Where the Buffalo Roam

Judith, , ,

“Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam, and the deer and the antelope play. Where seldom is heard, a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day.”

I grew up hearing, singing, and playing this folk song, known as “Home on the Range”. It was just always part of what life was, meaning that I never questioned where it came from, who wrote it, or why. In fact, it was only this morning that browsed around a bit and learned that “Home on the Range” was written by Dr. Brewster M. Highley of Smith County, Kansas. For those who don’t know, I was born and raised in Missouri, close to the infamous Kansas-Missouri border, so this popular song was born right in my “neck of the woods”, to use a good bit of midwestern slang. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the song went on to become, in 2010, the Kansas state anthem.

Highley, by the way, wrote only the lyrics. The music was provided by Daniel E. Kelley. So, sit back now, close your eyes, and dream about a “Home on the Range”, sung here by Gene Autry. This is the recording I grew up with.


Now, you may wonder, how did I get off on this musical tangent? It began as I was researching Frederic Remington, perhaps the most popular “western” artist of all time. Again, I got a bit of surprise as I learned that Remington’s first art studio was actually in Kansas City, Missouri — again, very close to “my neck of the woods”.

Remington traveled often to the west, and through his drawings, paintings, and sculptures captured a way of life that was unfamiliar to many Americans. In 1907, Theodore Roosevelt — another outdoorsman and advocate for conservation — wrote of Remington:

“He is, of course, one of the most typical American artists we have ever had, and he has portrayed a most characteristic and yet vanishing type of American life. The soldier, the cowboy and rancher, the Indian, the horses and the cattle of the plains, will live in his pictures and bronzes, I verily believe, for all time.”

I’m sure we’re all familiar with Remington’s paintings. For me, these bring back memories of childhood games, the old television westerns my grandfather loved watching, and school lessons in American history.

I was always a lover of the old west, enjoyed horseback riding every opportunity I could get, and often wished I could have lived in those “old days” of “the wild, wild west”.

Perhaps my favorite Remington painting is “The Cowboy”.

.

His paintings are filled with energy and excitement, movement, color, and spirit. He painted cowboys at work and at play. He painted Native Americans and their way of life.

In addition to his art, Remington also shared his “wild west” experiences through writing. His book, Pony Tracks is available at Amazon in a Kindle edition, free of charge. If you like stories of life in the old west, please download this book and enjoy.

Other books about Frederic Remington include:

Frederic Remington – 173 Drawings and Illustrations

Frederic Remington – The Masterworks

The Western Art of Frederic Remington

Now, I’m going to sit back, close my eyes, listen to Gene Autry again, and imagine myself riding across the plains, feeling the wind on my face, and breathing in the fresh air of the open range.

I HOPE YOU’VE ENJOYED TODAY’S POST ABOUT A TRUE “AMERICAN” ARTIST

26 Comments

    1. I don’t know why your comments are still going to “spam” — and worse still, I don’t know how to fix it. With everything going on here, I hadn’t thought to check my spam folder, so I was distressed to find several comments from you — please, don’t think I’m ignoring you! Later I’ll take a look and see if there is any reason I can discern as to why your comments aren’t posting. And, please, keep visiting and keep posting! Your comments are much appreciated!!

      Like

      Reply

      1. No worries. A shame – I never even tried spam. Told it’s good fried. Don’t worry about it.

        Like

      2. Yes, my husband loves fried Spam. It comes in different flavors now, too, I believe. I’m more of a liverwurst or braunschweiger person myself. 🙂

        Like

      4. I’ve totally lost track of any conversational threads here LOL… so, I’ll just “ditto” your “ditto”, and we’ll move on to the next topic.

        Like

      6. One of my great regrets in life is that I never learned the art of fencing. I always wanted to. At my age, I think I’m a bit too old to be picking up an epee — or whatever the proper term is.

        Like

    2. For some reason Word Press is putting comments in the “spam” folder — and I don’t know why! So if you comment and I don’t quickly reply, it’s because you’re stuck in a Word Press “limbo land”! I don’t always think to check the spam folder 😦 I’ll be making that a habit now.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. I’ve had several messages end up in the spam filter, and I can’t see any reason why! Yes, maybe it’s something weird happening with WP.

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a reply to Pilgrim Cancel reply