The Cattle Call - Eddie Arnold Cover

Howdy Folks

This week I have been plaing around with alot of old songs and my guitar tuned down to a D standard tuning.

I have found this tuning works especially well for old County and Western songs.

The inspiration for trying this cover comes from my favorite movie of all time "My Own Private Idaho".
In the opening scene of this movie River Pheonixs character Mike is standing on a road out in the American countryside.

Mike suffers from narcolepsy which is a condition that causes a person fall asleep without warning.In Mikes case this happens when is is stressed whih is normally brought on by memories of his mother who abandoned him as a child.

As the movie opens and Mike is suffering from a bout of narcolepsy this song plays which I think makes for a wonderful moment in cinema history.

The song its self was written by a musician called Tex Owens in 1934 but is most famously performed by a musican called Ediie Arnold who recorded it in 1944 .It is Eddies version that is in the movie and the one I have drawn inspiration from for my version.

This song was ranked as one of the greatest Western songs of all time by The Western Writers of America.

"The Cattle Call"
Eddy Arnold

The cattle are prowlin' the coyotes are howlin'
Way out where the doggies bawl
Where spurs are jinglin' a cowpoke is singin'
This lonesome cattle call

Ooo ooo ooo hoo
Ooo hoo ooo
Ooo ooo ooo
Yodle e hodle ay eh

He rides in the sun till his day's work is done
And he rounds up the cattle each fall
Singin' this cattle call

Ooo ooo hoo ooo
His lonesome cattle call

For hours he will ride on the range far and wide
When the night wind blows up a squall
His heart is a feather in all kinds of weather
He sings his cattle call

Ooo ooo ooo hoo
Ooo hoo ooo
Ooo ooo ooo
Yodle e hodle ay eh

He's brown as a berry from ridin' the prairie
And he sings with an old western drawl
Singin' this cattle call

Ooo ooo ooo hoo
Ooo hoo ooo
Ooo ooo ooo
His lonesome cattle call.

Here is the opening scene from "My Own Private Idaho" from 1991 which inspired me to learn this song.