web site in Acrobat.

SRS

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 22 Nov 08 - 01:21 PM

Sorry, I made a mistake, left out h, in copying the link ws to the old biography, 1882, by Sumner Ellis- not the "Rural" reference.
I guess I'll have to get my antique brain to comprehend cut and paste or whatever. The complete link, which didn't seem necessary but could be-
http://www.archive.org/stream/lifeofedwinhchap00elli/lifeofedwinhchap00elli djvu.txt
Try the short one again-
Chapin

Or can be found by googling the full name Edwin H. Chapin.

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 08 - 01:31 PM

Nice setup, that book. Thanks!

Subject: RE: Origins: Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 22 Nov 08 - 01:38 PM

OK, that link gets the photocopy of the book by Sumner Ellis. Use the arrows at right to turn the pages. Click on 'print' to get pdf. The long link is needed to get the typescript copy made from the book (typing errors included)and the index.

In the book itself, 'School Days', with the story of the poem and full text of the poem, starts at p. 25 (the poem on pp. 33-34.
A list of his poems starts on p. 305.