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Bury Me Not - Cowboy's Lament

by Joe Kady

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about

This may be the oldest known American cowboy song. Sung at many funerals and has had dozens of new verses written over the years. Only a few favorite verses are included.

lyrics

THE DYIN’ COWBOY, BURY ME NOT, COWBOY'S LAMENT traditional 1880

O bury me not on the lone prairie
These words came low and mournfully
From the pallid lips of the youth who lay
On his dyin’ bed at the close of day

He had wailed in pain till o’er his brow
Death’s shadows fast were gathering now
He thought of his home and his loved ones nigh
As the cowboys gathered to see him die

(chorus)
Oh bury me not on the lone prairie
Where the wild coyote howls over me
In a shallow grave just 6 by 3
Oh bury me not on the lone prairie

"It matters not, i've oft been told
Where the body lies when the heart goes cold
But grant oh grant one wish to me
And bury me not on the lone prairie"

I've always wished to be laid when I die
In the little churchyard on the green hillside
By my father’s grave there let mine be
But bury me not on the lone prairie

CHORUS
O bury me not.... but his voice failed there
And we gave no heed to his dyin’ prayer
and in a shallow grave just 6x3
We buried him there on the lone prairie

And the cowboys now as they roam the plain
For they marked the spot where his bones were lain
Fling a handfull of roses over his grave
With a prayer to him his soul to save

credits

released December 30, 2012

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Joe Kady Hayward, California

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