cool water
Western Music
The Lone Writer  

Western Song: Cool Water

Cool Water is a song that members of The Western Writers of America chose as No. 3 on the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

It was written in 1936 by Bob Nolan. He wrote it as a poem when he was a high school student in Tucson, Arizona. He later on added the music when he founded The Sons of the Pioneers and the song was through 1940 and 1941.

The song is about a cowboy’s lonely ride across the arid desert. The thirsty cowboy promptly asks his mule if he can see the big green tree where the water is running free but he realizes that it’s a mirage.

Popular Recordings

On March 27, 1941, The Sons of the Pioneers recorded the song first for Decca Records and it charted for a little while in 1941 with a peak position of No. 25. In 1948, Vaughn Monroe and The Son of the Pioneers did the best-selling recorded version that was released by RCA Victor. The song charted on Billboard for 13 weeks, peaking at No. 9. Popular versions of the song was recorded by:

  • The Sons of the Pioneers
  • Marty Robbins
  • Hank Williams
  • Frankie Laine
  • Tim Blake Nelson
  • Slim Whitman
  • Joni Mitchell

Cool Water Film Appearances

Cool Water has been featured in films such as:

  • Along the Navajo Trail – sung by Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers.
  • Saddle Serenade – performed by Jimmy Wakely and the Riders of the Purple Sage
  • Ding Dong Williams performed by Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers.
  • Rango – performed by Hank Williams.
  • Lost River – sung by Ben Mendelsohn with music by Johnny Jewel
  • The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – sung by Tim Blake Nelson

Listen (The Sons of the Pioneers Version)

Cool Water Lyrics

 All day I face the barren waste
 Without the taste of water, cool water
 Old Dan and I with throats burned dry
 And souls that cry for water, cool, clear, water.

 Keep a-movin' Dan don't ya listen to him Dan
 He's a devil of a man and he spreads the burning sand with water
 Dan can you see that big green tree
 Where the water's running free
 And it's waiting there for you and me?

 The nights are cool and I'm a fool
 Each star's a pool of water, cool water
 But with the dawn I'll wake and yawn
 And carry on to water, cool, clear, water

 Keep a-movin' Dan don't ya listen to him Dan
 He's a devil of a man and he spreads the burning sand with water
 Dan can you see that big green tree
 Where the water's running free
 And it's waiting there for you and me?

 The shadows sway and seem to say
 Tonight we pray for water, cool, water
 And way up there He'll hear our prayer
 And show us where there's water, cool, clear, water

 Keep a-movin' Dan don't ya listen to him Dan
 He's a devil of a man and he spreads the burning sand with water
 Dan can you see that big green tree
 Where the water's running free
 And it's waiting there for you and me?

 Dan's feet are sore he's yearning for
 Just one thing more than water, cool, water
 Like me I guess he'd like to rest
 Where there's no quest for water, cool, clear, water

 Keep a-movin' Dan don't ya listen to him Dan
 He's a devil of a man and he spreads the burning sand with water
 Dan can you see that big green tree
 Where the water's running free
 And it's waiting there for you and me?

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