"the Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing" and Other Songs Cowboys Sing

Guy Logsdon lectured and performed as America's Senior Cowboy Song-Poetry Scholar. He was director of libraries and a professor of American folklife at the University of Tulsa. He was the coauthor of Woody's Road; Woody Guthrie's Letters Home, Drawings, Photos, and Other Unburied Treasures and Saddle Serenaders. He died in 2018.

"One of the finest works to come out in recent years on cowboy songs, in addition to being the first good collection of the cowboy's bawdy material. . . . A must for anyone who is a student of cowboy music--or anyone who just likes the sound of dirty subject matter rhyming."--Hal Cannon, Journal of Country Music "A brave and honest step toward increasing our understanding of what cowboys really sing."--Bob Bovee, Old Time Herald "A thorough piece of scholarship and collectanea and a valuable, welcome addition to cowboy song literature."--Keith Cunningham, Mid-America Folklore "Logsdon has written the book with a scholar's attention to detail. But what shows through the scholarship is the collector's enthusiasm for the material. . . . A superb job in a difficult area."--Angus Kress Gillespie, Journal of American History "A major contribution to the folklore and popular culture, history, and social psychology of American cowboy culture." -- Kenneth S. Goldstein, former president, American Folklore Society

• Preface   xiAcknowledgments   xxiI. The Singers   1II. Songs about Cowboys   231. "Charlie Rutledge"   272. "Little Joe, the Wrangler"   323. "The Mormon Cowboy"   384. "Billie Vanero"   425. "Cowboy Jack"   486. "School Ma'am on the Flat"   537. "Texas Ranger's Lament"   558. "The Child's Prayer"   589. "Jimmie Tucker"   6010. "The Crooked Trail to Holbrook"   7011. "Red Light Saloon"   7412. "Old Zebra Dun"   7713. "The Castration of the Strawberry Roan"   8614. "The Flyin' U Twister"   9715. "Wild Buckaroo"   10216. "The Open Book"   10817. "The Skewbald Black"   11818. "The Old Black Steer"   12319. "The Soughrty Petes"   12720. "They're Down and They're Down"   13321. "The Buckskin Shirt"   13622. "Root, Hog, or Die"   140III. Other Songs Cowboys Sing   14323. "The Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing"   14524. "Lorena"   14925. "My Lula Gal"   15426. "Boring for Oil"   16027. "The Banks of My Native Australia"   16328. "All Night Long"   16729. "The Gay Caballero"   16930. "California Joe"   17331. "The Days of Forty-nine"   17932. "Joe Williams"   18233. "Bad Company"   18634. "Haunted Falls"   19035. "Juanita"   19536. "Oh! My! You're a Dandy for Nineteen Years Old"   19737. "Sweet Sixteen"   20038. "The Boogaboo"   20339. "Red WIng"   20740. "The Little Mohea"   21141. "Sweet Betsy from Pike"   21542. "The Country Girl"   21943. "The Oaks of Jimderia"   22244. "Cousin Harry"   22445. "The Poor Girl on the Town"   22646. "The Old Tom Cat"   22847. "The Stinkin' Cow"   23048. "The Cuckoo's Nest"   23249. "Old Horny Kebri-o"   23550. "Old Man's Lament"   23851. "London Town"   24152. "The Sea Crab"   24553. "One-Eyed Riley"   24954. "The Keyhole in the Door"   25355. "The Buttons on His Pants"   25656. "Down, Derry Down"   25857. "The Jolly Baker"   26158. "The Saddest Face in the Mining Town"   26559. "The Irishman"   26860. "Peter Pullin' Blues"   27161. "Honky-Tonk Asshole"   275IV. A Singing Cowboy Roundup   279Glossary   347Bibliography   355Index   377