Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie

Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie

"Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" is a cowboy folk song. Also known as "The Cowboy's Lament", "The Dying Cowboy" and "Bury Me Out on the Lone Prairie", the song is described as the most famous cowboy ballad.[1][2] Based on a sailor's song, the song has been recorded by many artists, including Moe Bandy, Johnny Cash, Burl Ives, Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers and William Elliott Whitmore.

Contents

History

The ballad is an adaptation of a sea song called "The Sailor's Grave" or "The Ocean-Burial" which began "O bury me not in the deep, deep sea."[3][4][5] Originally collected with different music than that widely known today, it first appeared in print with the present melody in 1932, with a likely origin of North Carolina, though the speaker at that time requested—contrary to other renditions—to "bury me out on the lone prairie."[6]

The song has been a popular recording, having been released on album by Moe Bandy, Johnny Cash, Burl Ives, Tex Ritter, and Roy Rogers, among others.[7][8] Even avante-garde musicians, The Residents, have covered the song for live performances. Under the alternate title "Bury Me Out on the Lone Prairie", it has been recorded by Johnnie Ray.[9]

A version of this song was used in the popular video game Red Dead Redemption, sung by William Elliott Whitmore.

Premise

The song records the plaintive request of a dying man not to be buried on the prairie, away from civilization. In spite of his request, he is buried on the prairie. As with many folk songs, there are a number of variations of that basic theme.

Lyrics

This version of the lyrics date back to the early 19th century.

"O bury me not on the lone prairie."
These words came low and mournfully
From the pallid lips of the youth who lay
On his dying bed at the close of day.

He had wasted and pined 'til o'er his brow
Death's shades were slowly gathering now
He thought of home and loved ones nigh,
As the cowboys gathered to see him die.

"O bury me not on the lone prairie
Where coyotes howl and the wind blows free
In a narrow grave just six by three—
O bury me not on the lone prairie"

"It matters not, I've been told,
Where the body lies when the heart grows cold
Yet grant, o grant, this wish to me
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

"I've always wished to be laid when I died
In a little churchyard on the green hillside
By my father's grave, there let me be,
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

"I wish to lie where a mother's prayer
And a sister's tear will mingle there.
Where friends can come and weep o'er me.
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

"For there's another whose tears will shed.
For the one who lies in a prairie bed.
It breaks me heart to think of her now,
She has curled these locks, she has kissed this brow."

"O bury me not..." And his voice failed there.
But they took no heed to his dying prayer.
In a narrow grave, just six by three
They buried him there on the lone prairie.

And the cowboys now as they roam the plain,
For they marked the spot where his bones were lain,
Fling a handful o' roses o'er his grave
With a prayer to God his soul to save.[10]

Alternative versions

  • One version collected for publication by the Southern Pacific Company in 1912 omits the final verse and concludes with another round of the chorus, which is there rendered:

"O bury me not on the lone prairie
Where the wild coyote will howl o'er me
Where the rattlesnakes hiss and the wind blows free
O bury me not on the lone prairie.[5]

  • Another specifies that the speaker is "a trapper...at the point of death /...short his bank account, short his breath".[4]

"Oh bury me not on the lone prairie."
Where the coyotes wail and the wind blows free.
And when I die, don't bury me
beneath the western sky, on the lone prairie.

"Oh bury me not on the lone prairie."
These words came soft and painfully
from the pallid lips of a youth who lay
on his dyin' bed, at the break of day.

But we buried him there, on the lone prairie
where the rattle snakes hiss and the wind blows free.
In a shallow grave, no one to grieve
beneath the western sky, on the lone prairie.

"Oh bury me not on the lone prairie."
These words came soft and painfully
from the pallid lips of a youth who lay
on his dyin' bed, at the break of day.
On his dyin' bed, at the break of day.

Recordings

References

  1. ^ Webb, Walter Prescott (1981). The Great Plains. U of Nebraska Press. p. 459. ISBN 0803297025. http://books.google.com/books?id=lPEGVAL4UUoC&pg=PA459&dq=%22Bury+Me+Not+on+the+Lone+Prairie%22&client=firefox-a. 
  2. ^ Calverton, Victor Francis (1973). The Liberation of American Literature. Octagon Books. p. 436. ISBN 0374912459. http://books.google.com/books?id=SrRZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Bury+Me+Not+on+the+Lone+Prairie%22&dq=%22Bury+Me+Not+on+the+Lone+Prairie%22&lr=&client=firefox-a&pgis=1. "The most famous of the cowboy songs is the one entitled The Dying Cowboy, sometimes called, O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie." 
  3. ^ Lummis, Charles Fletcher; Archaeological Institute of America Southwest Society, Sequoya League, Archaeological Institute of America (1908). Out West: A Magazine of the Old Pacific and the New. 28. Land of Sunshine Pub. Co.. p. 219. http://books.google.com/books?id=MkQLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA219&dq=%22Bury+Me+Not+on+the+Lone+Prairie%22&client=firefox-a#PPA219,M1. 
  4. ^ a b American Folklore Society (1913). The Journal of American Folk-lore. Houghton, Mifflin, and Co.. p. 278. http://books.google.com/books?id=3RkpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA278&dq=%22Bury+Me+Not+on+the+Lone+Prairie%22&client=firefox-a#PPA278,M1. 
  5. ^ a b Southern Pacific Company Passenger Dept, Southern Pacific Company (1912). Sunset. 29. Passenger Dept., Southern Pacific Co.. p. 506. http://books.google.com/books?id=aCYLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA506&dq=%22Bury+Me+Not+on+the+Lone+Prairie%22&client=firefox-a. 
  6. ^ Studwell, William Emmett (1994). The Popular Song Reader: A Sampler of Well-known Twentieth Century-songs. Haworth Press. p. 66. ISBN 1560243694. http://books.google.com/books?id=t3AEWtKgklsC&pg=PA66&dq=%22Bury+Me+Not+on+the+Lone+Prairie%22&client=firefox-a#PPA66,M1. 
  7. ^ "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:206749. Retrieved 2009-01-10. [dead link]
  8. ^ "O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:1107751. Retrieved 2009-01-10. [dead link]
  9. ^ "Bury Me Out on the Lone Prairie". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:206754. Retrieved 2009-01-10. [dead link]
  10. ^ Axelrod, Steven Gould; Camille Roman, Thomas J. Travisano (2003). The New Anthology of American Poetry: Traditions and Revolutions, Beginnings to 1900. Rutgers University Press. pp. 526–527. ISBN 0813531624. http://books.google.com/books?id=OBGMZLPIqo8C&pg=PA526&dq=%22Bury+Me+Not+on+the+Lone+Prairie%22&client=firefox-a#PPA526,M1. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie — ( Ne m enterrez pas dans la prairie solitaire en français) est une chanson traditionnelle de cow boy. Aussi connue sous le nom de The Cow boy Lament ( La lamentation du cow boy ), The Dying Cow boy ( Le Cow boy mourant ), cette chanson est la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Legend — Compilación de Johnny Cash Publicación 2 de agosto de 2005 Grabación 2 de abril de 1956 a Noviembre de 2004 Género(s) Country …   Wikipedia Español

  • The Legend (box set) — Infobox Album | Name = The Legend Type = Box set Artist = Johnny Cash Released = August 2, 2005 Recorded = April 2, 1956 November 2004 Genre = Country Length = 5:05:24 Label = Columbia/Legacy Producer = Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4.5|5… …   Wikipedia

  • Sings the Ballads of the True West — Studioalbum von Johnny Cash Veröffentlichung 1965 Aufnahme 1959 1965 Labe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sings the Ballads of the True West — Studio album by Johnny Cash Released Original: September 1965 …   Wikipedia

  • Billy the Kid (ballet) — Infobox Ballet name = Billy the Kid image size = caption = choreographer = Eugene Loring composer = Aaron Copland based on = the story of Billy the Kid premiere = 16 October 1938 place = Chicago ballet company = Ballet Caravan Company characters …   Wikipedia

  • Sings the Ballads of the True West — Artículo principal: Discografía de Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West Álbum de Johnny Cash Publicación Original: Septiembre de 1965 Reedición: Agosto de 2002 Grabación …   Wikipedia Español

  • Western Music — Als Western Music oder Cowboy Musik wird eine Musikrichtung bezeichnet, die, teils romantisch verklärend, die Eroberung des amerikanischen Westens und das Leben der Cowboys zum Inhalt hat. Ihre Anfänge gehen bis in die Zeit der großen Viehtriebe… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cowboy-Musik — Als Western Music oder Cowboy Musik wird eine Musikrichtung bezeichnet, die, teils romantisch verklärend, die Eroberung des amerikanischen Westens und das Leben der Cowboys zum Inhalt hat. Ihre Anfänge gehen bis in die Zeit der großen Viehtriebe… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cowboymusik — Als Western Music oder Cowboy Musik wird eine Musikrichtung bezeichnet, die, teils romantisch verklärend, die Eroberung des amerikanischen Westens und das Leben der Cowboys zum Inhalt hat. Ihre Anfänge gehen bis in die Zeit der großen Viehtriebe… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”