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Written By: Grant Clarke 

Music by:  Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams (1912)

The roughest, toughest man by far" in Arizona is Ragtime Cowboy Joe, who got his name because "He always sings raggy music to the cattle... On a horse that is syncopated gaited." But folks are advised not to cross him; his gun will make them dance.

Written in 1912 and revived in 1943 in an Alis Faye movie "Hello, Frisco, Hello" and by Betty Hutton, 1945, in "Incendiary Blonde."

Got his name from singing 
To the cows and sheep 
Every night they say 
He sings the herd to sleep 
In a basso rich and deep, 
Crooning soft and low. 

How they run, 
When they hear the feller’s gun, 
Because the western folks all know: 
He’s a hifalootin’, scootin’, shootin’ 
Son-of-a-gun from Arizona, 
Ragtime Cowboy 
(Talk about your cowboy), 
Ragtime Cowboy Joe. 

Words and Music (originally "The Bright Mohawk Valley") by James Kerrigan, circa 1896.

This folksong started out in New York State as "In the Bright Mohawk Valley."  As it spread through the south, cowboys in the Red River country in Texas localized it by changing the name of the water to that of the Red River, which flows along the border of Texas and Oklahoma.

From this valley they say you are going,

We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile,

For they say you are taking the sunshine

That brightens our pathway awhile.

 

Come and sit by my side if you love me,

Do not hasten to bid me adieu,

But remember the Red River Valley

And the girl that has loved you so true.

For a long time I have been waiting

For those dear words you never would say,

But at last all my fond hopes have vanished,

For they say you are going away.

 

Won't you think of the valley you're leaving?

Oh how lonely, how sad it will be.

Oh think of the fond heart you're breaking,

And the grief you are causing me to see?

This song appeared on Jo Ann Castle's TV Favorites Album