Passed on from one singer to another and from parent to child, many of the songs heard in early day Kansas were ballads. By definition, a ballad tells a story, and traditional English or Scottish ballads were plentiful, as were songs from many ethnic groups, usually sung in their native language. Range ballads were crafted by cowboys who worked as night guards, drawing upon familiar songs or hymns to settle herds of cattle. Often, they would add lyrics and stanzas that suited the singer and the situation. Many of the cowboy songs voiced feelings of loneliness, and of missing home and family. Other range ballads recounted the deeds of outlaws, sometimes in tones of admiration for lawless Robin Hoods who helped the poor and were often misunderstood. Impending death was also a frequent topic of cowboy songs, possibly because of the high risks these troubadours on horseback lived with on a daily basis.
Kansas folk songs were sometimes humorous parodies of existing popular songs. A familiar tune would be given new lyrics appropriate to the setting or situation. One such song lamented the hardships of settling in western Kansas after the Homestead Act of 1862. It’s called ‘The Lane County Bachelor”, and is set to the tune of “The Irish Washerwoman”:
Frank Baker’s my name and a bachelor I am,
I’m keeping old batch on an elegant plan.
You’ll find me out west in the county of Lane,
I’m starving to death on a government claim.
The lyrics continue with…
My house it is built of the natural soil,
The walls are erected according to Hoyle.
The roof has no pitch but is level and plain,
And I always get wet when it happens to rain.
Perhaps the best known folk song to come from Kansas is “Home On The Range.”
Though the origin and authorship was disputed, it is widely accepted that a pioneer physician named Brewster Higley wrote the lyrics and his friend Dan Kelly, a local druggist, composed the music.
The song appeared first as a poem in the Smith County Pioneer newspaper in 1873. Its popularity grew through the years, and in 1947 an act of the Kansas legislature made “Home on the Range” the official Kansas state song.
Material for this story was researched from the book Kansas Folklore .
Thanks to the late Clifford and Delores Hope for providing this volume.
For High Plains Public Radio, I’m Debra Bolton in Manhattan, Kansas.
High Plains History is a production of High Plains Public Radio.
