"The Cowboys' Christmas Ball" is a

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Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

song recorded by Las Vegas

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

. The lyrics of the song were taken from the 1890 poem of the same name by William Lawrence Chittenden. John Lomax included the lyrics to this song in his book "Cowboy Songs" (copyright 1910) with these notes: "This poem was one of Larry Chittenden's Ranch Verses, published by GP Putnam's Sons, New York, has been set to music by cowboys and its phraseology slightly changed, as this copy will show, by oral transmission. I have heard it in New Mexico and it has been sent to me from various places,- always as a song. None of those who sent in the song knew that it was already in print." The Killers version has slight lyrical changes. For instance, the first line was changed from "''Way out in Western Texas, where the Clear Fork's waters flow''" to "''Way out in Old Nevada, where the Truckees' waters flow''". The song was released as a digital download on November 30, 2011, the video was released a day later. All proceeds from the song go to

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charities as part of the

Product Red Product Red, stylized as (PRODUCT) or (PRODUCT)RED, is a licensed brand by the company Red, stylized as (RED), that seeks to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries, namely Es ...

campaign, headed by

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

and

Bobby Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver III (born April 28, 1954) is an American activist, attorney, and journalist. He was a member of the Santa Monica City Council from 2004 to 2012, serving as mayor pro tem in 2006 and as mayor during part of 2010. A member ...

. It is the band's sixth annual Christmas song and was released as the lead single off their compilation EP, ''

(RED) Christmas EP ''(Red) Christmas EP'', stylised as ''(RED) Christmas EP'', is the first extended play (EP) by American rock band The Killers. It was released digitally on November 29, 2011, by Island Records. The EP features the band's yearly Christmas singles f ...

''. The song was also recorded by Michael Martin Murphey on his CD "Cowboy Christmas" (Cowboy Songs II).

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowboys' Christmas Ball, The 2010s Island Records singles The Killers songs 2011 singles Christmas charity singles Songs written by Michael Martin Murphey American Christmas songs Songs based on poems Songs about cowboys and cowgirls