Lyr. Add: XIT CHUCK WAGON ON THE PLAINS
(I Will Tell You of My Troubles)

I will tell you of my troubles
My ups and downs through life
And I'll tell to you a story rather strange
I will tell you of my boarding house
A structure built on wheels
And it's drawn by four black horses 'cross the plains.

Oh, the wheels are made of [black oak?]
The running gear white oak
And the bed is made to haul our bedding, chuck, and grain
In the rear there is a chuck box
Where the cowboys get their chuck
It's the XIT chuck wagon on the plain.

As the old chuck wagon rolls on
You can hear the cowboys yell
You can hear the dogies bawling all around
You can see the bronco pitching
Trying to shake his rider off
But they seldom ever put one on the ground.

You can hear the howling coyotes
The barking prairie dog
You can see the bronco buster holding to his rein
You can see a thousand white-face cattle
Grazing on the grass
'Round the XIT chuck wagon on the plains.

Oh, my life's a poor cowpuncher
And I daily ride the range
While the irons is getting hot I ride my wild bronco
When the rounding of the yearlings
And the branding does begin
From my roping horse I throw my long lasso.

Oh, the boys go dog the yearlings
To burn the XIT
While on guard the boys are holding to the reins
When our day's work is ended
Then we all go into camp
To the XIT chuck wagon on the plains.

When the cook gets chuck all ready
And he hollers, "Here it is,"
To the chuck box there's a run by all the crew,
When our tins and cups are loaded
With hot coffee, bread and steak
Then we all sit down upon the grass to chew.

Oh, the beefsteak's brown and tender
The bread is sour dough
And the coffee's strong enough to float a barge of grain
As we chew our [floury greeting?]
There's a loco weed in bloom
'Round the XIT chuck wagon on the plains.

Oh, my associates are cowpunchers
And their jewels are forty-fives
We're there with smoking rifles when trouble occurs
The only amusement is
High Five and Seven Up
And the music is the rattle of the spurs.

Oh, our beds are made of tarpaulin
Our blankets are Navajo
And we snap the [?} to keep out wind and rain
When the boys are all through jesting
Then we all lie down to sleep
'Round the XIT chuck wagon on the plains.

The XIT ranch was two million acres, granted as payment for the construction of the Texas State Capitol Building. It stretched over ten counties in West Texas.

Sung by C. S. Weir; collected by Ray B. Browne.
headed "I Will tell You My Troubles," pp. 90-92.
Austin E. and Alta S. Fife, 1966, Comments and additional songs, N. Howard (Jack) Thorp, Songs of the Cowboys; Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.