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"Home on the Range" is a classic western song, sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. The lyrics were originally written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley of Smith County, Kansas in a poem entitled "My Western Home" in the early 1870s. In 1947, it became the state song of the American state of Kansas. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. == History== The poem was first published in a December 1873 issue of the ''Smith County Pioneer'' under the title "My Western Home".〔 Dr. Spaeth accepted this later 〕 The music was written by a friend of Higley, Daniel E. Kelley (1845–1905). Higley's original words are similar to those of the song today, but not identical; the original did not contain the words "on the range".〔 The song was adopted by settlers, cowboys, and others and spread across the United States in various forms. During the early 20th century, it was arranged by Texas composer David W. Guion (1892–1981), who occasionally was credited as the composer. The song has gone under various names the most common are "Home on the Range" and "Western Home". It was officially adopted as the state song of Kansas on June 30, 1947, and is commonly regarded as the unofficial anthem of the American West.〔 The antelope referred to in the song is not a true antelope species, but is the American pronghorn that is often called an antelope. The most popular version of the song was the version by Bing Crosby in 1933 which appeared in the various charts of the day. Gary Giddins writing in his biography of Crosby, said, inter alia: "Bing's version of "Home on the Range" turned a little-known saddle song into the most renowned western anthem of all time. In November 1933, when his record was issued, the origin of "Home on the Range" was obscure and widely debated. Folklorist John Lomax, who said he learned if from a black saloonkeeper in Texas, published it in 1910, in ''Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads''. In 1925 a sheet-music arrangement found modest popularity; two years later Vernon Dalhart, the operatic tenor turned hillbilly singer, recorded it for Brunswick. California's radio cowboys picked it up from him, and in 1930 the movies' first crooning western star, Ken Maynard, recorded a version. Not until Bing sang it, however, was the song embraced as a national hymn, so popular as to generate a farcical plagiarism suit that had the unintended benefit of spurring an inquiry into the song’s history. It was traced to a poem, "Western Home," written in the 1870s (without the chorus or the phrase "home on the range") by Dr. Brewster Higley, whose neighbor, Dan Kelley, set it to music. Bing's stirring performance transforms a nostalgic lament into an ode to pioneering, a dream of shared history, a vaguely religious affirmation of fortitude in the face of peril. He made it a Depression song that ignores the Depression, expressing longing, awe, and grace. Bing's subtle embellishments enhance the melody, and his projection and control are unfailingly dramatic, particularly during the soaring eight-bar release. His record offered a transcendent secularity, a well from which all Americans could drink. More prosaically, it anticipated the golden age of gentle-voiced singing cowboys and the Irish sentiment of the John Ford westerns that followed on their heels. FDR acknowledged "Home on the Range" as his favorite song." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Home on the Range」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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