Little Joe, the Wrangler

Little Joe the wrangler he'll wrangle never more

His days with the remuda they're all done

It was long about last April he rode into our camp

Just a little Texas stray and all alone

It was long late in the evening when he rode into our camp

On a little old brown pony he called Shaw

In his brogan shoes and coveralls a harder lookin' kid

You never in you life have seen before

His saddle was a Sother kack built many years ago

An OK spur on one foot idly hung

With his bed roll in a cotton sack was loosely tied behind

And a canteen from the saddle horn he'd slung

Said he had to leave his home because his paw had married twice

His new maw beat him every day or two

So he saddled up old Shaw one night and lit a shuck this way

Thought he'd try and paddle now his own canoe

Said he'd try to do the best he could if we'd only give him work

Though he didn't know straight up about a cow

So the boss he cut him out a mount and kinda put him on

And we knew he liked our little stray somehow

Well he taught him how to heard the horses and learned to know 'em all

And to get 'em in by daylight if he could

And to follow the chuck wagon and to always hitch the team

And to help the carsonaro rustle wood

We had driven to Red River and the weather it was fine

We were camped down on the south side of the bend

When a Norther started blowin' we called the extra guard

Cause it took all hands to hold the cattle in

Now little Joe the wrangler was called out like the rest

Barely had the kid got to the heard

When the cattle they stampeded like a hailstorm on they flew

With all of us a ridin' for the lead

Between the streaks of lightnin' we could see a horse ahead

It was little Joe the wrangler in the lead

He was riding old Blue Rocket with a slicker o'er his head

And he's trying to check the leaders in their speed.

We finally got'em millin' and they sort of quieted down

The extra guard back to the camp did go

But one of them was missing and we all knew at a glance

Twas our little Texas strayboy wrangler Joe

We found him there at sun up where old Blue Rocket fell

In some washout twenty feet below

Beneath his horse smashed to a pulphis spur had rung the knell

For our little Texas stray bos wrangler Joe

Little Joe the wrangler he'll wrangle never more

His days with the remuda they're all done

It was long about last April he rode into our camp

Just a little Texas stray and all alone