"Castration of Strawberry Roan" by The Sons of the Pioneers

This the infamous 1943 recording of the "Castration of the Strawberry Roan" by the Sons of the Pioneers. This was recorded while the Sons of the Pioneers were doing their Dr. Pepper Radio stint. The lead voice is Dick Foran with backup from the Pioneers (the Dr. Pepper crew).

Text of the song below:

The Strawberry Roan

[Horse whinnies and then farts. Someone yells "Whoa!"]

I was hanging 'round town
In a house of ill fame
Laying up with a twister
Of hustling dame

When a hop-headed pimp
With his nose full of coke
Beat me out of the girl
And left me stone-broke

When a stranger walked in
Said he, "Say, my lad
Are you any good riding
Horses that's bad?"

Said I, "You damn right
That's one thing I can do
I'm a second rate pimp
But a good buckaroo.

"Bring on your bad horses
I never saw one
That could set to guessing
Or bother me none."

Said he, "Guess again
There's one horse that I own
You might have heard of him
The strawberry roan."

"Well I guess we've all heard
Of that of that ball bearing stud
He had the fessudie [?]
And glanders and crud.

"He's the worst fucking bronco
That has ever been foaled
He's never been road
And he's twenty years old."

O, that strawberry roan
How many colts has he thrown?
He's got gonorrhea and cankers and syph
He's strictured with clap
But his cock is still stiff
That renegade strawberry roan.

Well, the upshot of it was
That I found myself hired
To snap out some colts
That great stud had sired.

They were knot-head cayuse's
Just like their Dad
Most of them roans
But all of them bad.

With their feet in my pockets
Those bastards would fight
Till my ass drug my tracks out
Way before night

My balls in my boots
And my mouth full of dung
My ears were all scratch
Where I got my spurs hung

Then the boss came in
He said, that's enough
The strawberry roan's colts
Are too God damned tough

"I'm damn sick and tired
Of seeing you taking them falls
Rope that wind-milling stud
And we'll cut out his balls"

O, that strawberry roan
We went out to unbend his bone
We built a big loop
And went in the corral
We roped his front feet
He farted and fell
We flattened that strawberry roan

Well, the boss held his head
While I hog-tied his legs
I reached for my jack-knife
And went for his eggs

When I opened his bag
Why, he let out a moan
And he squealed like a pig
When I cut out that stone

But all I could locate
Was one of his nuts
The other was hidden
Some place in his guts

So I rolled up my sleeve
And swimming in blood
I felt for the seed
In the guts of that stud.

I thought that I found it
I felt something pass
But its only a turd
On the way to his ass

Just then I heard one of them
Blood curdling squalls
And I looked and the roan
Had the boss by the balls

Well, I stomped on his head
It was no use
He was just like a bulldog
He wouldn't let loose

So I untied his legs
And he got to his feet
But the boss's voice changed
And I knew he was beat.

O, that strawberry roan
We advise you to leave him alone
He's a knot-headed cayuse
With only one ball
But the boss is a eunuch
With no balls at all
Lay off of that strawberry roan.

[The sound of a fart. Someone yells "Whoa! You son of a bitch!" Horse makes "Awww" sound.]


Note the song (or tune) was not written by Glenn Ohrlin though he does know a version of the Castration of the Strawberry Roan. Glenn's version was recorded by Max Hunter in 1964 and again by Lou Curtis in about 1978. The Curtis recording is found on the LP Just Something My Uncle Told Me (1981). Baxter Black also knows a version of The Castration of the Strawberry Roan.

In 1943, while they were in New York, Dick Foran and the Pioneers (the Dr. Pepper crew) were asked to sing "The Strawberry Roan" for the Dr. Pepper annual stockholders and board of directors' meeting. Someone found the alternate words Curley had written, "Castration of the Strawberry Roan" and the guys recorded it privately as a joke. Dick Foran sings the solo with the Pioneers backup

For more information please read Guy Logsdon's cowboy songs book _The Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing_ page 86 and following.

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Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• 1942
• Sons
• of
• the
• Pioneers
• Castration
• Strawberry
• Roan
• Party
• Record

[5thcorps]

NOT the Sons of the Pioneers, but a "party" record produced my a mock ensemble. The tune was written by Glenn Ohrlin who knows of other versions as well

[PartyRecords]

Sorry the tune was not written by Glenn Ohrlin though he does know a version of the Castration of the Strawberry Roan. Glenn's version was recorded by Max Hunter in 1964 and again by Lou Curtis in about 1978. The Curtis recording is found on the LP Just Something My Uncle Told Me (1981).

BTW, yes this IS the Sons of the Pioneers. This was recorded in 1942 while they were doing their Dr. Pepper Radio stint.

[PartyRecords]

Baxter Black also knows a version of The Castration of the Strawberry Roan. Please read Guy Logsdon's cowboy songs book _The Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing_ page 86 and following.

[NickCave13]

I hope Roy covered Trigger's ears, if they were around for this.

[TCSC47]

I have to say that I really hope it is genuine. It is so funny to think of the wholesome Roy Rogers and Dale on the TV in the 50,s and this going on behind them!

I've revised my thought about "f***ing" being an adjective in the 50's. After sorting out my memories ( a difficult job!) I think I can place a few examples! Part of my upbringing was in Canada and part in the UK. Say no more!

Incidently my first record buy was by this band. Still love it!

[txsherrie]

Nah. There are uses of words in there that weren't common back then & are only used in the last 15-20 yrs. Not to say there weren't bawdy recordings back then, just that modern colloquialisms give me reason to doubt its authenticity. I have trouble believing any that sang as the Sons were that foul mouthed in public, nor dumb enough to commit a song like this to a recording - it would have ruined even 30 years ago, let alone 70 yrs ago! Doesn't sound like them, either- not good enough.

[GrigoriZhukov]

@stupidshitsucks Doesn't change FACT it was made, produced and sold. Just because it doesn't get airplay doesn't change the fact it was done.

[BrideOfSnape]

This is fucking hilarious. Dick Foran!!! bwahahahahaha!!! I love it that people have always been foul.

[stupidshitsucks]

FAKE!!! I remember hearing this in the forties and very early fifties on the radio many times on the Saturday night cowboy music shows. NO DJ WOULD EVER PLAY A TUNE LIKE THIS BACK THEN!!

[hucktunes]

Whoa Nellie!

[GrigoriZhukov]

That there hoss sounds like a real charmer compared to an appalosa I knew...shoot the bastard and cook him or keep him around to tear up the smart asses. Never could decide which was the better course.

[GrigoriZhukov]

@pastorstevebond Heh, I dare. I've worked with a knot headed son of a bitch like that before AND the horse was right nasty mother fucker too.

[pastorstevebond]

OH...how I want to share this...but only with certain people! I don't dare post it on my facebook page for just anybody! :)

[vindicari]

less said the better, the world is full of shitheads.