Lyr Req: Cheyene and the Ballad hunter

Subject: Lyrics to an old favorite.
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Jun 00 - 10:01 AM

Hey Folk,
My father and I have been listening to folk music together since before I was born and he has been listening since he was a kid. We found Alan Lomax's Ballad Hunter series at our public library and tried to get as many as we could find. One song in particular caught our attention. On the recording, he plays the first few verses then talks over the rest. Dad and have tried to find the rest of the song but to no avail. Some of the verses are

Don't go away; stay at home if you can.
Stay away from that city; they call it Cheyenne.

One morning, one morning, one morning in May,
I saw old Kit Carson a-going away.

The roundhouse in Cheyenne is filled every night
With loafers and (unknown word) of most every type.

On their backs there are holes; in their pockets no bills...

I know this is not a lot to go on but we thought that it was worth a try. So help us if you can with the lyrics of this song. Also, We could only find few of the Lomax recordings outside the Library of Congress. Any way we can get more? Thanks a lot, folks.
Peace,
Ethan and Terry

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cheyene and the Ballad hunter
From: Midchuck
Date: 19 Jun 00 - 10:36 AM

Jim Ringer recorded it on the one album he did for Sandy and Caroline in like, 1972, under the title, "The Dreary Black Hills." (That's the song title - the album title is "Waiting for the Hard Times to Go.")

I assume the album is sold out. I bought a copy from their vinyl remainder stacks at Old Songs quite a few years ago.

Have you checked DT under the "Dreary Black Hills" title?

Peter.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cheyene and the Ballad hunter
From: Midchuck
Date: 19 Jun 00 - 10:40 AM

Bedam. Not only is it in there, but there's a local parody of it - "The Vermont Boys in Gardner." Now I'll have to learn that.

Peter.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cheyene and the Ballad hunter
From: Pene Azul
Date: 19 Jun 00 - 03:00 PM

Looks like you want "Dreary Black Hills," which is here (click) in the Digitrad.

PA

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cheyene and the Ballad hunter
From: GUEST,Ethan and Terry
Date: 22 Jun 00 - 11:03 PM

Hey folks,

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cheyene and the Ballad hunter
From: GUEST,Ethan and Terry
Date: 22 Jun 00 - 11:05 PM

THanks all that is the very song we were looking for, and true to the tradition of folk music, once i new the name i was able to find no less the five different versions. Some even had a differemntn melody then the one on our original recording AND the smaple on Digitrad. Really cool. SO thanks again for your help. Peace, Ethan

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cheyene and the Ballad hunter
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 23 Jun 00 - 12:45 AM

Jim Ringer's album is currently available as a "custom cassette," with the LP's booklet of notes on the songs and complete texts. Sometime in the fall we hope to have it out (at last!) as a CD. We're still playing catch-up, you know. CLICK HERE then click on "custom" and scroll down to Jim Ringer's Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go - #C-47. You can get it through the Mudcat Shop, of course.

Sandy

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cheyene and the Ballad hunter
From: Art Thieme
Date: 23 Jun 00 - 11:24 PM

It was John Lomax who did the 'balladhunter' series of radio programs that was issued on LP by the Archive Of Folksong at the Libr. of Congress. (Now the Archive of Folk Culture.)

The song was from the goldrush of 1872 in the Black Hills. This was sacred land to the Sioux. General George Armstrong Custer was in charge of an expedition into the Black Hills and when he came out he reported finding quite a bit of GOLD there. Well, that's all it took. The resulting gold rush stampeded over Sioux rights and paved the way for the railroad to put their line through the Black Hills. Later, Custer was found to be in cahoots with the railroad company. He reported much more gold than was actually there. As we all know, the whole thing backfired on Custer and the Sioux had their revenge on him at the Little Big Horn.

The first person I ever heard sing this within the folksong revival in he U.S.A. was FRANK HAMILTON. It was a concert our folk music club sponsored in 1961-- at The University of Illinois--Chicago (on Navy Pier in those days. We used to say that we were the only university that could be torpedoed.) I learned it from Frank then and sang it for the next 40 years (almost).

Art Thieme