Cowboys in Blue

Here in southern Arizona, we decided to check out the 19^th Annual Cochise Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering in Sierra Vista. We’ve all heard Home on the Range since childhood, but poet cowboys? It was an hour away, too far for the evening performances, so we went to the FREE daylong event, with 56 hour-long multi-artist performances on 8 stages!
We could only guess which to attend. But now I don’t think you could make a mistake! Our eyes were opened! No Home on the Range here, but original songs and poetry that touched your heart or made you laugh! Best is, most of the performers are real cowfolk who work their own ranches or do range work. They’re commonly brought up to it, some for generations. They know long winters. Days spent alone with cattle or sheep. They watch the clouds for rain that doesn’t fall, witness new life, and live with risk and death. No neighbors in sight. Unpredictable weather. And big families! Their poetry and the lyrics let us share moments of a legendary American experience! (This Gathering is held in a Southern AZ military base town, and what do you think was the typical age of the audience? They were all like us and older!! Will this wonderful genre survive?)
The performers were of two sorts – those who live the life of the cowboy family, and a smaller number who are professional folksingers with a wider repertoire and love of the land. All were terrific.
The poems tell of life on the range and homestead, often offering life lessons embodied in a dog that teaches an orphan pup how to keep the fences clear of intruders, or a horse that gives his life for his owner and lives on in his memory. They’ll keep you laughing, too, like when a guy brings home cats to keep the mice from his cabin, yet one after another the coyote gets’em…until he adopts such an ugly cat that the coyote spits him out!

The event title refers to soldiers who saw service in the early west, then turned cowpunchers when their enlistment was up. Some probably became poets – we learned that it’s a long tradition. Yvonne Hollenbeck’s great-grandparents began the family ranching, and poetry, too. She continues the tradition. Read her poems and one by her grandmother, Saga of the Dust, at this site: http://www.cowboypoetry.com/yh2.htm#Blanche. (I can’t reprint the poems here without permission!)
Bud Strom, orphaned at the age of 15, attended a military academy in Minnesota and worked as a ranch hand summers in Montana. After obtaining a masters degree from Boston University he chose an Army career, retiring as Brigadier General. He now dedicates himself to care of land and animals on his Single Star Ranch in Southeast Arizona, along the Mexican Border. What a smile! What poise! What beautiful delivery of his poem, “Montana Angels,” about a couple lost in a snowstorm, based upon a real event: http://www.cowboypoetry.com/budstrom.htm.
We were familiar with one participant, Hank Cramer, a folksinger with an amazing voice who tells stories of cowboys, sailors, soldiers, miners, adventurers, and drifters. He’s had all these experiences himself, too! Well, I don’t know about the drifter, but am sure he’s known some. His site: http://www.hankcramer.com/index.html Here are some songs from his wide repertoire: http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?epk_id=112116&poll_id=&name=calendar&skin_id=5
We also knew of Kerry Grombacher (http://www.kgrombacher.com/ ) who is often in Louisiana. Here’s a Cajun Cowboy tune: http://ilike.myspacecdn.com/play#Kerry+Grombacher:Cajun+Cowboy:152387208:s71966066.16328047.44595244.0.2.99%2Cstd_acbf6534039c4ecb92e24d919d4c5764
Eli Barsi is a Canadian singer with many awards who was born on a Saskatchewan farm, but evolved into a professional singer who keeps busy traveling. Check out  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycM7suup4Ws and http://www.elibarsi.com/. And can Eli yodel!

The camaraderie among the musicians was unmatched. The performers’ connection to the subject matter was personal, and it was original work. The poetry and music performances were clearly from the heart.
From now on, when we plan our trips I will research not only old-time and Celtic music events, but cowboy poets, too.