a Cowboy Classic – Key of C

In 1871, Higley moved from Indiana to Smith County, Kansas. He did this because of the Homestead Act. He lived in a small cabin near West Beaver Creek. He was inspired by his new environment that he decided to create a poem to praise the prairie. The lyrics to “Home on the Range” were first published as a poem in the Smith County Pioneer in 1872 under the title “My Western Home”. That home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Home on the Range Cabin.

The music was later added by Daniel E. Kelley (1808–1905), a carpenter and friend of Higley. The song was eventually used by ranchers, cowboys, and other western settlers. It spread across the United States in different forms. The song has gone by a few different names, the most common being “Home on the Range” and “Western Home”. It was officially chosen as the state song of Kansas on June 30, 1947. It is often thought of as the unofficial anthem of the American West.

The most popular version of the song was the version recorded by Bing Crosby on September 27, 1933, with Lennie Hayton and his orchestra for Brunswick Records. It appeared in the various charts of that time. Former president Franklin Delano Roosevelt said “Home on the Range” was his favorite song.

AUTHORS: John A. Lomax (1910), William and Mary Goodwin (1904), Dr. Brewster Higley (1876)

Oh [C] give me a home, where the [F] buffalo [Fm] roam, and the [C] deer and the [D7] antelope [G7] play.  Where [C] seldom is heard a [F] discouraging [Fm] word, and the [C] skies are not [G7] cloudy all [C] day

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – – [C] Home, [G7] home on the [C] range, Where the [C] deer and the [D7] antelope [G7] play; Where [C] seldom is heard a [F] discouraging [Fm] word, and the [C] skies are not [G7] cloudy all [C] day.

Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free, The breezes so balmy and light, That I would not exchange my home on the range For all of the cities so bright.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

The [C] red man was pressed from this [F] part of the [Fm] West He’s [C] likely no [D7] more to [G7] return, To the [C] banks of Red River where [F] seldom if [Fm] ever Their [C] flickering [G7] camp-fires [C] burn.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

How often at night when the heavens are bright With the light from the glittering stars Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed If their glory exceeds that of ours.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – – [C] Home, [G7] home on the [C] range, Where the [C] deer and the [D7] antelope [G7] play; Where [C] seldom is heard a [F] discouraging [Fm] word, and the [C] skies are not [G7] cloudy all [C] day.

Oh, [C] I love these wild flowers in this [F] dear land of [Fm] ours The [C] coyotes I [D7] love to hear [G7] howl, And I [C] love the white rocks and the [F] antelope [Fm] flocks That [C] graze on the [G7] mountains with [C] owls.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

Oh, give me a land where the bright diamond sand Flows leisurely down the stream; Where the graceful white swan goes gliding along Like a maid in a heavenly dream.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

Other Verses

Yes, give me the gleam of the swift mountain stream And the place where no hurricane blows; Oh, give me the park where the prairie dogs bark And the mountain all covered with snow.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – – [C] Home, [G7] home on the [C] range, Where the [C] deer and the [D7] antelope [G7] play; Where [C] seldom is heard a [F] discouraging [Fm] word, and the [C] skies are not [G7] cloudy all [C] day.

Oh, give me the hills and the ring of the drills And the rich silver ore in the ground; Yes, give me the gulch where the miner can sluice And the bright, yellow gold can be found.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

Oh, give me the mine where the prospectors find The gold in its own native land; And the hot springs below where the sick people go And camp on the banks of the Grande.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

Oh, give me the steed and the gun that I need To shoot game for my own cabin home; Then give me the camp where the fire is the lamp And the wild Rocky Mountains to roam.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – – [C] Home, [G7] home on the [C] range, Where the [C] deer and the [D7] antelope [G7] play; Where [C] seldom is heard a [F] discouraging [Fm] word, and the [C] skies are not [G7] cloudy all [C] day.

Yes, give me the home where the prospectors roam Their business is always alive In these wild western hills midst the ring of the drills Oh, there let me live till I die.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

Oh! give me a gale of the Solomon vale, Where the life streams with buoyancy flow; On the banks of the Beaver, where seldom if ever, Any poisonous herbage doth grow.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

How often at night, when the heavens were bright, With the light of the twinkling stars Have I stood here amazed, and asked as I gazed, If their glory exceed that of ours.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – – [C] Home, [G7] home on the [C] range, Where the [C] deer and the [D7] antelope [G7] play; Where [C] seldom is heard a [F] discouraging [Fm] word, and the [C] skies are not [G7] cloudy all [C] day.

I love the wild flowers in this bright land of ours, I love the wild curlew’s shrill scream; The bluffs and white rocks, and antelope flocks That graze on the mountains so green.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

The air is so pure and the breezes so fine, The zephyrs so balmy and light, That I would not exchange my home here to range Forever in azures so bright.

[ CHORUS ] – – – – – –

 

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