I was just thinking about an old cowboy song I learned when I was a young boy, and I thought I’d share a few verses with you today. It’s about driving longhorn cattle from Texas across Oklahoma and up to the railheads in Kansas.
Come on boys, listen to my tale
A tale o’ punchin’ cattle on the old Chisholm Trail
Come-a ty-yi yippy-yippy-yay, yippy-yay
Come-a ty-yi yippy-yippy-yay.
A ten-dollar hoss
A forty-dollar saddle
Soon to be punchin’ Texas cattle
Come-a ty-yi yippy-yippy-yay, yippy-yay
Come-a ty-yi yippy-yippy-yay.
Well, it’s bacon and beans most every day,
Soon to be eatin’ prairie hay
Come-a ty-yi yippy-yippy-yay, yippy-yay
Come-a ty-yi yippy-yippy-yay.
My feet in the saddle, seat in the sky,
I’ll be punchin’ cattle in the sweet by-and-by
Come-a ty-yi yippy-yippy-yay, yippy-yay
Come-a ty-yi yippy-yippy-yay.
There are many, many more verses, and the song varied from cowboy to cowboy the same way shanties varied from sailor to sailor. There are no wrong versions of the song.
The history of the old west took place over a relatively short span of time, but it contributed greatly to what makes America unique.
