N. Howard Thorp: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Nigger Lasses

N. Howard Thorp

“Nigger Lasses” as printed in Songs of the Cowboys (1921).

N. Howard Thorp: Collected Lyrics Text 12 1921 · historical text
Public domainCowboy songFolk
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from Songs of the Cowboys, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

He ca-su-ied wid me, most ruinous,

Till ma haid jest popped de ceilin’,

Ma stummick got tangled up wid my feet

Till it done lost all feelin’;

Ma old black nose commenced ter bleed,

Everything went round;

When I waked up in a hour er two,

I was spraddled on de ground!

Verse 2

En I was jest a-hummin’, —

Verse 3

Oh, dere ain’t no horse what can’t be rode,

Dat’s what de white folks say!

En dere ain’t a man what can’t be throwed,

OH, MAH! —

I finds it jest dat way!

Verse 4

Den dey cotched dat horse too quick to suit,

En brought him back ter me,

En I hobbled my stirrups en wrapped my rowels,

En I hollered, “Turn him free!”

Den he bent en he twisted, en he bowed en he moaned,

En done der grand grape-vine;

I waked up a-straddle of er cactus bush,

But dis song I had in mind, —

Verse 5

Oh, dere ain’t no horse what can’t be rode,

Dat’s what de white folks say!

En dere ain’t a man what can’t be throwed,

OH, MAH! —

I finds it jest dat way!

Verse 6

Den I grabs dat bronc en I piles aboard,

Says I, “Ole horse, good-bye!

I’se got yo’ number sure dis time,

I doan care what yer try!”

Bout den he gimme de ole sun-fish,

Rail-fence, en do-se-do;

En it broke my heart fer us ter part,

But I had ter let him go —

Verse 7

Oh, dere ain’t no horse what can’t be rode,

Dat’s what de white folks say!

En dere ain’t a man what can’t be throwed,

OH, MAH! —

I finds it jest dat way!

Credits

Written by N. Howard Thorp

Words by N. Howard Thorp. Historical text published in Songs of the Cowboys (1921); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

Songs of the Cowboys (1921), “Nigger Lasses”

The 1921 published edition (collected by N. Howard Thorp) is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Entries whose credited author died more than 70 years ago are also in the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions; traditional entries are public domain.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-26. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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