Ridin' Down the Canyon

My Dad sang in a barbershop quartet when I was a little girl. This was probably before the birth of my sister Cathy in 1952. He sang with his brother Maurice and two other fellows. I cannot remember who those men were. I was under 6 years old at the time. Dad would sing this song to us and after the phrase "a picture that no artist e'er could paint" he would sing "Bom". If he had been singing with the other guys they would have harmonized this and gone on with the rest of the song. When he sang it alone his eyes would get big and he would sing "Bom" and make us laugh. Then he would finish the rest of the song. The words and music to this song were written by Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette. This particular version was arranged by Ozzie Westley in the Barber Shop quartet book that my Dad had. It is so old that it has fallen all apart but I have a photocopy of the old fragile page to refer to.

Ridin' down the Canyon to watch the sun go down,
A picture that no artist e'er could paint - Hmmm (Dad sang "Bom")
Whitefaced cattle lowin' on the mountain side
I hear a coyote whinin' for its mate
Cactus plants are bloomin'
Sagebrush everywhere
Granite spires are standin' all around
I tell you folks it's heaven
To be ridin' down the trail
When the desert sun goes down. When the desert sun goes down.
Click here for my vocal