# Randolph the Bow-Legged Cowboy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2002, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868 "2002-12-06T05:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868/1 "2002-12-06T05:11:02Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=148217](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=148217) That link should be a thread about twisted Christmas Carols. It jiggled my memory, and caused me to ask this question. **Fact** : In 1954, I was in 4th grade, at McKinley Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia. My best friend was Douglas Broiles. Dougie. I’m not sure of the spelling of his last name. Around Christmas time we wrote a parody of the then-popular tune “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry. I remember sitting in class trying out different lyrics. We “invented” Randolph the Bowlegged Cowboy." Or did we? We certainly came up with that phrase. But did it exist before we “invented” it? Did Dougie influence us, having heard it somewhere prior to this? Did I? Not that I am aware. Doug was only there that year. His parents were military and left. He must have had a connection to Ohio(where I now live) as he had a bag of “buceyes” which we threw around the neighborhood like so many marbles. That info has nothing to do with the story. So: did Doug and I invent the parody “Randolph the Bowlegged Cowboy?” Or did we just steal it? Yeah! Yeah! I know. I could Google around, and find some kind of prelim. answer, but then, what would **DDG** have to do tonight? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Church\_Key\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Church\_Key\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Church_Key_Kid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868/2 "2002-12-06T06:44:06Z")
How do the lyrics go? I remember a song called “Shotgun the Dusty Cowboy”, which went something like: Shotgun the Dusty Cowboy Had a very shiny gun and if you ever saw it you would turn around and run. … This one dusty Christmas Eve Santa came to say “Shotgun with your gun so bright Won’t you shoot my wife tonight?” … I’m obviously missing a few verses… ---
**Author:** ![RGillen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/848f3c/32.png) [@RGillen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RGillen)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868/3 "2002-12-06T14:08:11Z")
When I was a kid in Toledo, OH, we sang a song with the same lyrics as **fatdave** ’s song, but with the title “Randolph the Six-gun Shooter.” This was in the late 80s. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868/4 "2002-12-07T00:31:40Z")
My mother taught me “Randolph the Bow-Legged Cowboy” when I was a kid, and told me that she had learned it as a schoolgirl in Plant City, FL. She’s about five years younger than **samclem**. That’s the only source from which I’ve ever heard the song. Funny, I was singing that song to myself just last night. ---
**Author:** ![Beanle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f04885/32.png) [@Beanle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beanle)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868/5 "2022-12-24T04:56:20Z")
We sang this in school in late 70s, early 80s. Lyrics as follows (Sung to the tune of Rudolph) Randolph the bowlegged cowboy Had a very shiny gun And if you ever saw it You would drop your pants and run All of the other cowboys Used to laugh and call him names They never let poor Randolph Join in any poker games Then there came one Saturday night The sheriff came to say “Randolph, with your gun so bright Won’t you shoot my wife tonight?” Then all the cowboys loved him As they shouted out with glee “Randolph the bowlegged cowboy You’ll go down in history!” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868/6 "2022-12-25T18:37:01Z")
Chuck Berry’s “Run Run Rudolph” starts with the lines: _Out of all the reindeer You know you’re the mastermind Run run Rudolph, Randolph ain’t too far behind._ Would that be Randolph the Bow-Legged Cowboy? 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868/7 "2022-12-27T17:27:42Z")
> [@Church\_Key\_Kid](#): > > ow do the lyrics go? > > I remember a song called “Shotgun the Dusty Cowboy”, which went something like: > > Shotgun the Dusty Cowboy > Had a very shiny gun > and if you ever saw it > you would turn around and run. > > … > > This one dusty Christmas Eve > Santa came to say > “Shotgun with your gun so bright > Won’t you shoot my wife tonight?” > > … > > I’m obviously missing a few verses… Sang a similar song in grade school. ‘Rudy the Red Nosed Sheriff’ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868/8 "2022-12-28T00:45:24Z")
It would be interesting to do a geographical plot of the variations. Wi, 1970s. Variations from above: Randolph the six gun shooter … You would even turn and run… Join in any cowboy games (like strip poker!) ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randolph-the-bow-legged-cowboy/140868/9 "2022-12-28T01:17:12Z")
“You will go and hang, you’ll see!”