The wandering ballad singer; Songs of the settlers

And I'll walk the road again my boy as I walk the road again. If the weather be fair I'll call my hair and I can. Washington State University presents they wandering ballad singer Barry to open with songs that vividly describe the history and folklore of a pioneering country and the room. Many of the most exciting and humorous folk songs we have in the United States come from the days when the settlers began pushing the frontiers and the Indians westward toward the deserts lured with promises of quick riches men left their jobs and went to the lonesome plains to homestead. Many of them wound up singing disappointed songs like this one. A paraphrase of an old Midwest love song. Well I'm looking kind of while holding down my claimed my desire not always serve the

best. And the mice fly away around me as I snuggled down to rest in that little sods on my claim oh just our other leather the window has no glass door it lets the howling blizzard in. Again here I'm Hungry Coyote as e-cigs up through the grass around that little sod shanty on my way. Over when I left my bachelor's. I try to win my way to wealth and fame. However little did I ever think I'd be burned and twisted in this little sod shanty on my claim over the hinges are leather. The window has no glass on the door and lets the howling blizzard in you

again hear hungry as he sneaks up through the grass around that little sod shanty on my way. How I wish that some kind hearted Mrs. would carry on me and relieve me of this mess that I owe their angel how I bless her. This is her home in this little sod shanty on my way. The hinges are of leather. The windows have no glass door and lets the howl of a blizzard you get and hear Hungry Coyote as eat the grass around that little dog. But some of the settlers took life in a lighter vein they saw not only the Hungry Coyote but they saw the plain hard facts that said it would be harder to get out of the situation than it had been to get in. So they

made the best of it and applied what was left of their humor to their plight. My name is Frank or an old bachelor I am. I keep an old match on an elegant black you'll find me out west in the county of Lane star in a minute and on my government claim. My house it is built of the national soil. The walls are erected according to Hoyle. The room has no pitch but it's level and plain and I always get wet when it happens during. I'll have mine when I crawl into bed and a rattle snake uses a tune by my bed and again to be it all without crawls over my below and into my ears. But her off early County the land of the free the home of the

grasshopper bed bug and me I'll sing louder praises and boast the verb am while starving to death on my government. Many of the pioneers were beset with real troubles in their travels. Indians brave and frightened men whose descendants were to sit on a desert reservation and talk about giving it back to the white man tried to save themselves in the white man's form of freedom. The result naturally was slaughter. This ballad tells of an incident that must have been typical in the early 1900s. It was on to me with great relish by a young Indian girl going to Gardner in Dushanbe. Times a river road between Canyon was I end up playing where birds that started playing on it.

Joe White and his wife and children and oh I love the canyon. Who would bet their shelves of one the father the. Father or the man let go and he left. Who are these hard good try laying of some as the mother turned in. Just then time to draw the door latch as rude in her sleep and bid them.

Me neither we nor her eyes lock them in the grid chamber and hers with want to. Push that rope. Oh that door are very bad we been home a lot. The lower her body her dress drag her bobbed up the lower grabbed her by her golden tresses drag her off to the shore. There they sat and danced around heeding her play book tossed her on the rocks below and that was riven as those Indians wanted was rare

then you know then the young men for their birth in those we been and do it around. The mind wanders around the plane is whether dwelling stood and up the butt of that billet the Hondo. Hardships on the trail were many and settlers quite often just turned up their toes and died some from malnutrition some from fatigue and some from many diseases that tired people attract people bury their dead right along the trails. The song Colorado Trail records the emotions of such a situation. While the song itself is unique the feelings were probably quite common in those days.

A little rain. Ah. I was a light morning light or was a god all of my. You know we. Think they are and

life was good and life is better. Be a cross we. Watch. The settlers built rough and ready towns the judges had to be hard boiled and they had to be able to make split second decisions that would be sure to result in the fewest people getting lynched or shot down. The following occurrence is said to have happened in the small town of Florence Idaho. All John Martin Duffy was a judge of the carton in a small town in the US.

Although he knew nothing about rule of the law judge he was one of the bad and I even though when the murder occurred and the blacksmith The accused of the crime we caught him red handed and gave him two trials. But the verdict was guilty. Each time. Now he was the only good blacksmith we had and we wanted to spare him his life. Numbly stood up in the court like a lawyer and with these words he said will this I am move away dismiss him. We need him in town. Then he smoked out these words which is gained in Reno. We have two Chinese laundryman everyone on. Why not said the Boer blacksmith than kill one of those. In September of 1857 a wagon train crossing southern Utah was attacked by Indians and

by the Mormon militia from Iron County. The story behind it is an interesting one which I will give in a future program. People made up the ballad thought that the guilty parties were avenging angel supposedly the Secret Service of the early Mormon Church. Come all ye sons of freedom and this song about a bloody massacre very soon will hear a cross and some twenty wagons came. Surrounded by an Angel back and you know there's the blame. It was on the mountain meadows and this wagon train was seen. Around it by that wed get back and on the night of agree the avenging angels of God as they got under way the men corral the wagon train and body and blood on it and then the angels later. There's a word to them

that if you have our Boller guns he'd surely let them learn their guns they gave to Angel towards her they go they were then attacked did engine style and Gentile blood flow. Down with one accord like wax before a flame. Men and women young and old and Utah bears the blame by order of old Brigham Young this deed was done U.S. and the cab of that web good band was kept John. That's about it for now. More folk songs and ballads next time and I'll walk the road again my boy. If the weather be fair I'll call my.

Listen again next week when Barry talk and they wondering about when singer returns with more songs and mountains. The preceding was transcribed and was produced by the Radio TV services of Washington State University. This is the NEA E.B. Radio Network.