"Home on the Range" is a classic westernfolk song sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. It is also the official anthem of the state of Kansas. Dr. Brewster M. Higley of Smith County, Kansas, wrote the lyrics in the poem "My Western Home" in 1872. In 1947, it became the Kansas state song. In 2010, members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 western songs of all time.
History
In 1871, Higley moved from Indiana to Smith County, Kansas, under the Homestead Act. He lived in a small cabin near West Beaver Creek. He was inspired by his surroundings and wrote "My Western Home", published in the Smith County Pioneer in 1872. That home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Home on the Range Cabin. Higley's friend Daniel E. Kelley wrote the melody on his guitar. 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 it spread throughout the United States in various forms. In 1925, Texas composer David W. Guion arranged it as sheet music published by G. Schirmer. 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. Bing Crosby recorded the song on September 27, 1933, with Lennie Hayton and his orchestra for Brunswick Records. 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 that he learned it from a black saloon-keeper in Texas. Its popularity led to a plagiarism suit that created a search for its background.
Modern usage
Bing Crosby recorded the song again in 1938 and 1939. Frank Sinatra also recorded the song on March 10, 1946; his version was released in Great Britain and was not available in the United States until 1993. Others who have recorded the song include John Charles Thomas, Connie Francis, Gene Autry, Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, Johnnie Ray, Slim Whitman, Steve Lawrence and Tori Amos. "Home on the Range" is often performed in programs and concerts of American patriotic music and is frequently used in plays and films. The song is also the theme opening music for the early Western Films starring Ray "Crash" Corrigan and his two co-stars under their movie roles as "The Three Mesqueteers". It is also featured in the 1937 screwball comedyThe Awful Truth, the 1948 filmMr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, the 1967 off-Broadway musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, the 1980 filmWhere the Buffalo Roam, the 2009 film The Messenger, and the 1946 western film Colorado Serenade. A parody version is sung by villain Percival McLeach in the 1990 animated filmThe Rescuers Down Under. The song has made its way into screen shorts for children and adults, as in the 1954 Looney Tunes cartoon Claws for Alarm, where it is sung by Porky Pig. Likewise, Bugs Bunny sings the song in both The Fair-Haired Hare and Oily Hare, the latter containing original lyrics specific to Texas oilmen. The song is used in The Simpsons episode "Lisa's Substitute" in which Lisa is inspired by a substitute teacher who dresses as a cowboy and sings the song with commentary. In the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, while playing online the player can unlock an instrumental version of the song which can be heard at the player's camp when the character Cripps plays it on his harmonica.
