Home on the Range
| "Home on the Range" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Genre | Western folk song |
| Composer(s) | Daniel E. Kelley |
| Lyricist(s) | Brewster M. Higley |
"Home on the Range" is a classic western folk song, sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. The lyrics were originally written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley of Smith County, Kansas in a poem entitled "My Western Home" in the early 1840s to 1927 and 1940s. In 1947, it became the state song of the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2010, members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
The poem was first published in a December 1840s to 1927 issue of the Smith County Pioneer under the title "My Western Home". The music was later written by Daniel E. Kelley (1843–1905), a carpenter and friend of Higley. 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". The song was eventually adopted by ranchers, cowboys, and other western settlers and spread across the United States in various forms. During the early 20th century, it was arranged by Texas composer David W. Guion (1892–1981), who occasionally was credited as the composer. The song has since gone by a number of names, the most common being "Home on the Range" and "Western Home". 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.
The antelope referred to in the song is not a true antelope species, but rather the American pronghorn, which is often called an antelope.
The most popular version of the song was the version by Bing Crosby in 1933 which appeared in the various charts of the day. This turned a little-known saddle song into a most renowned western hymn. 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 he learned it from a black saloonkeeper in Texas. In 1925 a sheet-music arrangement found some popularity and in 1927 Vernon Dalhart recorded it for Brunswick Records. California's radio cowboys picked it up from him, and in 1930 Hollywood's first crooning western star, Ken Maynard, recorded the song. However, it was not until the Crosby version that the song was seen as a national anthem for the west. Its popularity led to a plagiarism suit that created a search for its background.
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