One of my favorites.


Draggin' in the Tree
S Omar Barker

The cowboy ain't no lumberjack, an' if you want the facks,
One thing he ain't the fondest of is choppin' with an axe
But when December snow has got the range all wrapped in white,
There is one job of choppin' that he seems to like all right.
A sharp ax on his shoulder, he will ride off up the draw
Until he finds an evergreen without a single flaw.
A spruce, a fir, a juniper that's shaped just to a T
To set up in a corner for the ranch house Christmas tree.

As like as not, last summer while a-ridin' after cows
He noticed just the tree he wants, with green and graceful boughs
That's stout enough to ornament without no droop nor saggin',
But still a tree that ain't too big to fetch without a wagon.
It may be that he picked it out when August sun was hot,
But he knows where to find it, for his mind has marked the spot.

It ain't no chore to chop it down, an' if the snow is deep,
He drags it in behind his horse. It warms him up a heap
To see them rancher kids run out a-hollerin' with glee
To watch him as' admire him when he's bringin' in the tree.

Them kids may not belong to him, but that don't matter none -
His boss' brood, a nesters brats - It's still a heap of fun
To some ol' lonesome cowpoke, an' it sets his heart aglow
To come a-draggin' in the tree across the Christmas snow.

Sometimes when there's a schoolmarm an' she wants a tree at school,
She gets half a dozen, for you'll find that as a rule
At least that many cowboys, in sweet education's cause
Will somehow get to feelin' that they're kin to Santy Claus!

Sometimes the rangeland's lonesome an' sometimes it's kind o' grim,
But not when every ranch house has a Christmas tree to trim.
An' though the wild cowpuncher ain't no hand to swing an ax,
Across the white December snow you'll often find his tracks
A-leadin' to the timber, then back out again once more,
A-draggin in the Christmas tree - his purt near favorite chore!



Don't care what you call it. Have a happy, safe, warm season.
And give somebody a helping hand.


Ken