Songs about a man's love for his horse

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 06 Feb 10 - 08:57 AM

"Doney Gal" is the "Teach In--Guitar" song in the latest issue of Sing Out, vol. 53, no. 2, the one with Richie Havens on the cover.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Bert
Date: 06 Feb 10 - 09:01 AM

When you were kids did you ever sing "Three legged Friend"?

He's honest and faithful right up to the end
my wonderful, none, one , two, three legged fried

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Feb 10 - 09:01 PM

There's a couple of others that haven't been mentioned such as "Zebra Dun" and John Warner's "Horses of the World" and "The Farrier's Trade."

Then there's"I Can't Get Offa My Horse aka Glue in the Saddle" which has this touching final verse:

When I die and go to heaven,
There to meet with our savior true,
Just dig my grave and build a coffin,
But you better make it big enough for two!

Then there's "The Ballad of the Cowpuncher" which in the final verse contains the immortal lines:

I've been lonesome in the saddle, ever since my old horse died,
And sometimes, when it's late at night, I dream she's by my side,
Them nightmares keep me up all night and caused me for to roam,
I am an old cowpuncher and a long, long way from home.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: open mike
Date: 06 Feb 10 - 10:54 PM

There is a song by Corb Lund from Alberta...
called Horse Soldier, which honors the horse's
contributions to battle thru the years...

and by way of introduction he mentioned that
there is presently a cowboy who is teaching
mounted troops about combat in afghanistan .

I seem to recall another song about a horse
in the civil war or at Little Big Horn who
died for his rider, and was given honor as a
human combatant would have been.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Beer
Date: 06 Feb 10 - 11:21 PM

I'm a little disappointed that GUEST,vjoseph has not checked in. That is the problem with GUEST. They come and go as they wish. We do the work then good bye.
Hay!! where the hell are ya??
Ad.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Feb 10 - 11:32 PM

Ad...it's okay! Someone will come along looking for the same thing and our work will have already been done.*bg*

Pete, thanks for the link! That looks like a fantastic CD. My family had some of those on 78s and we grew up with my dad singing most of them. You might be interested in THESE.

Billy Venero must've loved his horse to trust him with getting the note back to the ranch.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Beer
Date: 07 Feb 10 - 09:37 AM

Morning after. Thanks Kat for the note. Maybe I came on a little to harsh vjoseph. Hope you return soon.
ad.

Subject: Lyr Add: OLE FAITHFUL / OLD FAITHFUL
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Feb 10 - 04:53 PM

How about "Old Faithful"?

Old Faithful, we rode the range together
Old Faithful, in every kind of weather
When your roundup days are over
There'll be pastures white with clover
For you, old faithful pal of mine.

Hurry up old fellow, for the moon is yellow tonight
Hurry up old fellow, for the moon is mellow and bright,
There's a coyote howling at the moon above
So carry me back to the one I love
Hurry up old fellow, 'cause we gotta get home tonight.

Check out these two video links. The first one is called "My Old Pal, Pal O' Mine" by Bob Nolan, and is better heard than read because of the way the solo and chorus parts overlap.

http://www.bobnolan-sop.net/Video/My%20Old%20Pal/index.html

And this one, "Bronco Pal." Note that Nolan's voice is dubbed.

http://www.bobnolan-sop.net/Video/Bronco%20Pal/index.html

And if you want a humorous one, check out "This Old White Mule of Mine."

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: topical tom
Date: 07 Feb 10 - 06:09 PM

"Small Victory" by Garnet rogers.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Artful Codger
Date: 07 Feb 10 - 08:48 PM

"Doney Gal" is sung to a number of tunes. There's one in Larkin's "Singing Cowboy", and Don Edwards sings one which he "arranged/adapted"--see this YouTube clip. There may be a tune or two in Fife and Fife's annotated version of Lomax. Karel Zich sang a nice Czech version, captured in this clip. I've heard at least another tune used. It'd be interesting to see how the Sing Out tune compares, but that's probably fodder for another thread.

Subject: Lyr Add: SAALO'S SONG (Ron Thomason)
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 07 Feb 10 - 09:59 PM

Ron Thomason, the leader of Dry Branch Fire Squad, wrote this beautiful song about his own horse.

Saalo's Song
Ron Thomason

He packed up his guitar
And drove Wednesday through Sunday
And sometimes played three shows a day
The modern lone rider, he dreamed of Ohio
And his doe-eyed Arabian bay

And how they'd go racing out on the hillside
In the cool closing twilight of day
Old friends together in thunderous freedom
Just the man and the wind and the bay.

Well, sometimes they'd ride down by the river
And the bay always stopped there to drink
In the still of the evening
The horse seemed contented
And the man used the time just to think.

And in the cold winds of winter
He's drawn to the barn
By some irresistable force
With carrots and a blanket
There's nothing more binding
Than the love of a man for his horse.

The call of the highway, how it would beckon
He kept going back out of course
And in the deep of the night
When the miles were the hardest
He just figured he drove for the horse.

And in all life's relations one thing stays the same
Never take more than you will repay
So we count the score even
'cause the miles he had driven
Were for miles that he rode on the bay.

They grew old together, got too old to ride
But just look at the seeds that they'd sowed
They'd walk out in the pasture, stand side by side
And stare off at the hills where they'd growed.

And of all God's creations here under heaven
There's many I can't understand
One beautiful mystery that I at least witnessed
Was the love of a horse for a man.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: open mike
Date: 07 Feb 10 - 11:41 PM

"if your bovine goes lengthward??!!"

what does that mean?

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 Feb 10 - 11:50 PM

Barbara, thanks for posting that. It is really neat, esp. the twist in the last line.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: open mike
Date: 07 Feb 10 - 11:53 PM

yes! i second that "Small Victory" i love this song...

also Mike Beck sings a song about a horse named Patrick...who
'belonged' to one of the Dorrance brothers...Bill Dorrance
famous for being one of the original "horse whisperers"

http://www.mikebeck.com/

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Bobert
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 07:39 AM

There's a song from the 70's... I think the Byrds did it... I think it's called "Pinto Pony"... I have it on vinyl but I can't get to my LP's 'cause of the snow... But darned good country/cowboy song...

The only line that that comes to mind is:

"I sure did love... that Pinto Pony"

B~

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Bobert
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 07:41 AM

Come to think of it, it might have been Paul Siebel??? I'll think on it more... It will come to me...

B~

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 11:42 AM

Sorry to do this to y'all, but I can't help being reminded, for some perverse reason, of an old cartoon I once saw. There's a cowboy sitting on the steps of the bunkhouse with his horse's reins in his hand, their noses almost touching. One of the other cowboys, taking in this tender scene, says "I always knew you were attached to this horse but, let's face it - you're involved!"

In the days of open range and cattle drives, it was not often that a cowboy could afford his own mount. Most of his money went for saddle and tack and, perhaps, a sidearm or rifle. Most horses were furnished to the hands by the herd's owner and kept in a "remuda" or temporary corral during a drive. Think of it like an army "motor pool," where mounts were furnished as needed. An individual might have use of the same horse, day to day, depending on that outfit's approach, but not always.

Subject: Lyr Add: IF WISHES WERE HORSES (Joel Mabus)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 01:29 PM

She was only a stableman's daughter
But all the horsemen knew her! (say this one fast a couple of times until it sinks in)

Here's a nice one from Joel Mabul, out in Michigan, with a message for all you cowboy and cowgirl wannabees:

IF WISHES WERE HORSES, ©1992 Joel Mabus, originally on the album Short Stories and re-recorded on Omnibus, 2008

He's a cowboy, he's a poet - he's got a heart but he don't show it.
His face was made for poker, you can never read his mind.
He's got a job down at the factory - killing time and building Chevies,
And when that whistle blows he's the first one off the line.

And if wishes were horses, that old boy would ride;
If daydreams were wildfire, he'd burn the mountainside;
If the ocean was desire, he'd sail out on the tide;
If wishes were horses, how that boy would ride.

She's an artist, she's an actor - and if luck was not a factor
She'd be out in Hollywood, you could read her name in lights;
But she's waitin' down at Denny's - wiping tables, saving pennies,
Acting like she's satisfied - it's the performance of her life.

And if wishes were horses, that old girl would ride;
If daydreams were wildfire, she'd burn the mountainside;
If the ocean was desire, she'd sail out on the tide;
If wishes were horses, how that girl would ride.

He's a rocker, he's a bopper - went to school to be a lawyer;
Now he's sitting in a traffic jam in his leather covered car.
And the radio plays on old song - he shakes his head and sings along,
He wonders where his old friends went, and where those good times are.

And if wishes were horses, that old boy would ride;
If daydreams were wildfire, he'd burn the mountainside;
If the ocean was desire, he'd sail out on the tide;
If wishes were horses, how that boy would ride.
If wishes were horses, how we all would ride.

Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: AS IF HE KNOWS (Eric Bogle)
From: eddie1
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 02:11 PM

I mentioned this song a while back.

Eddie
Copied from As If He Knows

Here are the lyrics of a song by Eric Bogle. It is about the horses of the Australian Light Horse in World War 1. The below is about the song as Eric Bogle describes.
The story is as follows:
The song is of course about the horses sent overseas during WW1 to serve in the various theatres of war. Of the approximately 53000 horses Australia sent overseas during WW1, only one ever returned to Australia after the war. At the end of the war the Anzacs were ordered to get rid of their horses, the authorities did not want them returning to Australia and perhaps bringing in anthrax or TB or suchlike back into the country. Most of the horses were sold or given away, but in Palestine the Light Horsemen refused to give or sell their horses to the Arab population of Palestine, and chose instead to shoot them all. I based the song on an actual Light Horseman called Elijah Conn who had a horse in Palestine called Banjo. Elijah never forgot Banjo and for the rest of his life could not talk about him without tears coming to his eyes.
AS IF HE KNOWS
It's as if he knows
He's standing close to me
His breath warm on my sleeve
His head hung low
It's as if he knows
What the dawn will bring
The end of everything
For my old Banjo
And all along the picket lines beneath the desert sky
The Light Horsemen move amongst their mates to say one last goodbye
And the horses stand so quietly
Row on silent row
It's as if they know
Time after time
We rode through shot and shell
We rode in and out of Hell
On their strong backs
Time after time
They brought us safely through
By their swift sure hooves
And their brave hearts
Tomorrow we will form up ranks and march down to the quay
And sail back to our loved ones in that dear land across the sea
While our loyal and true companions
Who asked so little and gave so much
Will lie dead in the dust.
For the orders came
No horses to return
We were to abandon them
To be slaves
After all we'd shared
And all that we'd been through
A Nation's gratitude
Was a dusty grave
For we can't leave them to the people here, we'd rather see them dead
So each man will take his best mate's horse with a bullet through the head
For the people here are like their land
Wild and cruel and hard
So Banjo, here's your reward.
It's as if he knows, he standing close to me,
His breath warm on my sleeve, his head hung low.
As he if he knew.
Copyright Eric Bogle July 2001

Subject: Lyr Add: THE TWO THINGS IN LIFE (Gary McMahan)
From: open mike
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 06:37 PM

Ok, I found the song i was looking for. By
Gary McMahan, "The Two Things in Life."

it's just a little poem..an excerpt from Gary's song Wimmen and Horses

There's two things in life, that I really love
that's women and horses, that I'm sure of
So when I die, please tan my hide
and tool me into a saddle so fine
and give me to a cowgirl that likes to ride
so that in the hereafter I may rest
between the two things that I love best

you can find it here: http://singingcowboy.com/music2.html

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 07:46 PM

One of the best CDs you could ever hope to find about horses (in this case specifically the heavy horse called the Clydesdale)is here:
http://www.musicscotland.com/cd/gentle-giants-clydesdale-horse-in-song.html

It includes "The Last Trip Home" by the late Davy Steele, which has been mentioned above, and many more fantastic songs. One of Robin Laing's songs tells of the (dead) horse's hoof that became an ashtray! And the cover shows a wire sculpture of a horse that stands alongside the M8 on the way to Glasgow: it looks spectacular when lit up at night.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: GUEST,999
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 07:49 PM

Lyrics to "Pinto Pony" by P.S. was posted way back to a thread by Harpgirl, fyi, Bobert.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Artful Codger
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 08:14 PM

When I was weeding through World War I poems, I ran across quite a few lauding the campaign horses.

Robert Frothingham compiled a book of verse titled "Songs of Horses", (though any equine composition is dubious--not a whinny in the whole lot); it can be downloaded from Google Books.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Feb 10 - 09:13 PM

eddie1, thanks for posting the lyrics for that. Here is a youtube video of it: CLICK.

Tattie, that sounds like a neat CD, except the ashtray one!:-) I have an original registration from the Society of Great Britain and Ireland for a Clydesdale, Lord Meldrum, which my great-grandad bought in 1887. Family lore said he was the first of his kind on the Western Slope of Colorado.

kat

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: open mike
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 04:06 AM

great to hear a out Lord Meldrum, Kat! (if you google that name, there is a t.v. show or movie about that guy.)

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Musicman
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 10:19 PM

Bill Staines has at least 3 songs that come to mind quickly, 'Just for Love', Zane Grey, and Heart Alone, and one about a mule.. Ol' Jack.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 11:10 PM

Thanks, om, didn't know about that. The other neat thing is his sire's name was Colin, which is what I named my son, not knowing about the horse at the time.:-)

MusicMan! Long time no see! How ya doing?

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: GUEST,Ian Gill
Date: 10 Feb 10 - 03:32 PM

'The Angels Took My Racehorse Away' by Richard Thompson ?
'Skewball' in its' various versions ?
[Why should a horse want a saddle made of gold ? Any ideas ?]
[cue sound of scraping barrel] 'Donkey, Jack Donkey' by Bill Caddick
There's another RT one as well - more modern - but I can't bring it to mind right now...

Subject: Lyr Add: UNWELCOME GUEST (Woody Guthrie)
From: quokka
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 04:25 AM

Just listened to Billy Bragg and Wilco's version Of Woody Guthrie's Unwelcome Guest again and just HAD to post the lyrics...also the youtude I posted in this thread back in Feb has some amazing photos, and the comments have a bit of history about the song - I didn't realise it was about Dick Turpin and his horse Bess.

'Unwelcome Guest' words by Woody Guthrie, music by Billy Bragg and Wilco, from the album MERMAID AVENUE

    To the rich man's bright lodges, I ride in this wind
On my good horse, I call you, My shiny black Bess

To the playhouse of fortune To take the bright silver
And gold you have taken From somebody else

And as we go riding In the damp foggy midnight
You snort, my good pony, And you give me your best

For you know and I know, Good horse 'mongst the rich ones
How oftimes we go there An unwelcome guest

I never took food From the widows and orphans
And never a hardworking man I oppressed

So take your pace easy For home soon like lightning
We soon will be riding My shiny black Bess

No fat rich man's pony Can ever overtake you
And there's not a rider From the east to the west

Could hold you a light In this dark mist and midnight
When the potbellied thieves Chase the unwelcome guest

I don't know, good horse As we trot in this dark here
That robbing the rich Is for worse or for best

They take it by stealing And lying and gambling
And I take it my way My shiny Black Bess

I treat horses good And I'm friendly to strangers
I ride and your running Makes my guns talk the best

And the rangers and deputies Are hired by the rich man
To catch me and hang me, My shining black Bess

Yes, they'll catch me napping one day,And they'll kill me
And then I'll be gone, But that won't be my end

For my guns and my saddle Will always be filled
By unwelcome travellers And other brave men

And they'll take the money And spread it out equal
Just like the Bible And the prophets suggest

But men that go riding To help these poor workers
The rich will cut down Like an unwelcome guest

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Amos
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 10:46 AM

Let's not leave out "Stewball" and the big bay Ten Brooks, who beat Molly.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 03:31 PM

One real tear jerker is John Kirkparick's Dick Turpin song, "Black Bess" on his Mazurka Berserker. (If you've got Spotify you can hear it there.)

"Thee shall die, my dumb friend, and your soul go to rest
And for kindness I'll shoot thee, my Bonny Black Bess...

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 03:49 PM

The song mentioned by Marje on 4 Feb 2010 was recorded by Dave Webber on "Bonnet and Shawl" as "The Carter". The CD notes say "This wonderful song comes from the singing of Bob Arnold (Tom Forest of The Archers), although we must acknowledge a debt to Brian Westcot for giving this song a new life." My recollection is that Ron Taylor sings it too.

Kitty

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: open mike
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 05:03 PM

hmm...i noticed that the wonderful song by Garnet Rogers, Small Victory
was posted by Clinton Hammond...I wondered what he had been up to,...
(see link above in this thread)

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: open mike
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 05:11 PM

Tom Paxton has one about his pony
and how he knows the way back home

My Pony Knows the Way...talks about Talaquah...
which is a town in Oklahoma

Subject: Lyr Add: HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT
From: Alaska Mike
Date: 22 Sep 10 - 04:54 PM

This song always seemed like a horse lover's song to me.

Mike


Take the ribbon from your hair,
Shake it loose and let it fall,
Layin' soft upon my skin.
Like the shadows on the wall.

Come and lay down by my side
'till the early morning light
All I'm takin' is your time.
Help me make it through the night.

I don't care what's right or wrong,
I don't try to understand.
Let the devil take tomorrow.
Lord, tonight I need a friend.

Yesterday is dead and gone
And tomorrow's out of sight.
And it's sad to be alone.
Help me make it through the night.

I don't care what's right or wrong,
I don't try to understand.
Let the devil take tomorrow.
Lord, tonight I need a friend.

Yesterday is dead and gone
And tomorrow's out of sight.
Lord, it's bad to be alone.
Help me make it through the night.

Kris Kristofferson

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: frogprince
Date: 22 Sep 10 - 11:14 PM

LOL Mike; you're probably right; it couldn't be about a sheep, because a sheeps hair is curled up too tight to fall loose if you take the ribbon off.

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 10:06 PM

"Old Faithful," lyrics above, I believe was composed by Rex Allen.
Any more information?

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Beer
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 10:21 PM

Here is the song "Old ned" by brendan Nolan.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=52094&songID=339935

[Lyrics]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adrien

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: Beer
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 10:26 PM

Quote from Brendan on the song "Old Ned".
ad.

"Key of E flat; Guitar: Capo 3rd fret C

The horse-drawn milk-cart disappeared from the streets of Dublin finally in the early seventies. I remember one of the milkmen being interviewed on TV when they finally changed over to motorized vehicles. The emotion in his face was very apparent when he said, "You can't talk to a van". I suppose you can't exactly talk to a horse either, but you know what he meant. The early morning sound of the hoof on the road outside and the jingling of the glass milk-bottles has now become a fond memory of a day gone by."

Subject: Lyr Add: I'D RATHER HAVE A PONY THAN A GIRL
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 31 May 13 - 06:48 PM

Mentioned above by Mavis Enderby:


I'D RATHER HAVE A PONY THAN A GIRL
As sung by Buddy Williams on "Saddle Tramp Country Favorites" and "Old Faithful: Songs from the Saddle"

Oh, I'd rather have a pony than a gal.
A pony is a far greater pal.
He's faithful kind and true,
Never thinks of hurting you.
He doesn't start a-nagging
And his tongue ain't always wagging.
Oh, a pony never lies or lets you down,
A gal to meet when you ride into town,
And he doesn't give a hoot
If you've been out on the scoot.
Oh, I'd rather have a pony than a gal.

[Yodel]

If I'm home late, my pony doesn't mind.
He never scolds or speaks to me unkind,
Doesn't ask me where I've been,
Or how many gals I've seen,
He doesn't go romancing
In the dock instead of dancing.
Oh, at least my pony knows that I'm the boss.
At the races, he don't care who won or lost.
I've played a losing game, you see,
So I let the ladies be,
'Cause I'd rather have a pony than a gal.

[Yodel]

Subject: Lyr Add: LADRONE (Hamlin Garland)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 31 May 13 - 11:28 PM

Artful Codger mentioned this earlier. It's not a song, but a poem:

From Prairie Songs by Hamlin Garland (Cambridge: Stone and Kimball, 1893), page 125:


LADRONE
Hamlin Garland

And what of Ladrone, do you ask?
Ah, friend, I am sad at the name!
My splendid fleet roan!—the task
You require is a hard one at best.
Swift as the spectral coyote, as tame
To my voice as a sweetheart—an eye
Like a pool in the woodland asleep,
Brown, clear and calm, with color down deep
Where his brave, proud soul seemed to lie.

Ladrone! There's a spell in the name,
The dank walls fade on my eye—the roar
Of the city grows dim, as a dream;
My spirit leaps up as to soar;
Once more I'm asweep on the plain,
The summer wind sings in my hair;
Once again I hear the wild crane
Crying deep in the shimmering air;
White clouds are adrift on the breeze,
The flowers nod under our feet,
And under my thighs—'twixt my knees,
Again, as of old, I can feel
The roll of Ladrone's vast muscles, the reel
Of his chest—see the thrust of fore-limb
And hear the dull trample of heel!

We thunder behind the wild herd,
My singing whip swirls like a snake;
Hurrah! we swoop on like a bird,
With Ladrone's proud record at stake—
For the shaggy, swift leader has stride
Like the last of a long kingly line.
Her eyes flash fire through her hair,
She tosses her head in disdain,
Her mane streams abroad in the air—
She leads the mad herd of the plain
As a wolf leader leads his gaunt pack
On the slot of the desperate deer—
Their exultant eyes savagely shine!

But down on the leader's broad back
Stings my lash like a rill of red flame—
Huzza, my wild beauty, your best!
Will you teach my Ladrone a new pace?
Will you break his proud heart with a shame
By spurning the dust in his face?

The herd falls behind and is lost
As we race neck and neck, stride and stride—
Again the long whip hisses hot
Along the gray mare's glossy side—
Aha, she is lost! She does not respond—
The storm of her speed's at its best-
Now I lean to the ear of my roan
And shout, letting fall the tight rein:
Like a hound from the leash my Ladrone
Swoops ahead—
       We're alone on the plain!

                         *       *       *

Yes, alone on the wide, solemn prairie
I ride with my rifle in hand,
My eyes on the watch for the wary
And beautiful antelope band;

Or, sleeping at night in the grasses, I hear
Ladrone grazing near in the gloom.
His listening head on the sky
Comes back, etched complete to the ear.
From the river below comes the boom
Of the bittern, the trill and the cry
Of frogs in the pool, and shrill crickets' chime,
Making ceaseless and marvelous rhyme.

But what of his fate? Did he die
When that terrible tempest was done?
When he staggered with you to the light,
And the fight with the Norther was won?
Did he live like a guest at your door?

No, friend, not so, I—sold him outright.

What, sold your preserver? He who
Through wind and wild snow and deep night
Brought you safe to a shelter at last!
Did you, when the danger had ended,
Forget your dumb hero, your friend?

Forget? No, nor shall I—why, man!
It's little you know of such love
As I felt for him—you think that you feel
The same deep regard for your span,
Blanketed, shining, and clipped to the heel.
But my horse was companion and friend,
My playmate, my ship on the sea
Of dun grasses; in all kinds of weather,
Unhoused and hungry sometimes, he
Served me for love, he needed no tether!

No, I cannot forget; but who
Is the master of fortune or fate?
Who does as he wishes and not as he must?
When I sold my preserver, my mate,
My faithfulest friend, man, I wept—
Yes, I own it! His beautiful eyes
Seemed to ask what it meant, and he kept
Them fixed on me in startled surprise,
As another hand led him away,
And the last that I heard of my roan
Was the sound of his shrill, pleading neigh.

O magic west wind of the mountain!
O steed with the stinging mane!
In sleep I draw rein at the fountain,
But wake with a shiver of pain;
For the heart and the heat of the city
Are walls and prison and chain.
Lost my Ladrone, gone the wild living—
I dream, but my dreaming is vain.

Subject: Lyr Add: A COWBOY NEEDS A HORSE (Roy Rogers)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 31 May 13 - 11:55 PM

This was mentioned by katlaughing earlier:


A COWBOY NEEDS A HORSE
As sung by Roy Rogers on "Saddle Tramp Country Favorites" and "Old Faithful: Songs from the Saddle"

Oh, a cowboy needs a horse, needs a horse, needs a horse,
And a cowboy needs a hat, needs a hat, needs a hat,
And he oughta have a rope, have a rope, have a rope,
If he wants to keep a-ridin'.

Now a cowboy needs some boots (fancy boots, fancy boots),
And a set of shiny spurs (shiny spurs, shiny spurs),
And he oughta have a song (have a song, have a song),
If he wants to keep a-ridin'.

Oh, the fence is long and the sun is hot,
And the good Lord knows that a cowboy's got
To keep (ridin', ridin' along).

Now if a cowboy's got a horse, and a hat, and a rope,
And a pair of fancy boots, shiny spurs, and a song,
Then there's very little else in this world that he needs
If he wants to keep a-ridin',
Ridin' along.

[Yodel.]

Subject: RE: Song about a man's love for his horse
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 01:59 AM

The song 'Down the road and away went Polly', cited by Young Buchan on 4 feb 10, I suspect to have been one of the many songs sung by the great Gus Elen to have been written and composed by Edgar Bateman & George Le Brunn. Some familiar examples are "It's a Great Big Shame" and "The 'Ouses in Between". But I can't find a ref online to confirm that "Away Went Polly" is another of theirs. Can anyone?

~M~

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WALKING MAN (Henry Herbert Knibbs)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 07:11 AM

Here's a poem that Open Mike mentioned earlier:

From Songs of the Outlands: Ballads of the Hoboes and Other Verse by Henry Herbert Knibbs (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1914), page 3:


THE WALKING MAN

Sunny summer day it was when loping in to Laramie,
I overtook the Walking Man, reined up and nodded "How!"
He'd been a rider once, I knew. He smiled, but scarce aware of me,
He said, "If you would like me to, I'll tell my story, now.

"They'll tell you that I'm crazy—that my wits have gone to glory,
But you mustn't be believing every Western yarn you hear.
The one I'm going to tell you is exceptional—a story
That you've heard perhaps a dozen ways a dozen times a year."

So he whispered while the shadow of my pony walked beside him,
"If good people go to heaven, do good horses go to hell?"
I slung one leg across the horn and sideways so, I eyed him;
"For I've seen the phantom ponies loping round the Big Corral.

"And I've seen my pony Yuma—yes, the horse that died to save me—
Come and nicker at the golden bars while I stood down below
Calling, 'Yuma! Yuma! Yuma!' and still wondering why He gave me
Such a friend; and why I killed her. It was twenty years ago....

"You remember; it was lonely when we used to guard the cattle;
When a man would ride the line for days and camp at night alone,
With nothing much to do but watch the sun rise up for battle,
And not a soul to talk to, or what's even worse—his own.

"So I taught my pony Yuma many tricks, for she was human;
To rear, shake hands, to nod, or pick up anything I dropped,
Till she grew as interested and as gentle as a woman,
Just to have me praise and pet her; but one day the teaching stopped.

"Three rustlers from the Notch rode up. I knew there would be trouble,
But I sat my pony easy and I rolled a cigarette,
And we talked about the rodeo, when, like a bursting bubble,
The leader opened up the fight. I felt my arm grow wet....

"It was three to one; but Yuma, like a rock, stood to the thunder,
For she seemed to know my need.... Two empty saddles... when the one
That tried at first to get me spurred up close and swung up under,
And I saw the trail to heaven in the muzzle of his gun.

"I flinched and played the coward. 'Up!' I called, and at the calling
Reared my pony; and she took his shot. I leveled quick and twice
I answered. In the smoke I saw a twisted figure falling;
I could feel my pony shiver.... Twenty years I've paid the price

"For my life. Yes, Hell-and-Texas leave the hoofprints in some faces;
We, the riders of the ranges, each of us has played his part....
Twenty years!" he whispered slowly. "Twenty years in many places,
But I've never worn the print of Yuma's hoof-marks from my heart.

"I'm the Walking Man forever. But I dream of mighty ranges
And the silent mountain-meadows in the glory of the stars;
And I see the phantom ponies in the dawn and sunset changes,
And I hear my Yuma nicker, just behind the golden bars."

Sunny summer day it was when loping in to Laramie,
I overtook the Walking Man, reined up and nodded "How!"
He walked beside me for a while. He hardly was aware of me,
But I think I understand him, for I know his story now.

Subject: Lyr Add: POOR OLD HORSE
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 07:44 AM

I am not a horse-lover particularly, but two songs have always made me choke: One is Eric Bogle's "As if he knows", already posted above. The other (and one of my all-time favourite songs) is the traditional - collected by Jim Eldon at Appleby Fair)"Poor old horse":

POOR OLD HORSE (trad)

Once he was a young horse, he was a young horse in his prime;
his master used to ride him, and he thought him very fine.

(chorus)But he's still my own,
bonny sweet, who rode so many's the mile;
over hedges, ditches, brooks and bridges, gates
and cleared many a stile.
Poor old horse, poor old horse, oh cherry old grye.

(now) His legs and his irons have all gone to decay;
likewise his poor old body, it's all withered away.

Once he wore the clothing of the lindsay oh so fine;
and his eyes they would sparkle, and his mane it did shine.

Now out from the warm stable to the fields he has to go;
let it rain, hail, or sun shine, or the winds blow high and low.

(oh) He's stealing all my hay now, and spoiling all my corn,
He's eating up the long grass that grows against the wall.

I should beat him, whip him, cut him, to the huntsmen let him go.
Give his body to the fox dogs, that's the best that I can do

Subject: Lyr Add: HORSES OF THE WORLD (John Warner)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 08:33 AM

Charley Noble mentioned this song earlier.

John Warner has made his recording of this song playable on his web site. (Go to that page and click on the "notes" symbol in front of the song title.) Here's my transcription. Note there is one phrase I couldn't understand, represented by an ellipsis, and I'm not too sure about "the one fine child of earth."


HORSES OF THE WORLD
As sung by John Warner on "The Sea and the Soil"

CHORUS: And I want to say a word of thanks to the horses of the world,
Whose solid backs and heaving lungs have placed us where we stand.
Their eyes speak for their spirits that through the endless years
Have shaped us all as we shaped the fruitful land,
Such gentle souls who shaped the fruitful land.

And I saw a fertile valley where a black and heavy soil
Promised golden grain and fruit upon the bough,
And sweating giant Clydesdales thrust their shoulders at the toil,
And the loam rolled back like the sea behind the plough. CHORUS

And a thousand lowing cattle spread out on the western plain,
And the thunder spoke from out the roaring clouds,
And the stockman rode to calm the herd through squalls of lashing hail
On their … strong and proud.

So I'll keep an apple by me when I lean upon a fence
Where a palomino or some chestnut mare might graze—
A present from a passerby, the one fine child of earth
Whose hoofprints pioneered our present ways. CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: THAT PALOMINO PAL O' MINE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 12:22 PM

THAT PALOMINO PAL O' MINE
Written by Marty Kenwood & Matt Kingsley
As sung by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers on "Lore of the West"

1. When the sun has gone to sleep for the evenin'
And the winds caress the slumberin' pine,
Then I saddle up and head for the prairie
With that palomino pal of mine.

2. That old pal of mine, he knows where I'm goin'
And I never have to give him a sign,
For there's no one in this world understands me
Like that palomino pal of mine.

BRIDGE: And as we ride, ride, ride,
We'll be leavin' all our cares along the way.
We're gonna ride, ride, ride,
Till the morning comes to bring the light of day.

3. When we hit the dusty trail to the sunset,
And we travel to the end of the line,
I'll be roundin' up my dreams way up yonder
With that palomino pal of mine.

[Repeat bridge and verse 3.]


[I find it amusing that the title says "pal o' mine" but Rogers consistently pronounces the "f" in "of."]

Subject: RE: Songs about a man's love for his horse
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Nov 21 - 05:21 AM

Eric Bogle's "Its as if he knows".

Subject: RE: Songs about a man's love for his horse
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Nov 21 - 05:54 AM

Nobody's mentioned the Country Carrier yet.

Tradsinger

Subject: RE: Songs about a man's love for his horse
From: GUEST,Joe macg in ns
Date: 14 Nov 21 - 07:34 PM

Silver Stallion by the Highwaymen.

I’m gonna steal me a silver stallion,
With not a mark upon his silky hide.
Teach him he can trust me like a brother,
Then one day we’ll saddle up and ride.

Third verse (I’m gonna chase the sky forever,
With the woman and the stallion and the wind.)