The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

Cowboy Joe

Way down yonder, where the bad men are,
and the only thing to guide them is the evening star,
There's the roughest, toughest man by far,
He's the ragtime cowboy Joe.

He always sings as he swings in the
saddle on a horse, a pretty good horse
with a syncopated gait.
And there's such a funny meter to the roar of his repeater
As they ride and the Western folks all say,
He's a rootin, tootin' son of a gun
from Alabam, he's the ragtime cowboy Joe.
Talk about your cowboy. Ragtime cowboy Joe.

Data entry tech comment:

Informant and collector are the same person.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; HOLDEN HALL ; DETROIT