Ballads of the American West // this girls heart

Somewhere my love lay sleeping

Behind the lights of a far off town;

So I gave my heart to a bend in the road

And off I went, a-yondering

- Louis L'Amour  

Lone and quiet they roamed the land, taking nothing. Leaving nothing, except, perhaps, a memory.

Tall in the saddle, with eyes that gave nothing away.

Wise.

Rugged from years of experience.

The men of yesterday.

The symbol of the American West.

The cowboy. The mountain man. The pioneer.

All had a part in settling that great untamed country. From the dust filled trails and noisy cattle drives, to the stillness of the snow capped mountain peeks.

I grew up in a home that loved the American West.

The pioneer days of Laura Ingalls. The mountain man days of Davy Crockett. The cowboys of Louis L'Amour.

If you had taken a look at our bookshelves, it would be hard to find anything other than something taking place in the days of past.

My family wore cowboy boots and cowboy hats. Plaid shirts and belt buckles. It just was how we were. I never thought perhaps we were different. Until I grew up and ventured out of my little world, I didn't know that not everyone had a love for country music and cowboy boots. That there were other books out there, taking place in this modern day and age.

Talk about shocking information.

"You don't know who Jim Bridger was? Kit Carson? The Sagers?"

No. They are not those fantasy people you see on TV. Created in the mind of a storywriter. They were real true Americans who lived. Breathed. And died.

I grew up on Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and John Wayne. Actors, but ones who portrayed the men of old.

I always will have a soft spot for the days of old. The legends who once roamed this land. One thing I love so much are the old songs about and from those days. I wanted to share some of those songs with you. Ones that leave me feeling all warm inside. That tickle my belly and send shivers up my spine. Songs that tell stories of how it was, once. So long ago.

Marty Robbins.

This guy is the ultimate when it comes to

cowboy songs.

I know there are a lot of songs on this list! I could continue on, but I won't.

I will always love the American West. Have a soft spot in my heart for those rugged days.

Respect those who came before us, to create the place I now call home.