Cowboy Proverbs/Sayings

Tue Mar 13 14:46:21 UTC 2007

I know it as "There ain't no horse that can't be rode, / There ain't no man that can't be throwed."

  Am pretty sure it's in Ramon Adams's _Western Words_ (1944), if not in his earlier _Cowboy Lingo_ (1936).

  JL

Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: Re: Cowboy Proverbs/Sayings
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East Texas being cotton, sugar cane, lumber, and oil country, the only
(supposed) cowboy sayiing that I know is:

There never was a horse that coudn't be rode.
There never was a man that couldn't be throwed.

I read it in some book of cowboy stories, back in the 'Forties.

-Wilson

On 3/13/07, Bapopik at aol.com wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Bapopik at AOL.COM
> Subject: Cowboy Proverbs/Sayings
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm having trouble finding historical citations for a lot of these alleged=20
> cowboy proverbs/sayings.
> ...
> ...
> ...
> Horse Quotes, Hors=
> e=20
> Sayings, Horse Proverbs
> Never approach a bull from the front a horse from the rear and a fool from=20
> any direction. Old cowboy saying, wise, simple and true.
> ...
> ...
> Anne Johnson
> There's an old cowboy saying that in his lifetime, a cowboy should have one=
> =20
> good horse, one good dog, and one good woman. A judge friend of mine added=20=
> to=20
> that one time saying all a woman needs is a good horse and a good dog! Well=
> ,=20
> if that's true, I have succeeded.
> ...
> ... =20
> Stay in the Saddle=
>
> 12/20/2006
> (...)
> There=E2=80=99s an old cowboy saying that says, =E2=80=9CIn a lifetime, you=
> =E2=80=99ll have one=20
> good mate, one good dog, and one good horse=E2=80=9D
> ...
> ...
> Skip on Hippie Fashions<=
> /a>
> This is a story published in the New York Sun, on July 25, 2002. I was=20
> interviewed by email and was featured in this fashion piece.=20
> (...)
> So what does Ms. Raine think of high-falootin=E2=80=99 designers like Ralph=
> Lauren=20
> and Hogan =E2=80=94 not to mention celebrities such as Madonna =E2=80=94 co=
> pping her style?=20
> After all, there=E2=80=99s an old cowboy saying: =E2=80=9CIf you climb in t=
> he saddle, you=20
> better be ready for the ride.=E2=80=9D
> ...
> ...
> > href=3D"http://www.filmvault.com/filmvault/austin/d/dillscallion2.html">Aust=
> in Chronicle (10-11-99)
> There's an old cowboy saying: "Any cowboy can carry a tune. The trouble=20
> comes when he tries to unload it."
> ...
> ...
> Retracing the=20
> Spanish Trail
> There=E2=80=99s an old cowboy saying that =E2=80=9Conly cattle know why the=
> y stampede and=20
> they ain=E2=80=99t talking=E2=80=9D.=20
> ...
> ...
> Gregory R. Ford & Associates,=20=
> =20
> Inc.
> _"Admire a big horse. Saddle a small one."_=20
> (ftp://grfordassociates:floyd@swiftsite.com/grfpartner.html)=20
> ...
> ...
> > href=3D"http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2000/July/Cattle_Today101.shtml">=
> Cattle Today (July 2000)
> There's a lot of truth in the old cowboy saying that the fastest way to mov=
> e=20
> cows is slowly.
> --Old Cowboy Saying=20
> ...
> ...
> ...
> _http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/its_the_last_thing_you_take=
> _o
> ff_and_the_first_thing_that_is_noticed_cowboy_/_=20
> (http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/its_the_last_thing_you_take=
> _off_and_the_first_thing_that_i
> s_noticed_cowboy_/)=20
> ...
> =20
> =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s the last thing you take off and the first thing that i=
> s noticed=E2=80=9D=20
> (cowboy hat)
> =20
> "It=E2=80=99s the last thing you take off and the first thing that is notice=
> d=E2=80=9D is =20
> supposed to be an old cowboy proverb about the cowboy hat, but only recent =20
> citations seem to exist.=20
>
>
> _Google Books_=20
> (http://books.google.com/books?vid=3DISBN1586852582&id=3D9Fmyk73jqYgC&pg=3DP=
> A8&lpg=3DPA8&ots=3D5Uxzp5NdwC&dq=3D"old+cowboy+saying"&ie=3DISO-8859-1&sig=
> =3DSHr
> V8659RmxUKaooeI9UKGFzPZo) =20
> The Cowboy Hat Book=20
> by William Reynolds and Ritch Rand =20
> Gibbs Smith=20
> 2003=20
> Pg. 8:=20
> As the old cowboy saying goes, It=E2=80=99s the last thing you take off and=
> the=20
> first thing that is noticed.=20
>
> _Cowboy Hats in History_ (http://www.cowboyhathistory.org/) =20
> Cowboy Hats in History=20
> There are few items in the history of American culture that carry the same=20
> iconic weight as the cowboy hat. It is the one item of apparel that can be=20
> worn in any corner of the world and receive immediate recognition. As the o=
> ld=20
> cowboy saying goes, =E2=80=98It=E2=80=99s the last thing you take off and t=
> he first thing that=20
> is noticed.=E2=80=99=20
>
> The history of the cowboy hat is not that old. Before the invention of the=20
> cowboy hat, which means before John B. Stetson came along, the cowpunchers=20=
> of=20
> the plains wore castoffs of previous lives and vocations. Everything from=20
> formal top hats and derbies to leftover remnants of the civil War headgear,=
> to=20
> tams and sailor hats, were worn by men moving westward.=20
>
> Today=E2=80=99s cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction=
> and=20
> design since the first one was created in 1865. As the story goes, John B.=20
> Stetson and some companions went west to seek the benefits of a drier clima=
> te.=20
> During a hunting trip, Stetson amused his friends by showing them how he co=
> uld=20
> make cloth out of fur without weaving.=20
>
> After creating his =E2=80=98fur blanket,=E2=80=99 Stetson fashioned an enor=
> mous hat with a=20
> huge brim as a joke, but the hat was noted to be big enough to protect a ma=
> n=20
> from sun, rain, and all the rigors the outdoors could throw at him. Stetson=
> =20
> decided to wear the hat on his hunting trip, and it worked so well that he=20
> continued wearing it on his travels throughout the West. In 1865, he began=20=
> to=20
> produce the first incarnation of his big hats in number, and before long,=20
> Stetson was considered the maker of this newfangled headwear, the cowboy ha=
> t. The=20
> original Stetson hat sold for five dollars.=20
>
> Shortly after the turn of the century, the cowboy hat, although still in it=
> s=20
> infancy, nevertheless infused its wearer with a singular link to the histor=
> y=20
> of the wild and woolly West. Even after the wild aspect of the West was=20
> somewhat tamed, the cowboy hat never really lost its ability to lend that =20
> reckless and rugged aura to its wearer.=20
>
> =20
>

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