Little Joe the Wrangler, he'll never more His days the remuda, they're all done It was about last April, he rode into our camp Just a little Texas and all alone
It was late in the evening when he rode into our camp On a old brown pony he called Shaw In his shoes and coveralls a harder lookin' kid You never in life have seen before
His saddle was a kack built many years ago An OK on one foot idly hung With his bed roll in a cotton sack, was loosely tied And a canteen from the horn he'd slung
Said he had to leave his home his pa had married twice His new ma him every day or two So he saddled up old Shaw one night and lit a shuck way Thought he'd try and paddle now his own
Said he'd try to do the best he could if we'd give him work Though he didn't straight up about a cow So the boss he cut him out a mount and put him on And we he liked our little stray somehow
Well, he him how to herd the horses, learned to know 'em all And to get 'em in by if he could And to follow the chuck wagon and to hitch the team And to the carsonaro rustle wood
We had driven to red river and the weather it was We camped down on the south side in a bend When a norther started blowin', we the extra guard it took all hands to hold the cattle in
Now Little Joe the Wrangler was out with all the rest And barely had the kid got to the When the cattle they like a hailstorm, on they flew With all of us a for the lead
Between the streaks of lightnin' we could see a horse It was Little Joe the Wrangler in the He was riding old Blue Rocket with a slicker his head He was trying to check the in their speed
We got 'em millin' and they sort of quieted down The guard back to the camp did go All but one of was missing and we all knew at a glance T'was our little stray boy Wrangler Joe
We found him there at sun up where old Blue fell In a washout some twenty feet Beneath his horse smashed to a pulp, his had rung the knell For our Texas stray boy Wrangler Joe
Now Little Joe the Wrangler, he'll wrangle never His days with the remuda, all done It was long about last April he rode our camp Just a little Texas stray and all