Lone Buckaroo
(Bob Nolan)
Every night the prairie moon rolls on,
There’s a lonely cowboy ridin’.
Seems I hear him sing a carefree song
But it’s only tears he’s hidin’.
Refrain:
When the light of the moon is revealin’
A prairie of silver and blue,
Then a longing for someone comes stealin’
In the heart of this lone buckaroo.
Far into the night I hear his song
Softly on the breezes fallin’.
Even as the night bird wings along,
Vainly to his mate he’s callin’.
"Lone Buckaroo" was written for the Columbia Pictures "The Colorado Trail" starring Charles Starrett and showcasing the Sons of the Pioneers. A year later it was published in "Bob Nolan’s Folio of Original Cowboy Classics No. 1", © 1939 by AMERICAN MUSIC, INC. In 1940 the Sons of the Pioneers recorded it for their Symphonies of the Sage (Orthacoustic radio transcriptions) but they never did record it commercially. In 1943, Roy Rogers sang the song with a few performance changes in the Republic picture "Idaho". (This is the recording you hear as you read this.)
Photocopies of the sheet music for this song are available from Calin Coburn, Bob Nolan's grandson. Email Calin for more details.
• "Colorado Trail" recording
• "Symphonies of the Sage" recording
• "Idaho" recording
