Goodbye, Old Paint

Imagine being a cattle rancher in the 1800s. After a long, long day on your horse you settle down by the campfire with your fellow cowgirls and cowboys and pull out your ukulele for an evening of singing and then strumming. Okay, well, maybe that never happened back then, but it can happen now!

"Goodbye, Old Paint" dates back to somewhere in the 1870s and is believed to have been written by an African American cowboy named Charley Willis. After the Civil War, Willis gained his freedom and moved to West Texas and became a cattle rancher. In 1871, he rode the Chisholm Trail 1,000 miles north into the Wyoming Territory. Charley was musically knowledgeable and talented. He became known for the songs he brought back from the trail. It was said that his soothing voice had a calming effect on the herds.

Your singers and players will have a great time playing this gentle, easygoing song. If singing isn't possible right now in your school, have your students play their ukuleles along with the full performance track. That way they'll get to hear the singing as they strum their ukes. And be sure to throw in a few cowboy hats, bandanas, and western shirts just for fun.

It only takes two simple chords to play this tune – F and C7. As usual, we have provided a written ukulele part in the score, but we also encourage your players to freely strum along. A PDF of the extracted ukulele part is available on page 49 of this issue.

(FYI: A paint horse likely refers to the American Paint Horse, which is a particular breed of horse. It is most commonly recognized by broad spotted patches of white and dark colors on its coat.)