I’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly jimsonweed
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin’ to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle again
The Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry, first released that tune in 1939. It became his signature song. Gene went on to become one of the most beloved and influential stars in the history of film, television, music, radio and live performance. He was a good guy with a great voice, and he is well remembered.
Remember back in 1993 when Tom Hanks in “Sleepless in Seattle” was getting up the courage to call for a first date while Gene in the background sang “Back in the Saddle Again” to encourage the young and widowed architect, Sam Baldwin, to go on there and just make that call.
Gene was always an encourager.
Gene Autry was born a Texan — on September 29, 1907 — in Tioga, Texas. If you take the Dallas North Tollway from where I sit today typing on this computer, the small town of Tioga is just 47.1 miles up that away. Not that far. Tioga is probably not that small anymore, part of the growing north suburbia of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. That’s where Gene was born in 1907. He died 91 years later on October 2, 1998 in Studio City, California after appearing in 93 movies, starring in 91 episodes of the “Gene Autry Show” and crooning a parcel of country music songs to a waiting and eager audience.
Gene Autry was a hero. One writer refers to the Singing Cowboy as “honest, brave and true.” I believe that. I never met Gene, but I watched him on TV and I listened to his songs. He was a friend and an encourager when I, like Sam Baldwin, needed someone with a happy twang to encourage me on my way.
I’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly jimsonweed
Back in the saddle again
Been about a month since we last talked. Everything is fine. Thanks for thinking.
A lot has moved from the old place to our new house – just down the road from Tioga. A lot is still in process. My computer died the morning of the closing on the old house. Slowed me down a bit. Then I remembered Dad singing “Back in the Saddle Again” when I was a kid. Dad wasn’t a cowboy, but he had a beautiful Irish tenor. Like Gene, Dad was an encourager. I like to think they both found their new home humming a happy tune with a smile on their faces.
“Ragtime Cowboy Joe” and “Back in the Saddle Again.”
Good company, good memories and good friends.
Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin’ to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle again
It is good to be back . . . again.
Give a listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6dx8AfTmQk&list=RDBZqRL7nJB48&index=0
Grandpa Jim