Origins: I Found a Horseshoe

Subject: ADD: I Found a Horseshoe
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Sep 12 - 01:40 AM

I would have thought we'd have every song from Sandburg's American Songbag, but somehow we missed this one. Here it is, from page 383:

I FOUND A HORSESHOE

I found a horseshoe, I found a horseshoe.
I picked it up and nailed it on the door;
And it was rusty and full of nail holes,
Good luck 'twill bring to you forevermore.

The man who owned the horse he lived in New York,
The man who owned the horse he lived in New York,
The man who owned the horse,
The man who owned the horse,
The man who owned the horse he lived in New York.

The horse that wore the shoe his name was Mike,
The horse that wore the shoe his name was Mike,
The horse that wore the shoe,
The horse that wore the shoe,
The horse that wore the shoe his name was Mike.

Notes from Sandburg:

Railroad switchmen at Illinois and Iowa division points sang this on nights in the 1890s when their gloves froze to the coupling pins between coal cars, and it was fun to reach a shanty stove. Paperhangers, icewagon drivers, hash slingers and short order cooks have joined up and sung it on summer evenings for good people gathered under the Chinese lanterns of a 1awn sociable, with ice cream served by the Ladies' Aid Society. . . . Henry Joslyn sets it here as a four-part piece for quartets.

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

I Found a Horseshoe

DESCRIPTION: "I found a horseshoe, I found a horseshoe, I picked it up and nailed it to a door. And it was rusty and full of nail holes, Good luck 'twill bring you forevermore." "The man who owned the horse he lives in New York." "The horse... his name was Mike"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: horse nonballad
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sandburg, pp. 382-383, "I Found a Horseshoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10077
File: San382

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The Ballad Index Copyright 2017 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

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Recording at American Memory Collection

Also in the Music in Our Country Silver Burdett school songbook.

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Sep 12 - 01:58 AM

A snippet of another version, from an article in The Kansas historical quarterly (Volume 26). (page 46 of 59)


I found a horseshoe (twice)
I picked it up and nailed it on the door.
The name of the horse that wore it, (twice)
The name of the horse that wore it was Lenore.
Ring, chiming bells! (8 times).

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Sep 12 - 02:03 AM

One more snippet, from Where the Sidewalk Ends: Retreatsd at Assumption Abby and other Contemplative Journeys, by J.T. Knoll, 2009:

I found a horseshoe. I found a horseshoe.
I picked it up and nailed it on the door.
It was rusty and full of nail holes.
And it brought good luck to me forever more.

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST,Jeanie Mertens
Date: 01 Jul 14 - 03:06 AM

Hi Joe,

My dad sang this song to me and my sisters and brothers when we were little children. He was a fireman for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in the 1950s and 1960s. He only knew the first five lines and a word or two were different, but this is the song he sang to us. We never knew the rest of the song, and have asked family members if they knew it and no one ever seemed to know the song, or had heard of it. I have been looking on line for years and years to find the lyrics. I was moved to tears when I found this link and my father's song that I have been searching for. Thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of myself and my family. We are grateful to you for putting the song online. May God Bless you abundantly,

Sincerely,
Jeanie Mertens Wisconsin

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jul 14 - 07:44 PM

My dad sang this song too (he was born in Chicago in 1916) and he sang a strange nonsense word chorus - something like alekazinga zanga zoo...alekazinga zanga zee...

does that sound familiar?

Mary Paris (Ohio)

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Sep 14 - 03:30 AM

Iver Olson try to bully me when I tried to sing this song in the fifth grade back In October 1965.

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Feb 16 - 07:05 PM

We sang this song in elementary school in the late 60's. It popped into my head today and now I can't get it out.

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Feb 16 - 01:58 AM

Looks like this song is in the Silver Burdett Music in Our Country songbook, a fifth-grade music text published in the Music for Living series in 1956.

-Joe-

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Here's a cute recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A4IHJzMc1A

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST,Glen Isomoto
Date: 31 Jul 16 - 03:11 PM

We use to sing this song at Alta Loma Elementary School (Los Angeles) back in the late 1950s. For whatever reason, I was humming the tune to myself the other day and decided to google it. I was able to find this thread and found that I still know the lyrics after all these years! Damn, my memory is still good! Thanks for posting!

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST
Date: 06 May 17 - 10:05 AM

This is clearly the Tucker Family Drinking Song. My grandfather born and 1898 was a Marine a Freemason and a railroad man which now I'm seeing this thread I'm pretty sure that's where the song originated from. This morning I hear my father's Voice singing in his deep bass I found a horseshoe. I wish he was still alive so I could talk to him about this discovery. It will make all the rest of the family happy when I share what I've learned. This is the land of Lincoln.

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST,george thorpe
Date: 21 Nov 17 - 05:46 PM

I was taught,
I found a horse shoe, I found a horseshoe
It was rusty and full of nails,
The name of the horse that wore it,
The name of the horse that wore it,
Was Maude Ess.
She came down the home stretch,
She came down the home stretch,
She came down the home stretch like the wind,
I found a horse shoe, I found a horseshoe
It was rusty and full of nails.

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST,carmensmith
Date: 14 Feb 18 - 12:14 PM

I also sang this song in elementary school around 5th grade in the late 60's. I went to school at Valencia Elementary in Pico Rivera, California. Our teacher, Mrs. Klug, couldn't sing, so she played these records and we would sing along.

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST,Harvey
Date: 19 Feb 18 - 12:35 PM

This was one of the more memorable songs we sang in 5th grade in Pacific Grove, California, 1959-60. We had a special music teacher, Mrs. Scott, who brought an auto harp for chords. We must have used that "Music in our Country" songbook mentioned above.

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Nov 19 - 07:03 PM

My grandfather sang this to me in the 1930s. Where he learned it,i do not know

Audrey from wisconsin

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: Tradsinger
Date: 26 Nov 19 - 05:49 AM

The first 4 lines have found their way into a medley of music hall songs sung every week at the Cadgwith Inn, Cornwall.

Subject: RE: Origins: I Found a Horseshoe
From: GUEST,Cat in Hawaii
Date: 29 Apr 21 - 01:44 PM

I sang this song with my 5th Grade music teacher in 1984 at Caroldale Elementary. She was a special teacher who used the harpsichord, and I never forgot the beginning of the song! So great to carry on the tradition today at a private school in Hawaii, singing with my students.