Jess Morris - Tumblr Posts

Song of the day

do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it

"I Ride an Old Paint/Leavin' Cheyenne" Carl Sandburg, 1937

"I Ride an Old Paint/Leavin' Cheyenne" is a traditional cowboy ballad, first published in 1916 by John Lomax in "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads"

and later, in 1921, by Nathan Howard "Jack" Thorp in "Songs of The Cowboys"

and even later in 1927, by Carl Sandburg in " The American Songbag"

all 3 of them propose different origins to the song, which demonstrate a larger story-

Carl Sandburg says in The American Songbag that he heard it from a singer who heard it from a cowhand traveling to the border with some friends:

Jack Thorp says that he heard it from a cowboy in Pecos City, Texas, but doesn't say who.

Luckily, with John Lomax, there actually is a thread to pull with the origins of this song.

John Lomax had learned the song from Cowpoke Jess Morris who at multiple times had said that he learned the song as a child working on his father's ranch from Freed-man Cowboy Charley Willis, a famous Black cowboy and employed by Morris' Father, E.J Morris.

in 1928, he says that he learned it working at his father's ranch at a young age but doesn't specify Charley Willis.

Amarillo Sunday News-Globe (Amarillo, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 133, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 18, 1928 (p. 2)

and in 1952, where he specifies that it was Charley Willis who taught him.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Tex.) Sun, Jun 01, 1952. (p. 18)

In J. Morris' unpublished manuscript and other correspondence that's been archived at the American FolkLife Center at the Library of Congress, he talks about the life of Charley Willis. He was an amazing cowhand because of his soothing voice, how he was leaving from Texas to Wyoming, how he might have actually had a horse called "Old-Paint." If you're interested in learning more about that, i recommend:

this short article

this npr article

and chapter 12 of this book

While neither Charley Willis nor his son were ever recorded singing this song, in 1942, Jess Morris was finally recorded by John Lomax, and this version is probably as close to the version by Charley Willis as we're going to get

it seems that in 1913, Jess Morris recorded the song, but this recording no longer exists, but here's a tag for it.

Steven Wade, The Beautiful Music All Around Us (2012) p.345, The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

as with many things, however, one of the first recorded renditions of this song belongs to Harry McClintock in 1928

based on the similar lyrics in all of the older versions, I believe this song is actually a Descendant of "The Wagoner's Lad" (also called "Lovely Nancy" or "My Horses Ain't Hungry" sometimes) and belongs to the "On Top of Old Smokey" family of traditional folk music.

take a look at the lyrics from the 3 books it was first recorded in

While Sandburg's is pretty different, Lomax and Thorp's versions both contain lyrics that are also in "The Wagoner's Lad" as well as other similarities, as do Jess Morris' version and Harry Mcclintock's.

here are "The Wagoner's Lad" lyrics to compare with

"The Wagoner's Lad" was first compiled in 1906 by Cecil Sharp and published in 1917

where Sharp explains that it was much much older and that the Appalachian culture was particularly skillful at persevering traditional folk songs. this song also probably comes from even older, more traditional folk tunes from English folk music.

it was first recorded in 1926 and performed by Kelly Harrel as "My Horses ain't Hungry"

my favorite rendition is "Pretty Nancy" by Jean Ritchie in 1971

Getting back on the topic of "Old Paint," my favorite version of all time is by contemporary artist Colter Wall in 2023, who combines the best aspects of the traditional song's various melodies and lyrics and really makes the story of the song stick out as a bittersweet masterpiece.

Anyway, I don't know who wrote "Old Paint". like with all folk music, it's very likely that it has multiple origins or that Charley Willis learned it from someone else. Regardless, I'm happy that he's credited with writing the song. black history in the American West is so often erased that whatever shred of recognition that is given to black cowboys is something to hold onto.