"Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" is a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

. Also known as "The Cowboy's Lament", "The Dying Cowboy", "Bury Me Out on the Lone Prairie", and "Oh, Bury Me Not", the song is described as the most famous cowboy ballad. Members of the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...

chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. Based on a sailor's song, the song has been recorded by many artists, including

Moe Bandy Marion Franklin "Moe" Bandy Jr. (born February 12, 1944) is an American country music singer. He was most popular during the 1970s, when he had several hit songs, both alone and with his singing partner, Joe Stampley. Early life and recording ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Cisco Houston Gilbert Vandine "Cisco" Houston (August 18, 1918 – April 29, 1961) was an American folk singer and songwriter, who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together. Houston was a regular recording ...

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

Bruce Molsky Bruce C. Molsky (born 1955, New York City) is an American fiddler, banjo player, guitarist, and singer. He primarily performs old-time music of the Appalachian region. Early years As a young man, Molsky first became interested in blues music, but ...

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

Colter Wall Colter Wall (born June 27, 1995) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for his deep, gruff baritone and narrative songwriting, Wall's music encompasses country, folk, and western styles. His self-titled debut album was released i ...

and

William Elliott Whitmore William Elliott Whitmore (born May 11, 1978) is an American blues, country, folk singer and musician. He plays roots-folk music that is often inspired by his life on his family farm in the hills of southeastern Iowa. Early life and education W ...

History

Earlier version

The ballad is an adaptation of a sea song called "The Sailor's Grave" or " The Ocean Burial", which began "O bury me not in the deep, deep sea." The Ocean Burial was written by Edwin Hubbell Chapin, published in 1839, and put to music by George N. Allen.The Ocian Burial
/ref>Online book Life Of Edwin H. Chapin, D.D., by Sumner Ellis D.D., Boston, 1883, pages 32-34
/ref>

First times in print

The earliest written version of the song was published in

John Lomax John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess Lo ...

's "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads" in 1910. It would first be recorded by Carl T. Sprague in 1926, and was released on a 10" single through

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

. The following year, the melody and lyrics were collected and published in

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

American Songbag ''The American Songbag'' is an anthology of American folksongs compiled by the poet Carl Sandburg and published by Harcourt, Brace and Company in 1927. It was enormously popular and was in print continuously for more than seventy years. Melodies ...

. An article published in the Uvalde, Texas, Uvalde Leader-News in 1928 suggests that the origin of the song was the small town of

Lohn, Texas Lohn is an unincorporated community in McCulloch County, Texas, United States. According to the ''Handbook of Texas'', the community had an estimated population of 149 in 2000. Geography Lohn is located at (31.3237752, -99.4100566). It is situat ...

. The article states that the song was originally about the Lohn Prairie, and was later changed to "Lone Prairie." Originally collected with different music than that widely known today, ''Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie'' first appeared in print with the present melody in 1932, with a likely origin of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, though the speaker at that time requested—contrary to other renditions—to "bury me out on the lone prairie."

Other versions

The song has been released on albums by

, and

, among others. Even

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

musicians,

, have covered the song for their Cube-E (1988–90) and Talking Light (2010–11) tours. Under the alternate title "Bury Me Out on the Lone Prairie", it has been recorded by

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...

In popular culture

The ''Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie'' music was adapted for the soundtrack to John Ford's 1939 western film

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

. Its theme is repeatedly heard throughout the movie. In the final episode of ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anoth ...

'',

Lily Munster Lily Munster (née Dracula) is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom, ''The Munsters'', originally played by Yvonne De Carlo. The matriarch of the Munster household, Lily is a vampire. The role was later played by Lee Meriwether in ''The Munster ...

plays the organ while she, her husband, and her father sing "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie," after which she says "It's nice to get together and sing those old, fun songs."

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

sings the line "bury me not on the lone prairie" in at least four

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

animated shorts: 1942's ''

The Wacky Wabbit ''The Wacky Wabbit'' is a 1942 '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. It stars Bugs Bunny (Voice by Mel Blanc) and Elmer Fudd (voiced by Arthur Quirk Bryan). Plot Singing a modified version of "Oh! Susanna," Elmer Fudd trudges ...

'' (while shoveling dirt into a hole

Elmer Fudd Elmer J.''Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes''/'' Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheo ...

has just fallen into); 1945's '' Hare Trigger'' (after

Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( /joʊˈsɛmɪti/ ''yoh-SEM-ih-tee'') is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park. He is an adversary of Bugs ...

, mistaking red ink Bugs has poured on him for blood, falls down as if dead); 1980's ''

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny ''Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny'' is a Warner Bros. cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, with cameo appearances by Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The cartoon was part of the television special ''Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All ...

'' (while pretending to die); and 1992's ''

Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

'' (on arriving at a desert).

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by Lan ...

also sings the song at the beginning of 1948's ''Wild & Woody!''. A version of this song was used in the popular video game ''

Red Dead Redemption ''Red Dead Redemption'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. A spiritual successor to 2004's ''Red Dead Revolver'', it is the second game in the ''Red Dead'' series. ''Red Dead Redempt ...

'', sung by

Premise

The song records the plaintive request of a dying man not to be buried on the prairie, away from civilization. In spite of his request, he is buried on the prairie. As with many folk songs, there are a number of variations of that basic theme.

Lyrics

This version of the lyrics date back to the early 19th century.

"O bury me not on the lone prairie."
These words came low and mournfully
From the pallid lips of the youth who lay
On his dying bed at the close of day.

He had wasted and pined 'til o'er his brow
Death's shades were slowly gathering now
He thought of home and loved ones nigh,
As the cowboys gathered to see him die.

"O bury me not on the lone prairie
Where coyotes howl and the wind blows free
In a narrow grave just six by three—
O bury me not on the lone prairie"

"It matters not, I've been told,
Where the body lies when the heart grows cold
Yet grant, o grant, this wish to me
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

"I've always wished to be laid when I died
In a little churchyard on the green hillside
By my father's grave, there let me be,
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

"I wish to lie where a mother's prayer
And a sister's tear will mingle there.
Where friends can come and weep o'er me.
O bury me not on the lone prairie."

"For there's another whose tears will shed.
For the one who lies in a prairie bed.
It breaks me heart to think of her now,
She has curled these locks, she has kissed this brow."

"O bury me not..." And his voice failed there.
But they took no heed to his dying prayer.
In a narrow grave, just six by three
They buried him there on the lone prairie.

And the cowboys now as they roam the plain,
For they marked the spot where his bones were lain,
Fling a handful o' roses o'er his grave
With a prayer to God his soul to save.

Alternative versions

One version collected for publication by the

Southern Pacific Company Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

in 1912 omits the final verse and concludes with another round of the chorus, which is there rendered:

"O bury me not on the lone prairie
Where the wild coyote will howl o'er me
Where the rattlesnakes hiss and the wind blows free
O bury me not on the lone prairie.

Another specifies that the speaker is "a trapper...at the point of death /...short his bank account, short his breath".

Recordings

Vernon Dalhart Marion Try Slaughter (April 6, 1883 – September 14, 1948), better known by his stage name Vernon Dalhart, was an American country music singer and songwriter. His recording of the classic ballad "Wreck of the Old 97" was the first country song ...

, 1922

– The Cowboy's Dream ameo – 1203 10" Shellac/ref> *

performed it as part of their Cube-E performances, and a recording is included on '' Cube E: Live in Holland'' (1994) *

Charlie Zahm Charlie Zahm is an American singer and player of Celtic, maritime and traditional American music. Zahm sings baritone, and plays guitar, tin whistle, and the bodhran, among other instruments. Personal life Zahm was born in 1965 in Michigan. He ...

recorded it on his 2003 album ''

Songs for When the Sun Goes Down Charlie Zahm is an American singer and player of Celtic, maritime and traditional American music. Zahm sings baritone, and plays guitar, tin whistle, and the bodhran, among other instruments. Personal life Zahm was born in 1965 in Michigan. He ...

''. *

recorded it for the game ''

''. *

plays and sings the tune on his album ''Soon Be Time'' (2006). *Kathy Johnson sings it in her album ''Way Out West'' (2000). *Cameron Knowler recorded it on his 2019 album '' Honey off a Rock''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie Western music (North America) Songs about death 1926 singles Songs about cowboys and cowgirls Songs about the United States American Songbag songs Folk ballads