Home on the Range
"Home on the Range" is a classic western folk song sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. It is also the official anthem of the state of Kansas. Dr. Brewster M. Higley of Smith County, Kansas, wrote the lyrics in the poem "My Western Home" in 1872.[1][2] In 1947, it became the Kansas state song. In 2010, members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 western songs of all time.[3]
"Home on the Range" | |
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Song | |
Genre | Western folk song |
Composer(s) | Daniel E. Kelley |
Lyricist(s) | Brewster M. Higley |
History
In 1871, Higley moved from Indiana to Smith County, Kansas, under the Homestead Act. He lived in a small cabin near West Beaver Creek.[4] He was inspired by his surroundings and wrote "My Western Home", published in the Smith County Pioneer in 1872.[5] That home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Home on the Range Cabin.
Higley's friend Daniel E. Kelley (1808–1905) wrote the melody on his guitar.[6] Higley's original words are similar to those of the modern version of the song, but not identical; the original did not contain the words "on the range".[5] The song was eventually adopted by ranchers, cowboys, and other western settlers, and it spread throughout the United States in various forms.[7] In 1925, Texas composer David W. Guion (1892–1981) arranged it as sheet music published by G. Schirmer.[8] The song has since gone by a number of names, the most common being "Home on the Range" and "Western Home".[9] It was officially adopted as the state song of Kansas on June 30, 1947, and is commonly regarded as the unofficial anthem of the American West.[9][10]
Bing Crosby recorded the song on September 27, 1933, with Lennie Hayton and his orchestra for Brunswick Records.[11][12] The origin of "Home on the Range" was obscure and widely debated at the time. It was published in 1910 in Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads by John Lomax, who said that he learned it from a black saloon-keeper in Texas. Its popularity led to a plagiarism suit that created a search for its background.[13]
Modern usage
Bing Crosby recorded the song again in 1938 and 1939.[14] Frank Sinatra also recorded the song on March 10, 1946; his version was released in Great Britain and was not available in the United States until 1993. Others who have recorded the song include John Charles Thomas, Connie Francis, Gene Autry, Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, Johnnie Ray, Slim Whitman, Steve Lawrence and Tori Amos. "Home on the Range" is often performed in programs and concerts of American patriotic music and is frequently used in plays and films. The song is also the theme opening music for the early Western Films starring Ray "Crash" Corrigan and his two co-stars under their movie roles as "The Three Mesqueteers". It is also featured in the 1937 screwball comedy The Awful Truth (sung by Irene Dunne and Ralph Bellamy), the 1948 film Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (sung by both Cary Grant and Myrna Loy), the 1967 off-Broadway musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (sung by the cast as a glee club rehearsal number), the 1980 film Where the Buffalo Roam (sung by Neil Young over the opening credits), the 2009 film The Messenger (sung by Willie Nelson over the closing credits), and the 1946 western film Colorado Serenade (sung by actor Roscoe Ates). A parody version is sung by villain Percival McLeach in the 1990 animated film The Rescuers Down Under.
The song has made its way into screen shorts for children and adults, as in the 1954 Looney Tunes cartoon Claws for Alarm, where it is sung by Porky Pig. Likewise, Bugs Bunny sings the song in both The Fair-Haired Hare (1951) and Oily Hare (1952), the latter containing original lyrics specific to Texas oilmen.
The song is used in The Simpsons episode "Lisa's Substitute" in which Lisa is inspired by a substitute teacher who dresses as a cowboy and sings the song with commentary.[15][16]
In the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, while playing online the player can unlock an instrumental version of the song which can be heard at the player's camp when the character Cripps plays it on his harmonica.
Major versions compared
Dr. Brewster Higley (1872, 1927, 1960) | William and Mary Goodwin (1904) | John A. Lomax (1910) |
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References
- "Home on the Range - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society". Kshs.org. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
- International, Rotary (September 1955). "Home on the Range". The Rotarian: 40.
- Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014.
- "Kansas Historical Society: Home on the Range". Kansas Historical Society.
- Pulver, Florence (1946). "Re: Home on the Range". The Rotarian. 68 (2): 2–3, 54. Dr. Spaeth accepted this later Spaeth 1948, p. 205
- "Home on the Range". Kansas Historical Society.
- Spaeth, Sigmund Gottfried (1948). A History of Popular Music in America. New York: Random House. p. 205.
- "Kansas Historical Society: Home on the Range History". Kansas Historical Society. April 2017.
- Silber, Irwin, ed. (1967). Songs of the Great American West. New York: Macmillan. pp. 221–223. OCLC 1268417.
- Harris, Cecilia (2014). "A Symbolic State: Home on the Range" (PDF). Kansas! Magazine. 2014 (Spring): 17–26, page 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin: Record Research inc. p. 104. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- Giddins, Gary (2001). A Pocketful of Dreams. New York: Little, Brown & Co. pp. 338–339. ISBN 0-316-88188--0.
- "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- Gates, Anita (December 5, 1993), "The Voice Is Familiar but I Can't Place the Overbite", New York Times, retrieved 2020-04-22
- Fear, David (August 8, 2017), "The Best of Dustin Hoffman: 20 Essential Roles", Rolling Stone, retrieved 2020-04-22
- Flatt, Christina. "10 of the Best Cowboy Songs". Rtpr.com. Real Time Pain Relief. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
External links
- Lickteig, Steve (29 April 2002). "Home on the Range, Present at the Creation". NPR (National Public Radio). Archived from the original on 6 February 2007. "Home on the Range, Present at the Creation (audio clip)". NPR (National Public Radio).
- McCool, John (25 May 2004). "Roam Is Where The Heart Is (Day in History: June 30, 1947)". Kansas History Online. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007.
- (for additional history) "Kansas Sights: 'Home on the Range'". University of Kansas. Archived from the original on 12 July 2004.
- Brewster Higley Ohio Historical Marker
- Home on the Range Cabin, cabin near Athol, Kansas where the song Home on the Range was written.
- The sheet music
- free-scores.com