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Tribute to Gene Autry

by Stan Paregien

Copyright 1998

(Chorus)
Whoo-pi ti yi yo, rockin' to and fro
I wish Gene Autry was back in the saddle again.
I never got to meet this cowboy here below,
But I feel like I've lost a life-long friend.
Whoo-pi ti yi yo, rockin' to and fro
I wish Gene Autry was back in the saddle again.

Memories of bygone days come flooding my mind today,
Saddened by the knowledge of what time has taken away.
Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, rides the earth no more.
He's taken his guitar to perform behind Heaven's door.

Gene rode from Ravia, Okla., all the way to Hollywood
And probably wouldn't change much, even if he could.
He had his share of problems, as all of us mortals do,
But he stayed in his saddle and rode on through.

He was working for the railroad in Chelsea, Okla., one night
When a fellah walked up behind him and gave him a fright.
You see, Gene was singing and strumming on company time
But this world-renown man liked Gene's rhythm and rhyme.

The man was Will Rogers and he gave Gene quite a talk.
He told him to go East and sing, even if he had to walk.
Three weeks later, Gene arrived in New York traveling solo.
But he soon returned to Tulsa and got on Radio KVOO.

Gene recorded his first hit song way back in 1929,
And it was "That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine".
Then came a spot on National Barn Dance in Chicago,
Followed in 1934 by cowboy movies, as we all know.

Those old "B" Westerns could make you laugh or cry
And the beautiful leading ladies made the men sigh.
When we were kids, playin' cowboys couldn't be beat.
And to get to play Gene Autry was a special treat.

Gene shot many bad men, but there was no blood or gore,
And he could shoot ten times before reloading that old .44.
As Gene roped and tied all the outlaws in the Western land,
The audiences shouted and whistled and gave him a hand.

Gene rode Champion to the rescue on the big silver screen,
And he always won the hand of the charming movie queen.
But he never kissed the ladies---you can believe that, boss.
The only kiss Gene ever gave on screen was to his hoss.

Now I see Gene ridin' Champion across the blue Western sky,
And there's ol' Smiley Burnett ridin' his horse close by.
That was sort of a strange combination, a Prince and a Clown.
But they wrote "Ridin' down the canyon to see the sun go down."

And oh how Smiley could change his voice from high to bass,
That's why they called him "Frog" and why we remember his face.
He's still riding that white horse with the black circle 'round his eye,
As he and his saddle pard, Gene, ride across the star-filled sky.

I remember Gene when Christmas time comes around,
For I love to hear him sing, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."
And each new generation gets a fresh rainbow of cheer
When the radio plays, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."

When Gene sang "My Adobe Hacienda" it became so real,
Why the rough adobe walls we could reach out and feel.
Maybe we'll meet ol' Gene at the big Roundup some day,
Though not "South of the Border", down Mexico way.

Gene, you'll always have a special place in my old heart.
But just thinking 'bout your memory makes teardrops start.
Oh, I know that in your movies cowboys never did cry,
But this is real life and, besides, my teardrops will dry.

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