Ragtime Cowboy Joe

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is a popular song: lyrics by Grant Clarke, music by Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams. © 1912, F.A. Mills, 122 W. 36th St, New York.

It has been performed by a diverse group of artists, ranging from Bob Roberts in 1912 to The Tune Wranglers, the big band sound of Eddy Howard in 1947 to the comedic recording by The Chipmunks in 1959.

Origin
The 1912 copyright version published by F.A. Mills credits Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams as composers and Grant Clarke as the lyricist. The song writing team also wrote Second Hand Rose. The song was composed in Brooklyn, New York after an appearance at Maurice Abrahams' home by his nephew, Joe Abrahams, wearing a cowboy outfit. Maurice Abrahams was so captivated by the appearance of his nephew dressed up as a cowboy that he was inspired to write Ragtime Cowboy Joe in 1912. It was a number-one hit song for singer Bob Roberts in 1912.

Lyrics
As with many popular songs of the era, the verse is often omitted: the refrain's lyrics vary somewhat depending on the performer.

(verse)


 * Out in Arizona
 * Where the bad men are,
 * And the only friend to guide you
 * Is an evening star,
 * The roughest and the toughest
 * Man by far
 * Is Ragtime Cowboy Joe.
 * He got his name from singin'
 * To the cows and sheep
 * They say that every night
 * He sings the herd to sleep
 * In a basso voice
 * So rich and deep,
 * A-croonin' soft and low.

(refrain)


 * He always sings
 * Raggy music to the cattle
 * As he swings
 * Back and forward in the saddle
 * On a horse
 * That's a syncopated gaiter
 * There's-a such a funny meter
 * To the roar of his repeater.
 * How they run
 * When they hear his gun
 * Because the Western folks all know
 * He's a high-falutin', rootin', shootin',
 * Son of a gun from Arizona,
 * Ragtime Cowboy Joe.

(verse)


 * Dressed up ev'ry Sunday
 * In his Sunday clothes
 * He beats it to the village
 * Where he always goes
 * And ev'ry single gal
 * In town is Joe's
 * 'Cause he's a ragtime bear.
 * When he starts a-spieling
 * On the dance hall floor
 * No one but a lunatic
 * Would start a war
 * Because the wise men know
 * His forty-four
 * Would make them dance for fair.

Variations include: "How he sings", "Ragtime music", "That's syncopated gaited/And you ought to hear the meter", "scootin' shootin'", "Son of a gun from old Wyoming", or additions of "(A pretty good horse)", "He's some cowboy", and/or "Talk about your cowboy".

On radio
"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" was the radio show theme song for New York City's long running, award-winning public radio show, Cowboy Joe's Radio Ranch (1976–1988), hosted by Paul Aaron, New York's Cowboy Joe. During one of his radio shows Paul Aaron had the elder Joe Abrahams (the original Cowboy Joe) as a special guest. Paul Aaron played many versions of his favorite song dating back to one sung by Bob Roberts from a 1919 acoustic RCA Victor 78 rpm record. He also played many "live" versions recorded during the University of Wyoming football and basketball games. A recent version of the song appears on Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks 2009 album "Tangled Tales".

University song
"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is also the school song of the University of Wyoming. Traditionally, Cowboy fans stand and clap to the beat of the song as played by Wyoming's Western Thunder Marching Band. The version of the song appropriated by Wyoming includes lyrics adjusted to represent the school's location, a stands cheer that occurs during a drum break, and a repeat of the verse commonly follows.

Stands cheer: (For the Cowboys)


 * 'C'! 'O'! 'W'! 'B'! 'O'! 'Y'! 'S'!
 * COWBOYS! COWBOYS! COWBOYS!

(For the Cowgirls)


 * 'C'! 'O'! 'W'! 'G'! 'I'! 'R'!, 'L'!, 'S'!
 * COWGIRLS! COWGIRLS! COWGIRLS!

The Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh! at UC Davis also favors the song. In this case;


 * He's a high-falutin', rootin' tootin'
 * Son of a gun from California
 * He's some cowboy
 * Talk about your cowboy
 * Ragtime Cowboy Joe

The Chipmunks
"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is the third and final single from The Chipmunks' debut album Let's All Sing with the Chipmunks. The song was released as a single in 1959. After the chart performance of the Chipmunks' last two singles, "The Chipmunk Song" and "Alvin's Harmonica", both of which managed to reach the Top Ten, it was hoped that "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" would continue their streak of Top Ten hits. Instead the single peaked at #16 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart, which was the group's first single to miss the Top Ten, although it was their third consecutive Top 20 single. The song was also a success on the Billboard Black Singles, peaking at #29. Since the song was also credited to David Seville by Billboard, the song became Seville's fourth consecutive Top 20 single.