Ragtime Cowboy Joe by Grant Clarke (1891-1933)
There are so many variations to the words – inclusions,
exclusions, and variations. Sing it as you like it.
You’ll find many renditions on YouTube!
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(chorus)
He always sings ragged music to the cattle
As he swings back and forward in the saddle
On a horse (what a horse!) a syncopated gaiter
You ought to hear the meter of the roar of his repeater
How they run when they hear this fellow’s gun
Because the Western folks all know
He’s a high-falutin, rootin, tootin,
Son-of-a-gun from Arizona
Ragtime cowboy (Talk about your cowboy)
Ragtime cowboy Joe
(verse – sometimes sung first or not at all)
Out in Arizona where the bad men are,
And the only thing to guide you is an evening star,
The roughest, toughest man by far is Ragtime Cowboy Joe.
Got his name from singing to the cows and sheep
Every night they say he sings the herd to sleep
In a bass so rich and deep, crooning soft and low.
(verse – seldom sung)
He’s dressed up every Sunday in his Sunday clothes
He beats it for the city where he always goes
And every girl in town is Joe’s cause he’s a ragtime bear.
When he starts a spieling on the dance hall floor
No one but a lunatic would start a war
Wise men know his forty four makes men dance for fair.