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15 Feb 06 - 12:15 AM (#1669005) Subject: Lyr Add: THE FATE OF WILL ROGERS & WILEY POST From: Gene THE FATE OF WILL ROGERS & WILEY POST Recorded by: Bill Cox Probably from an old 78 RPM - Date UNK Thanks to a fellow Mudcatter for the recording and to a local music pal for help in deciphering the lyrics. Here's a story of two brave Americans Will Rogers and Wiley Post. They were both loved by their countrymen Both known from coast to coast. Oklahoma was where they both come from. Each one was the other one's friend: A beautiful friendship that lasted for years Right up to the tragic end. Will and Wiley had gone up to Alaska To the land of the midnight sun, Where the mountains are covered with snow all year And the polar bears frolic in fun. On a happy-go-lucky flight they went. Alaska's not so far away. Lighthearted Will Rogers and brave Wiley Post Never dreamt fate would call that day. Well, they left good old Fairbanks On Friday that afternoon. Point Barrow was 500 miles away. Said Wiley, “We'll make it soon.” But they hadn't gone more than about fifty miles. The fog hindered them in their flight. They had to descend down on Harding Lake To get their directions right. In resuming the journey, they started on. Wiley knew he had lost control. His airplane come crashing down to the earth While death took its awful toll. Was a Eskimo runner who brought the news, The word about that tragic day. Sergeant Morgan then sent the word out to the world Of the death of Will & Wiley. [pronounced wile-ey] That's the story of two brave Americans, And of greater ones you'll never find. They'll stand as examples of all that is great, Examples for all mankind. There's a place in that heavenly Promised Land, Of places that heaven may host, For those courageous and loyal such as Will Rogers and Wiley Post. |
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15 Feb 06 - 12:23 AM (#1669009) Subject: RE: Lyr: Death of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: Gene data on William Jennings Cox [aka Bill Cox] http://www.countryworks.com/artist_full.asp?KEY=COX think the correct title is - The Fate Of Will Rogers & Wiley Post |
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15 Feb 06 - 01:17 AM (#1669027) Subject: RE: Lyr: Death of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: Seamus Kennedy Wow. It could almost be a Red River Dave McEnery song a la Amelia Earhart's Last Flight. Thanks, Gene. Seamus |
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15 Feb 06 - 11:15 AM (#1669387) Subject: RE: Lyr: Death of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: Chris in Wheaton Noah Wein was one of the first to get to the crash site. He sold photographs to the newspapers and used the money to start Air Alaska. Chris |
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18 Feb 06 - 11:42 AM (#1671961) Subject: Lyr Add: WILEY AND WILL'S LAST FLIGHT (Bill Cox) From: Gene Not certain of the lyrics in a couple of places WILEY AND WILL'S LAST FLIGHT Bill Cox A shiny new plane shot into the sky And away for a world of fun. Our Wiley and Will were riding her high For the land of the midnight sun. And we lowly men so envied them then As they roared away from our sight, But the hand of the demon had triumphed again. It was Wiley and Will's last flight. The glimmering ice lay white down below, And away in the southern sun Lay the beautiful hill all covered with snow Like a painting in pastels done. The northland had lured with shiniest charm Like a siren painted so bright, But a trap was her gleaming white hand. It was Wiley and Will's last flight. Our Wiley and Will were happy that day. They were kids at a pleasant game, And a trusty new plane was humming so sweet That a tragedy could not be. The climbing great fog swelled under them then And it turned the day into night, And the aeroplane crashed to the gleaming white ice. It was Wiley & Will's last flight. The lone eagle's flown away up above And he flies with the angels now. ------------ we'll cherish no more As they have in the days gone by. Two great men they were. We loved them so well, But our hearts can ne'er be so light As they were in the days our Wiley and Will When they sped on their last flight. |
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18 Feb 06 - 01:02 PM (#1672020) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Fate of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: Naemanson Have you seen the musical about Will Rogers, The Will Rogers Follies or something like that? It is the story of Will Rogers' life. An actor is set in the audience. He's in a vintage suit and wears an eye patch. At different times during the play he stands up and invites Rogers to fly with him. The play's action makes the last time seem like a foreshadowing of doom. It's pretty eerie. |
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03 Nov 06 - 10:35 AM (#1875388) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Fate of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: The Shambles Will Rogers was born this day (4th Novenber) in Oologah Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in 1879. |
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04 Nov 06 - 08:09 AM (#1875999) Subject: Lyr Add: THE CHEROKEE KID (Fred Bailey) part 1 From: GUEST,Fred Bailey The called him the "Cherokee Kid" and the "Ropin' Fool" 'Cause he'd been crackin' jokes 'n' twirlin' ropes since he'd dropped out of school He was a horse wrangler and a cowboy bum before he was really grown From the Wild-West shows to vaudeville and an act that was all his own But the center of his gravity was always in the plains And he never met a man he didn't like From the land of the Chickasaw, with a big wad of gum in his jaw He said that "Congress wrote the jokes, but then of course they called 'em 'laws' " Would 'ja know if Will Rogers ever was in your town? I could bet he was just 'cause he was the travelin-est man around Doin' gigs to hustle a little money up for the local Red Cross drives To help the poor folks scramblin' for their farms and for their lives I know my folks 'd bring him up when I was just a kid and then How the one-liners 'd crackle 'round the table once again! As he chased away pretensions with a wise-crack and a smile And taught us all how to laugh at ourselves without anybody gettin' riled But the center of his gravity was somewhere in the plains And he never met a man he didn't like And all he knew was what he read in the papers so he said And said Congress wrote more jokes 'n him but then of course they was probably better fed And then him 'n Wiley Post started out to fly around the world Wiring newspaper dispatches back to give the folks a whirl Promoting aviation, making friends in other lands But it seemed nobody ever dreamed, they'd finally run out of sand |
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04 Nov 06 - 08:17 AM (#1876005) Subject: Lyr Add: THE CHEROKEE KID (Fred Bailey) part 2 From: GUEST,Fred Bailey Claire Okpeah ran to Barrow 16 miles across the tundra From the seal camp at Walokpah on the shore And the rescue boat sent flyin' down The desolate Bering shoreline found The wreckage of the Lockheed, nothin' more So they pried the cabin open Freed the bodies, bruised and broken From the engine that was pushed back past the door Cleared away the gear and signal flags Wrapped both men in their sleeping bags And cruised back North much slower than before When they brought him home to Claremore in the center of the plains 'N' laid him deep beneath the prairie soil And they raised a marble stand, 'n' people stood with empty hands And they said "this country ain't never gonna see that kind of man again" For the center of his gravity was always in the plains And he never met a man he didn't like All he knew was what he read in the papers so he said So we can let Congress write their jokes But somebody's just gotta get 'em said! And the center of his gravity was somewhere in the plains And he never met a man he didn't like sorry 'bout that break in the middle Copyright by BEE 2 thousand and something |
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05 Nov 06 - 11:37 AM (#1876725) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Fate of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: Jim Dixon Fred Bailey: By Googling your name along with "Will Rogers" I figured out that the song you just posted is your own song, THE CHEROKEE KID, which appears on your album "Ain't Comin' Back (This Year)," 2002. You're welcome to post your own songs at Mudcat, but please don't be so modest as to leave them unidentified! |
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06 Nov 06 - 08:34 AM (#1877372) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Fate of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: GUEST well, gee, gawrsh, us Okies is shy -- Just wanted to draw some attention to a really great and unique American who's writings are so often applicable to all our political problems of today. "I don't belong to any organized political party -- I'm a Democrat." |
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14 Aug 11 - 08:27 AM (#3207779) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Fate of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: GUEST,joseph keefe I have this 78 RPM record. "Conqueror" label "Electrically Recorded" "Not Licensed for Radio Broadcast" "Vocal with Harmonica & Guitar Acc." Bill Cox The Dixie Songbird |
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14 Aug 11 - 12:48 PM (#3207941) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Fate of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: Mark Ross Will Rogers last words; "Wiley, I think you have the patch on the wrong eye." Mark Ross |
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14 Aug 11 - 03:34 PM (#3208059) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Fate of Will Rogers & Wiley Post From: GUEST,Fred Bailey "It's easy being a humorist -- I've got the whole government working for me." Will Rogers |