Talk:Streets of Laredo (song)

What's a dradonotuse-house?
On the IMDb Brokeback Mountain discussion thread, we've been discussing a version that goes:


 * As I walked out in the Streets of Laredo
 * As I walked out in Laredo one day,
 * I spied a young cowboy, all wrapped in white linen
 * wrapped up in white linen and cold as the clay.


 * I see by your outfit, that you are a cowboy,
 * These words he did say as I slowly walked by.
 * Come sit down beside me and hear my sad story,
 * For I'm shot in the breast, and I'm dying today.


 * Twas once in the saddle I used to go dashing,
 * Twas once in the saddle I used to go gay.
 * First to the dradonotuse-house, and then to the card-house,
 * Got shot in the breast, and I'm dying today.


 * Oh, beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly,
 * And play the dead march as you carry me along;
 * Take me to the green valley, there lay the sod oer me,
 * For I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong.


 * Get six jolly cowboys to carry my coffin,
 * Get six pretty maidens to bear up my pall.
 * Put bunches of roses all over my coffin,
 * Roses to deaden the sods as they fall.


 * Then swing your rope slowly and rattle your spurs lowly,
 * And give a wild whoop as you carry me along;
 * And in the grave throw me and roll the sod o'er me.
 * For I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong.


 * Go bring me a cup, a cup of cold water.
 * To cool my parched lips, the cowboy then said.
 * Before I returned, his soul had departed,
 * And gone to the round up - the cowboy was dead.


 * We beat the drum slowly and played the fife lowly,
 * And bitterly wept as we bore him along.
 * For we all loved our comrade, so brave, young and handsome,
 * We all loved our comrade, although he'd done wrong.

In v3, what is a dradonotuse-house? From the context it might be a bordello. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Hugh7 (talk • contribs) 00:34, 28 January 2006  (UTC)

Looks like the site bowdlerised the relevant lyric. Can you link to the particular discussion on the boards - there are too many to trawl through. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by VinceBowdren (talk • contribs) 14:02, 2 February 2006  (UTC)

I have seen this listed as dram-house, also spelled draugham house, a place where you can buy "shots" of whiskey. I have seem this rendered as "first to the dram house and then to the whorehouse". Theis is the same dram as in "Darling Corey", with a dram glass in her hand. Try looking up fluid dram.Pustelnik 22:02, 1 December 2007 (UTC) See Dram (unit) (also spelled drachm) or Dram Shop. Pustelnik 22:11, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

If you Google dradonotuse, only one thing shows up: Streets of Laredo. It makes me wonder if the particular lyric is corrupted on this one page that everybody is linking to. I remember when I was writing for a small newspaper, and a woman's house burned down, and one reporter spelled her last name "Lollins" when it was really Collins, and all the other newspapers used Lollins in stead of Collins. Something like that. giggle (talk) 19:45, 6 June 2017 (UTC)

"Other version"
Why do we have a discussion of "other versions" here, complete with nearly full lyrics, without presenting the lyrics of the original song anywhere? john k (talk) 20:38, 13 January 2008 (UTC)


 * I was thinking the same exact thing. I added the lyrics to (one version of) the original song.  As this is a "traditional", I don't believe that there are any issues of copyright.  Thanks.   (Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 15:44, 11 October 2008 (UTC))

The Bard of Armagh
This Irish song, whose roots go back to the late 18th century, is likelier the immediate ancestor of "Laredo" as its tune in notes and cadence is nearly identical, it pre-dates "Laredo" by at least fifty years and likely much longer," and "Laredo" appears as an identifiable song only after massive waves of Irish immigration brought "Bard" and thousands of other tunes to America in the 1840s and 50s. And as soon as i can find a reputable and dependable source to say so, I'll add it to the article. A simple reference to the fact that Vince Gill notes a similarity is not enough.Sensei48 (talk) 15:16, 12 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I think there may be some confusion here between tune and lyrics. The tune is same as that used for the song about the bard, the words are unconnected. Kate Mash 01:16, 20 December 2023 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kate Mash (talk • contribs)

I am sorry that this note has not been followed up. I well remember a BBC radio programme, probably in the 60s, on old Irish music. This explored the history of one particular, rather jogging tune, and then remarked that a good tune, when slowed down, remains a good tune, and that this particular tune had been exported to America and come out as the Streets of Laredo. --Martin Wyatt (talk) 19:17, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

Origin of Humorous Version
The humorous version attributed to the Smothers Brothers was recorded earlier, I think, by the Kingston Trio (see College Concert for example), which doesn't mean they originated it. I remember it well because it was one of the few records in our house when I was a kid. I remember the lyrics as slightly different, for example, "If you buy an outfit," instead of "If you get an outfit." Anyhow, I don't have proper sources at hand to edit the article, so I've just added this note and a citation needed tag. I hope someone with better information will appear and fix things. Eleuther (talk) 21:25, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

Article inconsistency
In the lead, this article refers to "Streets of Laredo" being derived from "The Unfortunate Lad" and in the beginning of the first section it says the song was from "The Unfortunate Rake" -- I realize these are probably the same song (more or less), but I think this should be cleared up/addressed in some manner.

Variations in lyrics
There can be many versions of the lyrics of any song, especially of old/classic/folk songs. This is due to varying interpretations by historians, arrangers, and artists. Also, very often verses are left out because of the limitations of recording length, etc. The bottom line is that there are usually no "standard" lyrics.

It would be good if somebody found a reliable source that covers these points. Then we could reference it here and on other song pages that feature non-uniform lyrics. Lou Sander (talk) 18:11, 21 September 2014 (UTC)