“Scroll down to the end of the article to listen to music.”
Introduction
In this post, we dive into “The Strawberry Roan,” a storied cowboy ballad first penned by Curley Fletcher in 1915 as a poem titled “The Outlaw Broncho”. Two decades later, the song found new life in the voice of Canadian yodeling cowboy Wilf Carter, who recorded his signature version on March 20, 1935. Since then, this rollicking tune has become a staple of Western music anthologies and a showcase for vintage yodeling flair.
Curley Fletcher was already carving out a reputation as a poet and rodeo rider when he published “The Outlaw Broncho” in the Arizona Record in December 1915. Two years later he retitled the piece “Strawberry Roan” in his collection Rhymes of the Roundup, solidifying its place in cowboy culture. By the early 1930s, the catchy melody and vivid storytelling had turned the poem into one of the best‑known cowboy songs in America; it even appeared in the 1931 Broadway play Green Grow the Lilacs.
Wilf Carter—also known as “Montana Slim”—was already a rising star in Canadian country music when he brought “The Strawberry Roan” to life with his echo‑yodel style. Recorded in New York under the Decca label, Carter’s March 1935 session paired his clear tenor and guitar with those trademark yodel breaks that earned him the title “father of Canadian country music”. His version, sometimes titled “He Rode the Strawberry Roan,” showcased not just the story but his own melodic embellishments that turned heads on both sides of the border.
At its heart, the song tells of a brash horse‑breaker who boasts he can tame any beast—until he meets the formidable strawberry roan, a bucking horse with a fiery coat and spirit. Fletcher’s lyrics paint a vivid scene: the horse’s “mane like a fountain of fire” and its stubborn refusal to be ridden. That clash of wills—man’s hubris versus untamed nature—resonates whether you’re hearing it around a campfire or through Carter’s radio broadcasts in the 1930s.
More than a novelty, “The Strawberry Roan” endures because it captures universal themes: pride, challenge, and respect for the wild. Carter’s rendition adds an emotional layer: his yodeling echoes the rider’s awe and frustration, making us feel every twist of the horse’s leap and the rider’s gamble. It’s a reminder that some stories—like some horses—simply can’t be tamed.