Dying Ranger, The [Laws A14]

DESCRIPTION: A cowboy/soldier tells of his sister left alone at home. His comrades promise to treat her as their sister. The wounded man dies happy. (Other details occur in localized versions; the verses -- and the dying hero -- vary widely)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (Lomax, Cowboy Songs)
KEYWORDS: death family farewell
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,So,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont)
REFERENCES (22 citations):
Laws A14, "The Dying Ranger"
Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety, pp. 397-398, "The Dying Cowboy" (1 text)
Randolph 188, "The Dying Cowboy" (2 texts, 2 tunes) AND 216, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
High-OldOldFolkSongs, p. 21, "Texas Ranger" (1 text, clearly this despite the title)
Abrahams/Riddle-ASingerAndHerSongs, pp. 31-33, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doerflinger-SongsOfTheSailorAndLumberman, pp. 274-276, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cazden/Haufrecht/Studer-FolkSongsOfTheCatskills 19, "The Shades of the Palmetto" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Ohrlin-HellBoundTrain 50, "Ranger's Prayer" (1 text, not recognized as a version of this song, but with the same plot, metrical pattern, and some lyrics); 52, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morris-FolksongsOfFlorida, #19, "The Dying Ranger" (1 tune)
Cox-FolkSongsSouth 64, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text)
Cox/Hercog/Halpert/Boswell-WVirginia-B, #10, p. 144, "The Dying Ranger" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Finger-FrontierBallads, pp. 170-173, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text)
Huntington-SongsTheWhalemenSang, pp. 243-245, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-FolkBalladsSongsOfLowerLabradorCoast 53, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text)
Cox-FolkMusicInANewfoundlandOutport, pp. 43-47, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-FolksongsOfNewBrunswick, pp. 17-20, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Vikár/Panagapka-SongsNorthWoodsSungByOJAbbott 88, "The Soldier's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lingenfelter/Dwyer/Cohen-SongsOfAmericanWest, pp. 270-271, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shay-BarroomBallads/PiousFriendsDrunkenCompanions, pp. 202-205, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune)
MidwestFolklore, Edith Fowke, "American Civil War Songs in Canada," Volume 13, Number 1 (Spring 1963/1964) pp. 38-39, "A Soldier's Farewell to West Constant" (1 text)
DT 689, DYRANGR DYNGCWBY
ADDITIONAL: Powder River Jack and Kitty Lee's _Songs of the Range: Cowboy Wails of Cattle Trails_, Chart Music, 1937, p. 42, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #628
RECORDINGS:
Arkansas Woodchopper [pseud. for Luther Ossenbrink] "The Dying Ranger" (Supertone 9665/Champion 16095 [as West Virginia Rail Splitter], 1930)
Dock Boggs, "Dying Ranger" (on Boggs3, BoggsCD1)
Cartwright Brothers, "The Dying Ranger" (Victor V-40198, 1930; Bluebird B-5355/Montgomery Ward M-4460/Sunrise S-3436, 1934; rec. 1929; on WhenIWas2)
Buell Kazee, "The Dying Soldier" (Brunswick 214, 1928)
Will O'Brien, "The Dying Ranger" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
Glenn Ohrlin, "The Dying Ranger" (on Ohrlin01)
Johnny Prude, "The Dying Ranger" (AFS, 1940s; on LC28)
Marc Williams, "The Dying Ranger" (Brunswick 497, c. 1930)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Wisconsin Soldier" (lyrics)
File: LA14

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