Ragtime Cowboy Joe
# Ragtime Cowboy Joe

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is a popular western swing song. The lyrics were written by Grant Clarke and the music was composed by Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams. It was copyrighted and published in 1912 by F.A. Mills.

## Artists

The song has been recorded by a diverse group of artists, including Bob Roberts (1912), the Tune Wranglers (1936), Pinky Tomlin (1939), Eddy Howard (1947), Jo Stafford (1949), and the Chipmunks (1959). It was also performed by Betty Hutton in the 1945 musical film Incendiary Blonde.

In 1978, Jimmy Stewart made a memorable surprise cameo appearance performing on the piano on the final Carol Burnett Show.

## Origin

The song's lyricist and composers are Clarke, Muir and Abrahams. Clarke also wrote "Second Hand Rose". "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" was composed in Brooklyn after an appearance at the home of Abrahams by his nephew, Joe Abrahams, wearing a cowboy outfit. Maurice Abrahams was so captivated by the appearance of his nephew dressed up as a cowboy that he was inspired to write "Ragtime Cowboy Joe". It became a number-one hit song for singer Bob Roberts, also the second best-selling record of 1912.

## Original lyrics

As with many popular songs of the era, the verse is often omitted: the refrain's lyrics vary somewhat depending on the performer.

(verse)

    Out in Arizona
    Where the bad men are,
    And the only friend to guide you
    Is an evening star,
    The roughest and the toughest
    Man by far
    Is Ragtime Cowboy Joe.
    He got his name from singing
    To the cows and sheep
    Every night they say
    He sings the herd to sleep
    In a basso
    Rich and deep,
    Crooning soft and low.

(refrain)

    He always sings
    Raggy music to the cattle
    As he swings
    Back and forward in the saddle
    On a horse
    That is syncopated gaited
    And there's such a funny meter
    To the roar of his repeater.
    How they run
    When they hear that fellow's gun
    Because the Western folks all know
    He's a high-faluting, scooting, shooting,
    Son of a gun from Arizona,
    Ragtime Cowboy Joe.

(verse)

    Dressed up every Sunday
    In his Sunday clothes
    He beats it to the village
    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.

Variations include: "Where the bad lands are", "How he sings", "Ragtime music", "That's syncopated gaited/And you ought to hear the meter", "scootin' shootin'" or "rootin' tootin'", "Son of a gun from old Wyoming", or additions of "(A pretty good horse)", "He's some cowboy", and/or "Talk about your cowboy".

## On radio

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" was the radio show theme song for New York City's long running, award-winning public radio show, Cowboy Joe's Radio Ranch (1976–1988), hosted by Paul Aaron, New York's Cowboy Joe. During one of his radio shows Paul Aaron had the elder Joe Abrahams (the original Cowboy Joe) as a special guest. Paul Aaron played many versions of his favorite song dating back to one sung by Bob Roberts from an RCA Victor 78 rpm record. He also played many "live" versions recorded during the University of Wyoming football and basketball games. A more recent rendition of the song appears on Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks' 2009 album "Tangled Tales".

## College fight songs

### University of Wyoming song

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is also the fight song of the University of Wyoming. Traditionally, Cowboy fans stand and clap to the beat of the song as played by Wyoming's Western Thunder Marching Band. The version of the song appropriated by Wyoming was written by Francis Edwin Stroup (1909–2010) in 1961. He rewrote the chorus. Stroup had been an assistant professor of Health and Physical Education for Men at Wyoming until August 31, 1950. He also had composed the fight song for his alma mater, the University of North Texas in 1939, ten years after graduating. The song, "Fight, North Texas", has endured for eighty-three years and the lyrics have changed minimally to reflect the name changes of the university. Stroup also composed school songs for Drake University and the University of Chicago. Stroup, while teaching at Northern Illinois University in 1961, also wrote the "Huskie Fight Song", which was adopted as the university's fight song in 1963.

The lyrics Stroup wrote for the University of Wyoming follow:

    (for the Cowboys)
    C! O! W! B! O! Y! S!
    COWBOYS! COWBOYS! COWBOYS!
    (for the Cowgirls)
    C! O! W! G! I! R! L! S!
    COWGIRLS! COWGIRLS! COWGIRLS!

### University of California, Davis

The Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh! at University of California, Davis also adapted the song with the following variation:

    He's a high-falutin', rootin' tootin'
    Son of a gun from California
    He's some cowboy
    Talk about your cowboy
    Ragtime Cowboy Joe

## The Chipmunks

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is the third and final single from the Chipmunks' debut album Let's All Sing with the Chipmunks. The song was released as a single in 1959. The Chipmunks' two prior singles, "The Chipmunk Song" and "Alvin's Harmonica", both reached the Top Ten; "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of August 2, 1959. The song was also a success on the Billboard Black Singles, peaking at No. 29.

Since the song was also credited to David Seville by Billboard, it became Seville's fourth consecutive Top 20 single. The single also reached No. 11 in the UK singles chart, the first and only Chipmunks song to chart in the UK until 1992's "Achy Breaky Heart". The B- or flip-side, also written by Bagdasarian, is titled "Flip Side".

