Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads
John Lomax
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
John Avery Lomax is a towering figure in the field of early American musicology and folklore. Through intensive field work, Lomax built up the core body of work for the Library of Congress Archive. "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads" is his collection that propelled him to the forefront of his field and ignited new interest in American folklore, inspiring many to continue research. For his contributions to the field of cowboy music, Locas was inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame in 2010. Many of the verses here are accompanied by musical scores, and some may be more familiar in their musical form such as "A Home on the Range." A wide array of characters and life across the western United States is represented here. - Summary by Larry Wilson (6 hr 36 min)
Chapters
| Dedication | 2:24 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| Introduction | 5:00 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| Collector's Note | 16:00 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| The Dying Cowboy | 4:04 | Read by Nemo |
| The Days of Forty-nine | 2:43 | Read by Nemo |
| Joe Bowers | 2:44 | Read by Nemo |
| The Cowboy's Dream | 2:17 | Read by Jack Allan |
| The Cowboy's Life | 1:54 | Read by Michael Fassio |
| The Kansas Line | 1:53 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| The Cowman's Prayer | 1:18 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| The Miner's Song | 2:49 | Read by Kurt |
| Jesse James | 2:39 | Read by Michael Fassio |
| Poor Lonesome Cowboy | 1:30 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| Buena Vista Battlefield | 2:56 | Read by Michael Fassio |
| Westward Ho | 1:26 | Read by Kurt |
| A Home on the Range | 1:56 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| Texas Rangers | 3:06 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| The Mormon Bishop's Lament | 4:03 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| Dan Taylor | 1:53 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| When Work Is Done This Fall | 3:10 | Read by Michael Fassio |
| Sioux Indians | 2:19 | Read by DrPGould |
| The Old Chisholm Trail | 3:34 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| Jack Donahoo | 1:47 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| Utah Carroll | 3:17 | Read by Kurt |
| The Bull-whacker | 2:37 | Read by realisticspeakers |
| The "Metis" Song of the Buffalo Hunters | 1:46 | Read by realisticspeakers |
| The U-S-U Range | 2:31 | Read by Nemo |
| The Cowboy's Lament | 4:04 | Read by realisticspeakers |
| Love In Disguise | 2:25 | Read by realisticspeakers |
| Mustang Gray | 1:49 | Read by realisticspeakers |
| Young Companions | 1:58 | Read by Kurt |
| Lackey Bill | 4:49 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| Whoopee Ti Yi Yo, Git Along Little Dogies | 2:03 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| I'm A Good Old Rebel | 1:37 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| The Cowboy | 2:31 | Read by Eva Davis |
| Bill Peters, The Stage Driver | 2:20 | Read by Kurt |
| Hard Times | 3:17 | Read by Michael Fassio |
| Cole Younger | 2:19 | Read by Kurt |
| Mississippi Girls | 2:39 | Read by Kurt |
| The Old Man Under the Hill | 2:26 | Read by Kurt |
| Jerry, Go Ile That Car | 2:29 | Read by realisticspeakers |
| John Garner's Trail Herd | 3:01 | Read by Michael Fassio |
| The Old Scout's Lament | 1:45 | Read by Kurt |
| The Lone Buffalo Hunter | 2:46 | Read by Kurt |
| The Crooked Trail to Holbrook | 2:47 | Read by Kurt |
| Only a Cowboy | 1:49 | Read by Kurt |
| Fuller and Warren | 3:01 | Read by Kurt |
| The Trail to Mexico | 3:52 | Read by Kurt |
| The Horse Wrangler | 2:33 | Read by Nemo |
| California Joe | 7:45 | Read by Peter Yearsley |
| The Boston Burglar | 2:00 | Read by Nemo |
| Sam Bass | 3:20 | Read by Nemo |
| The Zebra Dun | 3:36 | Read by Kurt |
| The Buffalo Skinners | 3:33 | Read by Kurt |
| Macaffie's Confession | 3:05 | Read by Kurt |
| Little Joe, The Wrangler | 3:27 | Read by Kurt |
| Harry Bale | 2:12 | Read by Kurt |
| Foreman Monroe | 3:48 | Read by Kurt |
| The Dreary Black Hills | 1:57 | Read by realisticspeakers |
| A Mormon Song | 2:40 | Read by Tim Watkins |
| The Buffalo Hunters | 1:57 | Read by Nemo |
| The Little Old Sod Shanty | 2:53 | Read by Kurt |
| The Gol-darned Wheel | 4:41 | Read by Cyndy |
| Bonnie Black Bess | 2:36 | Read by BettyB |
| The Last Longhorn | 2:42 | Read by Peter Yearsley |
| A Prisoner for Life | 2:03 | Read by Kurt |
| The Wars of Germany | 3:26 | Read by Nemo |
| Freighting from Wilcox to Globe | 3:47 | Read by Kurt |
| The Arizona Boys and Girls | 2:46 | Read by BettyB |
| The Dying Ranger | 3:27 | Read by realisticspeakers |
| The Fair Fannie Moore | 2:40 | Read by Peter Yearsley |
| Hell in Texas | 2:40 | Read by Nemo |
| By Markentura's Flowery Marge | 2:02 | Read by Kurt |
| The State of Arkansaw | 3:28 | Read by Nemo |
| The Texas Cowboy | 3:13 | Read by Kurt |
| The Dreary, Dreary Life | 2:45 | Read by Kurt |
| Jim Farrow | 1:48 | Read by Kurt |
| Young Charlottie | 3:43 | Read by BettyB |
| The Skew-Ball Black | 1:37 | Read by Kurt |
| The Rambling Cowboy | 2:05 | Read by Nemo |
| The Cowboy at Church | 3:15 | Read by Nemo |
| The U. S. A. Recruit | 2:27 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| The Cowgirl | 1:08 | Read by BettyB |
| The Shanty Boy | 1:28 | Read by Kurt |
| Root Hog or Die | 3:05 | Read by Michael |
| Sweet Betsy from Pike | 2:55 | Read by BettyB |
| The Disheartened Ranger | 2:58 | Read by Cyndy |
| The Melancholy Cowboy | 2:10 | Read by Nemo |
| Bob Stanford | 1:35 | Read by Michael |
| Charlie Rutlage | 1:59 | Read by Michael |
| The Range Riders | 2:00 | Read by Chris Pyle |
| Her White Bosom Bare | 3:58 | Read by Kurt |
| Juan Murray | 2:13 | Read by Chris Pyle |
| Greer County | 3:14 | Read by Cyndy |
| Rosin the Bow | 2:01 | Read by Kurt |
| The Great Round-Up | 2:28 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| The Jolly Cowboy | 3:01 | Read by Yanyan Zeng |
| The Convict | 1:48 | Read by Kurt |
| Jack O' Diamonds | 3:28 | Read by Kurt |
| The Cowboy's Meditation | 2:10 | Read by Nemo |
| Billy Venero | 4:14 | Read by Kurt |
| Dogie Song | 1:06 | Read by Tim Watkins |
| The Boozer | 1:19 | Read by Kurt |
| Drinking Song | 0:55 | Read by Kurt |
| A Fragment | 0:49 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| A Man Named Hods | 2:41 | Read by Lowell Moore |
| A Fragment | 0:53 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| The Lone Star Trail | 3:37 | Read by aniroo |
| Way Down In Mexico | 1:07 | Read by DrPGould |
| Rattlesnake A Ranch Haying Song | 2:17 | Read by DrPGould |
| The Railroad Corral | 1:55 | Read by Jack Albert |
| The Song of the "Metis" Trapper | 1:58 | Read by Cyndy |
| The Camp Fire Has Gone Out | 1:35 | Read by Bristol Chilton |
| Night-Herding Song | 1:40 | Read by aniroo |
| Tail Piece | 0:39 | Read by DrPGould |
| The Habit | 1:39 | Read by Nemo |
| Old Paint | 2:00 | Read by Cyndy |
| Down South on the Rio Grande | 1:12 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| Silver Jack | 2:38 | Read by Phil Schempf |
| The Cowboy's Christmas Ball | 5:47 | Read by Nemo |
| Pinto | 1:38 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| The Gal I Left Behind Me | 1:50 | Read by Wolfgang Bas |
| Billy The Kid | 1:12 | Read by Cyndy |
| The Hell-Bound Train | 3:27 | Read by Nemo |
| The Old Scout's Lament | 1:42 | Read by Phil Schempf |
| The Deserted Adobe | 2:08 | Read by Yanyan Zeng |
| The Cowboy at Work | 1:56 | Read by Yanyan Zeng |
| Here's to the Ranger! | 1:52 | Read by aniroo |
| Muster Out the Ranger | 1:40 | Read by aniroo |
| A Cow Camp on the Range | 1:48 | Read by Phil Schempf |
| Freckles. A Fragment | 2:26 | Read by DrPGould |
| Whose Old Cow? | 3:16 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| Old Time Cowboy | 2:30 | Read by Cyndy |
| Bucking Broncho | 2:06 | Read by Nemo |
| The Pecos Queen | 1:26 | Read by BettyB |
| Chopo | 1:17 | Read by aniroo |
| Top Hand | 2:26 | Read by DrPGould |
| California Trail | 2:00 | Read by Bristol Chilton |
| Bronc Peeler's Song | 1:26 | Read by aniroo |
| A Deer Hunt | 1:48 | Read by Tim Watkins |
| Windy Bill | 2:26 | Read by Michael Fassio |
| Wild Rovers | 2:08 | Read by Michael Fassio |
| Life in a Half-Breed Shack | 1:57 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| The Road to Cook's Peak | 2:51 | Read by Cyndy |
| Araphoe, Or Buckskin Joe | 3:20 | Read by Phil Schempf |
| Rounded up in Glory | 1:17 | Read by Larry Wilson |
| The Drunkard's Hell | 2:18 | Read by Michael |
| Rambling Boy | 1:42 | Read by aniroo |
| Brigham Young. I. | 1:42 | Read by DrPGould |
| Brigham Young. II | 2:13 | Read by DrPGould |
| The Old Gray Mule | 1:16 | Read by Nemo |
| The Fools of Forty-nine | 2:25 | Read by aniroo |
| A Ripping Trip | 1:04 | Read by aniroo |
| The Happy Miner | 2:04 | Read by aniroo |
| The California Stage Company | 1:25 | Read by aniroo |
| New National Anthem | 1:24 | Read by Larry Wilson |
Reviews
Roughout
It seems there would be better places for a reader to practice their English. But mostly well read. The cowboy song are a treasure. I sing some of these songs.