Pecos Bill

A legendary cowboy culture hero of the American West, and the Argentine. Pecos Bill taught the cowboys everything they know, including their songs and their oaths. He even taught the broncos how to buck. Other feats are also attributed to him, such as the invention of the six shooter and the Western movies. He is even said to have dug the Rio Grande. Legend has it that he was weaned on moonshine liquor and that he died from drinking nitroglycerine.

Pecos Bill was a legendary figure of the North American old west. He was supposedly born around 1830, and there are many tall tales about him, his horse Widowmaker, and his wife, Slewfoot Sue.

The story of Pecos Bill was first published by Edward O'Reilly in the Century Magazine, in 1923. O'Reilly claimed that he heard the tall tales from cowboys, but no folklorists have been able to substantiate this.

In 1948, Disney made a series of animated short movies called Melody Time. Pecos Bill was included, narrated by Roy Rogers and sung by Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers.

Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas
And a western superman to say the least
He was the roughest, toughest critter
Never known to be a quitter
Cause he never had no fear of man or beast.
Yippee-ai-ay
Yippee-ai-oh
For the toughest critter west of the Alamo.

Once he roped a raging cyclone out of nowhere
Then he straddled it and settled down with ease
And while that cyclone bucked and flitted
Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it
And he tamed that ornery wind down to a breeze.

Once there was a drought that spread all over Texas
So to sunny Californy he did go
And though the gag is kinda corny
He brought rain from Californy
And that's how we got the Gulf of Mexico
Yippee-ai-ay
Yippee-ai-oh
For the toughest critter west of the Alamo.

Once a band of rustlers stole a herd of cattle
But they didn't know the herd they stole was Bill's
And when he caught them crooked villains
Pecos knocked out all their fillins
And that's the reason why there's gold in them there hills.
Yippee-ai-ay
Yippee-ai-oh

Pecos lost his way while travelin' through the desert
It was ninety miles 'cross the burnin' sand
He knew he'd never reach the border
If he didn't get some water
So he got a stick and dug the Rio Grande

While a tribe of painted indians did a war dance
Pecos started shooting up their little game
He gave those redskins such a shake up
That they jumped out of their makeup
That's how the Painted Desert got it's name.
Yippee-ai-ay
Yippee-ai-oh
For the toughest critter west of the Alamo.

While reclining on a cloud high over Texas
With his gun he made the stars evaporate
Then Pecos saw the stars declinin'
So he left one brightly shinin'
As the emblem of the Lone Star texas state.