This one's for Wayne Coe - "Tyin' Knots in the Devils Tail"

Jarrettknives

Jarrettknives

Well-Known Member
Wayno - Since you like to share the Cowboy tales with us, I'm putting my favorite one up here for you my friend.

I had a chance to hang out with the famed Cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell several years ago and this was one of his favorite poems at the time. It was originally written by Gail Gardner (male). Enjoy!

"Tyin' Knots in the Devils Tail"

Away up high in the Sierry Petes,
Where the yeller pines grows tall,
Ole Sandy Bob an' Buster Jig,
Had a rodeer camp last fall.

Oh, they taken their hosses and runnin' irons
And maybe a dog or two,
An' they 'lowed they'd brand all the long-yered calves,
That come within their view.

And any old dogie that flapped long yeres,
An' didn't bush up by day,
Got his long yeres whittled an' his old hide scorched,
In a most artistic way.

Now one fine day ole Sandy Bob,
He throwed his seago down,
"I'm sick of the smell of burnin’ hair,
And I 'lows I'm a-goin' to town."

So they saddles up an' hits 'em a lope,
Fer it warnt no sight of a ride,
And them was the days when a Buckeroo
Could ile up his inside.

Oh, they starts her in at the Kaintucky Bar,
At the head of Whiskey Row,
And they winds up down by the Depot House,
Some forty drinks below.

They then sets up and turns around,
And goes her the other way,
An' to tell you the Gawd-forsaken truth,
Them boys got stewed that day.

As they was a-ridin' back to camp,
A-packin' a pretty good load,
Who should they meet but the Devil himself,
A-prancin' down the road.

Sez he, "You ornery cowboy skunks,
You'd better hunt yer holes,
Fer I've come up from Hell's Rim Rock,
To gather in yer souls."

Sez Sandy Bob, "Old Devil be damned,
We boys is kinda tight,
But you ain't a-goin' to gather no cowboy souls,
'Thout you has some kind of a fight."

So Sandy Bob punched a hole in his rope,
And he swang her straight and true,
He lapped it on to the Devil's horns,
An' he taken his dallies too.

Now Buster jig was a riata man,
With his gut-line coiled up neat,
So he shaken her out an' he built him a loop,
An' he lassed the Devil's hind feet.

Oh, they stretched him out an' they tailed him down,
While the irons was a-gettin hot,
They cropped and swaller-forked his yeres,
Then they branded him up a lot.

They pruned him up with a de-hornin' saw,
An' they knotted his tail fer a joke,
They then rid off and left him there,
Necked to a Black-Jack oak.

If you're ever up high in the Sierry Petes,
An' you hear one Hell of a wail,
You'll know it's that Devil a-bellerin' around,
About them knots tyed in his tail.​

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Best regards and God Bless,
Wayne

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Denny - glad you liked it.


Fer the rest o' you Non-Cowboy folk out there...If'n you're not familiar with Cowboy talk and poetry you might have a tough time making sense of some of the words. You just have to sound them out. For example...."Yeres" means the "ears" of the calves...etc. "Could ile up his inside" in this case "ile" means "oil". A tough one is "seago" which meant cigar. Enjoy!
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__________________

Best regards and God Bless,
Wayne

Full Time Maker
Member of the Professional Knifemakers Association
www.jarrettknives.com
Are you a Dawg yet?


Be sure to check out the new Jarrett Knives Forum
Stop by my table at
The A.G. Russell Knife Event
 
Thanks for adding on to these, I know that one as "The Sierry Petes". The Sierry Petes translates to Sierra Prieta Mountian range near Prescott, Az.
Rodeer is Spanish for "rounding up" A rodeer camp is a round-up out on the range, Bush up is hide in the bushes, Dallies transliterated from the Spanish dale vueltas, a Mexican term which means "give it some twists," and refers to the practice of looping rope loosely (rather than tying "hard and fast") around the saddle horn, Riata is Spanish for rope, and Swaller-forked is to make an identifying notch in the ear of cattle, in the shape of a swallowtail.
Seago makes sinse by sounding it out but my book says that it is a "loose hemp rope". I went back and re-read it and it makes sinse either way.

Now who else can add some. I'll continue about one a week as long as it seems that you all enjoy them,,,,even if they arn't about knives.

When you add one be sure and put something in the title about Cowboy Poetry.
 
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Wayno - you're definition is probably much more accurate.

I just remember the lead hand on the first ranch I cowboyed on (decades ago - in the late 70's) called his cigars "segos" in cowboy slang. His name was Virgil Fletcher - what a great cowboy name huh? I still blame him for my addiction to tobacco. One morning I was complaining about a headache as we were riding out to move the herd and he tossed his can of Skoal to me saying that it "would cure anything that ails ya". I'm sure he was hoping that I'd get sick so he and the other hands could make fun of me for the rest of the day. Bad thing is - I didn't get sick and it did get rid of the headache. He acted miffed the rest of the day especially when I'd ask him for another dip. :p;)
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__________________

Best regards and God Bless,
Wayne

Full Time Maker
Member of the Professional Knifemakers Association
www.jarrettknives.com
Are you a Dawg yet?


Be sure to check out the new Jarrett Knives Forum
Stop by my table at
The A.G. Russell Knife Event
 
That is one of my favorites and I'm also a big fan of Baxter Black,he will make you laugh till you cry.
Stan
 
His name was Virgil Fletcher - what a great cowboy name huh?

I thought that Wayne Jarrett was a pretty good cowboy name.
 
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