I don't really like the version that's in the Digital Tradition. The phrase "I'm leadin' old Dan" really bothers me, and I haven't found it in any other version. What I sing is a composite of what I've found in a variety of songbooks:

I RIDE AN OLD PAINT

I ride an old Paint, I lead an old Dan
I'm goin' to Montana for to throw the hoolian.
They feed in the coulees, they water in the draw,
Their tails are all matted, their backs are all raw.

CHORUS:
Ride around, little dogies, ride around them slow,
For the fiery and snuffy are rarin' to go.

Old Bill Jones had two daughters and a song,
One went to Denver, and the other went wrong.
His wife, she died in a poolroom fight
But still he keeps singing from morning to night:
CHORUS

Oh, when I die, take my saddle from the wall
Put it on my pony, lead him out of his stall;
Tie my bones to his back, turn our faces to the west
And we'll ride the prairie that we love the best.
CHORUS

Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song:

I Ride an Old Paint

DESCRIPTION: "I ride an old paint, I lead an old Dan/dam... Ride around, little dogies, ride around 'em slow...." Verses on various topics: The cowboy's travels, the strayed children of Old Bill Jones, the cowboy's hopes for his funeral
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: cowboy horse rambling funeral children
FOUND IN: US(SW)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Larkin, pp. 33-35, "I Ride an Old Paint" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 63(B), "Old Paint" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 12-13, "I Ride an Old Paint" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 260-261, "I Ride an Old Paint" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 857-858, "I Ride an Old Paint" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tinsley, pp. 126-129, "I Ride an Old Paint" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 25, "I Ride An Old Paint" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 106, "I Ride An Old Paint" (1 text)
DT, RIDEPNT*
Roud #915
RECORDINGS:
Almanac Singers, "I Ride an Old Paint" (General 5020B, 1941; on Almanac01, Almanac03, AlmanacCD1)
Harry Jackson, "I Ride an Old Paint" (on HJackson1)
Tex Ritter, "A-Ridin' Old Paint" (Conqueror 8144, 1933; on BackSaddle)
Pete Seeger, "I Ride an Old Paint" (on PeteSeeger17)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Goodbye, Old Paint"
File: LxU063B

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