Saturday Poetry Corner: Sweet Grass Range

 

Come sell your pony, cowboy...

Sell your pony to me;

Braided bridle and your puncher saddle,

And spend your money free.

Moonlight On The Ranch

Frank Tenney Johnson

(1874-1939)

American painter of the Old West

"If I should sell my pony,

And ride the range no more,

Nail up my hat and my silver spurs

Above my shanty door;

"And let my door stand open wide

To the snow and the rain and sun;

And bury me under the green sweetgrass

Where you hear the river run."

As I came down the sweetgrass range

And by the cabin door,

I heard a singing in the early dusk

Along the river shore;

I heard a singing to the early stars,

And the tune of a pony's feet.

The joy of the riding singer

I never shall forget.

"Sweet Grass Range"
(1934)
Lyrics by
 Edwin Ford Piper
(1871-1939)
American poet, songwriter,
and collector of cowboy ballads
and western frontier folklore

Composed by
Elinor Remick Warren
(1900-1991)
American composer/classic pianist

Sweet Baby James

(1970)

Warner Bros. Records