Little Ol' Cowboy

Here's a useful little song - light, fun, easy to learn, catchy, unison, and singable. Plus it's got a Western theme. Doesn't get much better, especially if you're putting together a show that is just crying out for a Western song. It's not particularly "Old West," but it sure could be thought of in that manner. The real fun in using it would no doubt be the use of cowboy and cowgirl costumes. Add a "little ol' moon" as a setting and maybe a few costumed cattle, horses, even dogs. A covered wagon would be great, too.

This song is also simple enough that you might want to do it using live accompaniment. Several guitars would be lots of fun, and we did add the cue for the fiddles in case you want to add some of those. The ongoing rhythm is a body percussion groove that's so simple, you could even invite your audience to help out. It's even done sitting! All it does is alternate heel stomps with thigh slaps (patsches) throughout the song. We liked this effect so much, we left it on the accompaniment version as well. You could also add offbeat "horse hooves" by using small wooden sticks, temple blocks, or just letting some kids do "clicks" with their tongues. (Ask kids to imitate horse hooves with their mouths, and they'll know just what to do.)