Navajo Rug is a song in Cowboyography, an album by Ian Tyson, first released in 1986. Additionally, Tyson co-wrote the song with Tom Russell, who released his version of it in 1989 with his band. Sources also say the recording date for Tyson’s version was in August 1986 in Sunday Sound Studios, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Cowboyography became one of Tyson’s best records, encompassing the country and folk genre and demonstrating contemporary folk and cowboy style of music. In fact, his skill for blending Western music, lyrical themes, and modern arrangements is evident in the production of this album. Hence, it’s no surprise why the public regarded this as his best solo album.
Moreover, Cowboyography holds two of Tyson’s songs, “Summer Wages” and “Navajo Rug,” which members of Western Writers of America included in the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
Table of Contents
Popular Recordings
The following artists covered/recorded their versions of the song:
- Ian Tyson
- Tom Russell Band
- Jerry Jeff Walker
- A Little Farther West
Cowboyography Tracklist
Here’s the complete tracklist of Ian Tyson’s 1986 album, Cowboyography:
- Springtime
- Navajo Rug
- Summer Wages
- Fifty Years Ago
- Rockies Turn Rose
- Claude Dallas
- Own Heart’s Delight
- The Gift
- Cowboy Pride
- Old Cheyenne
- The Coyote & The Cowboy
Listen (Ian Tyson Version)
Navajo Rug Lyrics
Well it's two eggs up on whiskey toast Home fries on the side Wash 'er down with the roadhouse coffee Burns up your inside It's just a Cañon, Colorado diner And a waitress I did love I sat in the back 'neath an old stuffed bear And a worn out Navajo rug Now old Jack the boss, he left at six And it's "Katie, bar the door." She'd pull down that Navajo rug And she spread it 'cross the floor Hey, I saw lightning cross the sacred mountains Saw them woven turtle doves When I was lyin' next to Katie On that old Navajo rug Aye, aye, aye, Katie Shades of red and blue Aye, aye, aye, Katie Whatever became of the Navajo rug and you? Katie, shades of red and blue Well, I saw old Jack about a year ago He said, "The place burned to the ground And all I saved was this old bear tooth And Katie she's left town." "Ah, but Katie, she got her souvenir too," Jack spat a tobacco plug "Well you should have seen her comin' through the smoke A-draggin' that Navajo rug." Aye, aye, aye, Katie Shades of red and blue Aye, aye, aye, Katie Whatever became of the Navajo rug and you? So every time I cross the sacred mountains And lightning breaks above It always takes me back in time To my long lost Katie love But everything keeps on a-movin' Everybody's on the go Hey you don't find things that last any more Like an ol' woven Navajo Aye, aye, aye, Katie Shades of red and blue Aye, aye, aye, Katie Whatever became of the Navajo rug and you Katie, shades of red and blue Aye, aye, aye, Katie Whatever became of the Navajo rug and you Katie, shades of red and blue...
