"Streets of Laredo" (

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

B01,

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...

23650), also known as "The Dying Cowboy", is a famous American

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 '' vaqu ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

in which a dying ranger (1911/ Rhymes of the range and trail) tells his story to another cowboy. 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. Derived from the traditional folk song "

The Unfortunate Rake "The Unfortunate Lad", also known as "The Unfortunate Rake", is a traditional folk ballad (), which through the folk process has evolved into a large number of variants. Synopsis In nineteenth-century broadside versions, the narrator meets a com ...

", the song has become a

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

, and as such has been performed, recorded and adapted numerous times, with many variations. The title refers to the city of

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the Flag of th ...

. The old-time cowboy Frank H. Maynard (1853–1926) of

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, claimed authorship of his self published song in 1911 "The Dying Cowboy". Cowboys up and down the trail revised ''The Cowboy's Lament,'' and in his memoir, Maynard alleged that cowboys from Texas changed the title to "The Streets of Laredo" after he claimed authorship of the song in a 1924 interview with journalism professor Elmo Scott Watson, then on the faculty of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

at Urbana-Champaign.

Lyrics

As I walked out in the streets of Laredo As I walked out in Laredo one day, I spied a poor cowboy, all wrapped in white linen All wrapped in white linen and cold as the clay. "I see by your outfit, that you are a cowboy." These words he did say as I slowly passed by. "Come sit down beside me and hear my sad story, For I'm shot in the chest, and today I must die." "'Oh once in the saddle I used to go dashing, 'Oh once in the saddle I used to go gay. First down to Rosie's, and then to the card-house, Got shot through the body, and now here I lay." "Oh, beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly, And play the dead march as you carry me along; Take me to the green valley, there lay the sod o'er me, For I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong." "Get six jolly cowboys to carry my coffin, Get six pretty maidens to bear up my pall. Put bunches of roses all over my coffin, Roses to deaden the clods as they fall." "Then swing your rope slowly and rattle your spurs lowly, And give a wild whoop as you carry me along; And in the grave throw me and roll the sod o'er me. For I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong." "Go bring me a cup, a cup of cold water. To cool my parched lips", the cowboy then said. Before I returned, his spirit had departed, And gone to the round up – the cowboy was dead. We beat the drum slowly and played the fife lowly, And bitterly wept as we bore him along. For we loved our comrade, so brave, young and handsome, We all loved our comrade, although he'd done wrong.

Origin

The song is widely considered to be a traditional ballad. It was first published in 1910 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.'' The lyrics appear to be primarily descended from an Irish folk song of the late 18th century called "

","Folk Songs and Ballads", American Roots Music, PBS
/ref> which also evolved (with a time signature change and completely different melody) into the New Orleans standard "

St. James Infirmary Blues "St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American blues song and jazz standard of uncertain origin. Louis Armstrong made the song famous in his 1928 recording on which Don Redman was credited as composer; later releases gave the name Joe Primrose, a ps ...

". The Irish ballad shares a melody with the British sea-song "

Spanish Ladies "Spanish Ladies" ( Roud 687) is a traditional British naval song, describing a voyage from Spain to the Downs from the viewpoint of ratings of the Royal Navy. Origins A ballad by the name "Spanish Ladies" was registered in the English Stati ...

". The

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, has copies of a 19th-century broadside entitled "The Unfortunate Lad", which is a version of the British ballad. Some elements of this song closely presage those in the "Streets of Laredo" and in the "St. James Infirmary Blues". :As I was a walking down by the “''Lock''”, :As I was walking one morning of late, :Who did I spy but my own dear comrade, :Wrapp'd in flannel, so hard is his fate. ::''Chorus.'' :Had she but told me when she disordered me, :Had she but told me of it at the time, : I might have got salts and pills of white mercury, :But now I'm cut down in the height of my prime. :I boldly stepped up to him and kindly did ask him, :Why he was wrapp'd in flannel so white? :My body is injured and sadly disordered, :All by a young woman, my own heart's delight. :My father oft told me, and of entimes chided me, :And said my wicked ways would never do, :But I never minded him, nor ever heeded him, : always kept up in my wicked ways. :Get six jolly fellows to carry my coffin, :And six pretty maidens to bear up my pall, :And give to each of them bunches of roses, :That they may not smell me as they go along. : ver my coffin put handsful of lavender, :Handsful of lavender on every side, :Bunches of roses all over my coffin, :Saying there goes a young man cut down in his prime. :Muffle your drums, play your pipes merrily, :Play the death eadmarch as you go along. :And fire your guns right over my coffin, :There goes an unfortunate lad to his home.

Recorded versions

Recordings of the song have been made by

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 ...

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

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 c ...

, Johnny Western,

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

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 ...

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentlem ...

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 ...

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. Gu ...

, Norman Luboff Choir,

Rex Allen Rex Elvie Allen (December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999), known as "the Arizona Cowboy", was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter; he was also the narrator of many Disney nature and Western productions. For his contribut ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

and many

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while t ...

singers, as well as avant garde rocker

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various sty ...

, the British pop group

Prefab Sprout Prefab Sprout are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they re ...

, Snakefarm,

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as " Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", " One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels". She performed the theme song to the television series '' Maniac ...

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered th ...

Paul Westerberg Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him re ...

, Buck Ramsey (singer & poet), and

The Stone Coyotes The Stone Coyotes are an United States, American music ensemble, band that debuted with their first album in 1998. They hail from Massachusetts but tour primarily in Texas as that is where they receive their most radio airplay. Background Barbara ...

. There is also a version on RCA's '' How The West Was Won'' double album,

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

recorded a version on his 1966 album ''Harry James & His Western Friends'' ( Dot DLP 3735 and DLP 25735).

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

recorded a version of three verses of the Irish ballad

The Bard of Armagh "The Bard of Armagh" is an Irish ballad. It is often attributed to Patrick Donnelly. He was made Bishop of Dromore in 1697, the same year as the enactment of the Bishops Banishment Act. Donnelly is believed to have taken the name of the travellin ...

(which takes the same tune) followed by three verses of this song on the album ''Long Journey Home'', a compilation of songs about Irish emigration and the links between Irish and American folk and country music also featuring Van Morrison, the Chieftains, Mary Black, Elvis Costello and others, in 1998.

In Literature

The song plays a prominent role in the book and film ''

Bang the Drum Slowly ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' is a novel by Mark Harris, first published in 1956 by Knopf. The novel is the second in a series of four novels written by Harris that chronicles the career of baseball player Henry W. Wiggen. ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' ...

'', in which a version of the song is sung by actor

Tom Ligon Thomas Ligon (born September 10, 1940) is an actor of Cajun ancestry. He appeared in the films '' Paint Your Wagon'', ''Jump'', and ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' (in which he also sang the title song) as well as the television series ''The Young and ...

in his role as Piney Woods. The words from the title replace the words "beat the drum slowly" from the lyrics below. This in turn is the phrase used in the song "Bang the Drum Slowly" on the album '' Red Dirt Girl'' by

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, includin ...

. The lyrics are also (indirectly) the source of the title of

Peter S. Beagle Peter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American novelist and screenwriter, especially of fantasy fiction. His best-known work is ''The Last Unicorn'' (1968), a fantasy novel he wrote in his twenties, which '' Locus'' subscribers voted the ...

's 1965 travelogue of a cross-USA trip by

Heinkel Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, with ...

scooter, "I See by My Outfit." The same tune is used for the Irish lament "Bold Robert Emmet" and the sea shanty "

" .

Louis MacNeice Frederick Louis MacNeice (12 September 1907 – 3 September 1963) was an Irish poet and playwright, and a member of the Auden Group, which also included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis. MacNeice's body of work was widely ...

wrote a poem called "The Streets of Laredo" about the bombing of London during World War Two. The rhythms of the poem resemble the lyrics of the song, and the 1948 book ''Holes in the Sky'' states that his wife

Hedli Anderson Antoinette Millicent Hedley Anderson (1907 – 1990) was an English singer and actor. Known as Hedli Anderson, she studied singing in England and Germany before returning to London in 1934. Anderson joined the Group Theatre, and performed in ca ...

sang the poem. The song is a featured motif in John Irving's 14th Novel 'Avenue of Mysteries'. The good gringo "el gringo bueno" sings the song incessantly, even in his sleep. The band from Circo de La Maravilla plays the song at Lupe's funeral.

White Noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines ...

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, perf ...

features protagonist Jack Gladney’s son Heinrich “moodily” singing the song in one of the last chapters.

Other versions

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

performed this comedy version as "Laredo?" on their 1961 album '' College Concert'': As I walked down in the streets of Laredo. As I walked down in Laredo one day, I spied a young cowboy dressed in white linen, Dressed in white linen and cold as the clay. "I can see by your outfit that you are a cowboy." "You can see by my outfit I'm a cowboy too." "You can see by our outfits that we are both cowboys." "Get yourself an outfit, and be a cowboy too." The

Smothers Brothers The Smothers Brothers are Thomas ("Tom" – born February 2, 1937) and Richard ("Dick" – born November 20, 1938), American folk singers, musicians, and comedians. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on acoustic gu ...

performed a similar comedy version on their 1962 album ''

The Two Sides of the Smothers Brothers ''The Two Sides of the Smothers Brothers'' (released September 1, 1962 on Mercury Records) is the second comedy album by the Smothers Brothers. Side 1 (tracks 1-6) consisted of comedy and was recorded at The Crystal Palace in St. Louis during a l ...

''.

's travelogue "I See By My Outfit" takes its name from this version of the song; in the book, he and his friend Phil refer to it as their "theme song."

Allan Sherman Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...

also performed a parody of the song; his version was titled "Streets of Miami", and was about vacationing

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radi ...

's album '' Songs of the Cat'' has a feline-themed parody, "As I Walked Out".

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

album ''

Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs ''Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs'' is the fifth studio album by Marty Robbins, released on the Columbia Records label in September 1959 and peaking at number 6 on the U.S. pop albums chart. It was recorded in a single eight-hour session on Ap ...

'' features his hit " El Paso", similar in form and content to "Streets of Laredo". The 1960 follow-up ''More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs'' has a version of the original.

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

's version, ''St. James Hospital,'' combines some of the "cowboy" lyrics with a tune resembling ''St. James Infirmary'' and lyrics drawn from that song, and contains the unmistakable "bang the drum slowly" verse. New Mexican satirist Jim Terr's parody, "Santa Fe Cowboy," "is about the kind of cowboys who wear Gucci hats and spurs by Yves St. Laurent." A portion of "Streets of Laredo" was sung by a group of cowboys in Season 2, Episode 5: Estralita on the TV show '' Wanted Dead or Alive'' which first aired on 10/3/1959. The lyrics of

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

's "Ballad of Sherman Wu" are patterned after "Streets of Laredo'" and is set to the same tune. The song presages the American

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

and recounts the refusal of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...

fraternity to accept

Sherman Wu Sherman Hsiu-huang Wu (; 1937 – May 11, 2010) was a Chinese-American social activist and professor, whose experiences at Northwestern University brought the issue of discrimination against Asian Americans to the fore. The general condemnation of ...

because of his Chinese heritage. The song deliberately echoes "Streets of Laredo", beginning: As I was out walking the streets of Northwestern, I spied a young freshman, dejected and blue. And so when I asked him, "Why are you dejected?", He said "I'm Chinese, and I can't join Psi U." The words of the labor song "The Ballad of Bloody Thursday" – inspired by a deadly clash between strikers and police during the 1934 San Francisco longshoremen's strike – also follow the "Streets of Laredo" pattern and tune. As for ''The Cowboy's Lament/Streets of Laredo'' itself, Austin E. and Alta S. Fife in ''Songs of the Cowboys'' (1966) say, Note that some versions of printed lyrics, such as Lomax's 1910 version, have been

bowdlerized Expurgation, also known as bowdlerization, is a form of censorship that involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive from an artistic work or other type of writing or media. The term ''bowdlerization'' is a pejorative term for the practi ...

, eliminating, for example, subtle mentions of drunkenness and/or prostitution. Johnny Cash's 1965 recording substitutes "dram-house" for the traditional "Rosie's," i.e. the saloon for the brothel (though Burl Ives' 1949 recording retains the more logical, "first down to Rosie's, and then to the card-house..."). This bowdlerization renders nonsensical the next phrase, "...and then to the card-house," as though drinking and gambling took place in separate establishments. One of the Fifes' sources "exaggerating somewhat, says that there were originally seventy stanzas, sixty-nine of which had to be whistled." An intermediately bowdlerized version of "The Cowboy's Lament": 'Twas once in my saddle I used to be happy 'Twas once in my saddle I used to be gay But I first took to drinking, then to gambling A shot from a six-shooter took my life away. Beat your drums lightly, play your fifes merrily Sing your dearth march as you bear me along Take me to the grave yard, lay the sod o'er me I'm a young cow-boy and know I've done wrong. My curse let it rest, rest on the fair one Who drove me from friends that I loved and from home Who told me she loved me, just to deceive me My curse rest upon her, wherever she roam. Beat your drums lightly, play your fifes merrily Sing your death march as you bear me along Take me to the grave yard, lay the sod o'er me I'm a young cow-boy and know I've done wrong. Oh she was fair, Oh she was lovely The belle of the Village the fairest of all But her heart was as cold as the snow on the mountains She gave me up for the glitter of gold. Beat your drums lightly, play your fifes merrily Sing your dearth march as you bear me along Take me to the grave yard, lay the sod o'er me I'm a young cow-boy and know I've done wrong. I arrived in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

in old

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Drinking and gambling I went to give o'er But, I met with a Greaser and my life he has finished Home and relations I ne'er shall see more. Beat your drums lightly, play your fifes merrily Sing your dearth march as you bear me along Take me to the grave yard, lay the sod o'er me I'm a young cow-boy and know I've done wrong. Send for my Father. O send for my Mother Send for the surgeon to look at my wounds But I fear it is useless I feel I am dying I'm a young cow-boy cut down in my bloom. Beat your drums lightly, play your fifes merrily Sing your dearth march as you bear me along Take me to the grave yard, lay the sod o'er me I'm a young cow-boy and know I've done wrong. Farewell my friends, farewell my relations My earthly career has cost me sore The cow-boy ceased talking, they knew he was dying His trials on earth, forever were o'er. Beat your drums lightly, play your fifes merrily Sing your dearth march as you bear me along Take me to the grave yard, lay the sod o'er me I'm a young cow-boy and know I've done wrong. – From ''Songs of the Cowboys'', a 1908 version of "Cowboy's Lament" (typographical errors unchanged) The third episode of the

Book of Boba Fett ''The Book of Boba Fett'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the ''Star Wars'' franchise and a spin-off from the series ''The Mandalorian'', taking place in th ...

, titled ''Streets of Mos Espa'' pays homage to the song. Since the release of the series, Star Wars fans have devised an unofficial version of the ballad with new lyrics. The Streets of Mos Espa: As I flew out through the streets of

Mos Espa Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first ...

As I flew out through Mos Espa one night I spied a mean feller all dressed in green armor With a laser in his hands he looked ready to fight I can see by your helmet that you're a Mandalorian You can see by my

jetpack A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket pack is a device worn on the back which uses jets of gas or liquid to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and became widespread in the 1960s. ...

I'm a Mandalorian too You can see by our armor that we're both Mandalorians Get yourself some Beskar iron, and be Mandalorian too Once in the

Sarlacc The sarlacc (plural sarlacci) is a fictional creature in George Lucas's sci-fi action saga '' Star Wars''. It first appeared in the film ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983) as a multi-tentacled alien beast whose immense, gaping maw is lined with sev ...

I was slowly digesting Once in the Sarlacc I was dissolving away But now in my new armor I'm gallant and dashing And Captain

Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in '' The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...

is going to pay They will beat the drums softly and play the pipes slowly When

Dengar This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...

and I gun the Corellian down For nobody lives long when they cross a Mandalorian Let's capture that

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and get out of this town

Derivative musical works

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music i ...

has cited. this ballad as the musical inspiration for his version of

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspire ...

's "The Unwelcome Guest". "No Man's Land" (sometimes known as "Green Fields of France"), written in 1976 by

Eric Bogle Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish-born Australian folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25, to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of ...

, makes use of a similar melody and contains the refrain "did they beat the drums slowly, did they play the fifes lowly". The song "Streets of the East Village" by The Dan Emery Mystery Band shows a definite influence from this song as well. The song "Streets of Whitechapel" sung by J. C. Carroll is an updated version of this ballad. The composer

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Probab ...

adapted a variation on the "Streets of Laredo" tune as the principal theme in the "Allegretto" movement of Excursions, op. 20. The tune was used for The Homing Waltz, a song written by Johnny Reine and Tommie Connor and recorded by

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

in 1952. Different words and a chorus were added in 1960 under the title "Only The Heartaches" by Wayne P. Walker, with additional words by Jess Edwins and Terry Kennedy. It was a minor hit in some countries by Houston Wells and The Marksmen and has been recorded by many other artists. The chorus begins "There's gold in the mountains, gold in the valleys..." The song "Blackwatertown" by

The Handsome Family The Handsome Family is an American music duo consisting of husband and wife Brett and Rennie Sparks formed in Chicago, Illinois, and as of 2001 based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They are perhaps best known for their song " Far from Any Road" from ...

is another updated version of this song, framing the narrator's downfall as the resultant of an affair with a young woman employed in the publishing industry. It was released on ''The Rose And The Briar,'' a 2004 CD compilation and companion to ''The Rose & the Briar: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad'', edited by

Sean Wilentz Robert Sean Wilentz (; born February 20, 1951) is the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1979. His primary research interests include U.S. social and political history in the ...

and

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

. The 2010 video game '' Fallout: New Vegas'' contains a song called "The Streets of New

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is th ...

", performed by JE Sawyer. The song is a

Fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...

universe adaptation of "The Streets of Laredo", with New Reno being an iconic location within the series. The song "The Streets of Laredo" appears on the albums ''

Sings the Ballads of the True West ''Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West'' is a concept double album and the 22nd overall album released by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1965 (see 1965 in music). Covering twenty individual songs, the albu ...

'' and '' American IV'' by

. Cash also recorded two other versions with different lyrics on his first Christmas album (1963), and then again as "The Walls of a Prison" on his ''

From Sea to Shining Sea ''From Sea to Shining Sea'' is a concept album and 26th album by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1968 (see 1968 in music). Each track on the album was written by Cash; none of them were released as singles. The album wa ...

'' album in 1967. "When I Was a Young Girl", a female version of the same theme, was popular on the folk music circuits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was recorded by

Barbara Dane Barbara Dane (born Barbara Jean Spillman; May 12, 1927) is an American folk, blues, and jazz singer, guitarist, record producer, and political activist. She co-founded Paredon Records with Irwin Silber. "Bessie Smith in stereo," wrote jazz cri ...

and

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...

before being revived by

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

, Leslie Feist, and Marlon Williams. In 1995,

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

used the tune of "Streets of Laredo" for the song "Bard of my Heart", about her late son Clark, on her album, ''Shameless''. The tune and lyrics of "Streets of Laredo" were used in the 1973 film ''

'', a sports drama based on Mark Harris's novel of the same name. The movie was directed by

John D. Hancock John D. Hancock (born February 12, 1939) is an American stage and film director, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his work on ''Bang the Drum Slowly''. Hancock's theatrical work includes direction of both classic and contempor ...

and starred

Michael Moriarty Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor and jazz musician. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his first acting role on American television as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 mini-series ''Holocaust'' ...

and

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

. Character actor Vincent Gardenia received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the film. “Streets of Laredo” is used as the theme music at the beginning of the

Coen Brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

’ ''

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs ''The Ballad of Buster Scruggs'' is a 2018 American Western anthology film written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers. It had a limited theatrical release, being primarily intended for Netflix television. It stars Tim Blake Nelson, ...

'' (2018); in its last segment,

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times fo ...

sings “The Unfortunate Rake”.

Television & cinema

The song is also featured in the following films: *

Pursued ''Pursued'' is a 1947 American Western film directed by Raoul Walsh with cinematography by James Wong Howe, written by Niven Busch, and starring Theresa Wright and Robert Mitchum. The supporting cast features Judith Anderson, Dean Jagger, Alan ...

(1947) directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He wa ...

, played on piano at the Honest Wheel and later sung by

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

. *

3 Godfathers ''3 Godfathers'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by John Ford and filmed (although not set) primarily in Death Valley, California. The screenplay, written by Frank S. Nugent and Laurence Stallings, is based on the 1913 novelette '' T ...

(1948) directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

, sung by

Harry Carey Jr. Henry George Carey Jr. (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films, including several John Ford Westerns, as well as numerous television series. Early life Carey was born on a ranch near ...

* The Plunderers (1948) - the song was played from a saloon piano as the main characters spoke with each other out in the street. *

(1973) - Several verses of this song are sung in the locker room by catcher Piney Woods, played by

. * Night on Earth (1991) - A line from the song is sung by

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...

's character. *

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written ...

(2005) *

Appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...

(2008) - sung by Kate Jewell * The Borderlands (2013) - Lines from the song also feature in this British found-footage horror film. *Rocketman (2018 film) - Elton John and Bernie Taupin sing the song together in a café which plays a part with starting their friendship and writing partnership. *

(2018) - A few verses from the traditional Irish ballad

are sung by the Irishman, played by

. In TV: *

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bure ...

- sung by the character Bret Maverick (

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...

) in the episode 'The Belcastle Brand' (1958) * Rawhide Season 5 in the episode 'Pale Rider' sung by each of twin brothers (1964) *

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

- sung by the character Martin Kellum (

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

) in the episode 'Song for Dying' (1965) *

Murder, she wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The seri ...

(1988-1989) - Two verses of this song are sung by a character during a wake in the "Snow White, Blood Red" episode. (1988) * Deadwood - sung by the character

Al Swearengen Ellis Alfred Swearengen (July 8, 1845 – November 15, 1904) was an American pimp and entertainment entrepreneur who ran the Gem Theater, a notorious brothel, in Deadwood, South Dakota, for 22 years during the late 19th century. Personal life Sw ...

(

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (20 ...

) in one episode.

References

External links

* .
Discussion of origin at Mudcat.org

Episodic literary serial based on the song

Lithograph of the Unfortunate Lad.

Marcelo Pisarro, "Escuchen mi triste historia/ Hear my sad story", 1975 Main Street, March 2016.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Streets Of Laredo (Song) American folk songs Folk ballads Burl Ives songs Culture of Laredo, Texas Johnny Cash songs American Songbag songs Songs about Texas Songs about streets Western music (North America) Murder ballads