Home on the Range

"Home on the Range" is a classic western folk song. It is sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. The lyrics were first written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley of Smith County, Kansas. He wrote them in a poem called "My Western Home" in 1872. In 1947, it became the state song of the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2010, members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 western songs of all time.
History.
In 1871, Higley moved from Indiana to Smith County, Kansas. He did this because of the Homestead Act. He lived in a small cabin near West Beaver Creek. He was inspired by his new environment that he decided to create a poem to praise the prairie. The lyrics to "Home on the Range" were first published as a poem in the "Smith County Pioneer" in 1872 under the title "My Western Home". That home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Home on the Range Cabin.
The music was later added by Daniel E. Kelley (1808–1905), a carpenter and friend of Higley. The song was eventually used by ranchers, cowboys, and other western settlers. It spread across the United States in different forms. The song has gone by a few different names, the most common being "Home on the Range" and "Western Home". It was officially chosen as the state song of Kansas on June 30, 1947. It is often thought of as the unofficial anthem of the American West.
The most popular version of the song was the version recorded by Bing Crosby on September 27, 1933, with Lennie Hayton and his orchestra for Brunswick Records. It appeared in the various charts of that time.
"Home on the Range" became popular in the 1930s. In fact, former president Franklin Delano Roosevelt said "Home on the Range" was his favorite song.