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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What Happens When a Song Inspires a Story

by Chautona Havig · 8 Comments

Some have asked the”song-spiration” for the title of the series Ballads from the Hearth.  I chose that series title not because it has a “lovely” sound but because it so perfectly describes what comes to mind when I think of these ballad-inspired novels.

Jack's Inspiration

Jack CoverMy father sang these–often sitting on my uncle’s hearth with a small glass of whiskey or a cup of coffee beside him.  He sang of Jack, of Joe, of Mary, of the tramp, of Bess, and of Shep. I always wanted more of these stories and now I’m going to have them. I have several planned.  “California Joe” about the scout from Montana.  “Blind Child’s Prayer” about the three Marys.  “Tramp’s Heaven” about a guy satisfied with “two bowls of milk and a donut.”  And “Bonnie Black Bess.”  They’ve already romanticized the story of Dick Turpin, so I’m going to enjoy a little creative license myself.

First up:  The song, “Cowboy Jack”

I  have no idea if this is based on any kind of true story but I imagine similar things happened throughout time.  Maybe it was Soldier Claudius or Crusader Althwulf.  Whoever it was, I’m sure their sorrow was as great as the other men who regretted impulsive actions and lost a sweetheart.

These are the words my father sang:

Cowboy Jack

He was just a lonely cowboy,
With a heart so brave and true.
And he learned to love a maiden,
With eyes of heaven’s own blue.

They learned to love each other,
And named their wedding day.
When a quarrel came between them,
And Jack, he rode away.

He joined a band of cowboys,
And vowed he’d forget her name.
Out on the lonely prairie,
She waited just the same.

Your sweetheart waits for you, Jack.
Your sweetheart waits for you.
Out on the lonely prairie,
Where skies are always blue.

One night when work was finished,
Just at the close of day,
Someone said sing a song Jack.
That’ll drive all cares away.

But when he started singing,
His mind did wander back.
For he sang of a lonely maiden,
Who waited for her Jack.

Your sweetheart waits for you, Jack.
Your sweetheart waits for you.
Out on the lonely prairie,
Where skies are always blue.

He left the range next morning,
Breathing his sweetheart’s name.
Said, “I’ll go and ask forgiveness.
“For I know I was to blame.”

But when he reached the prairie,
He found a new-made mound.
His friends they sadly told him,
They’d laid his sweetheart down.

Your sweetheart waits for you, Jack.
Your sweetheart waits for you.
Out on the lonely prairie,
Where skies are always blue.

A few years ago, I was looking for musical chords to these songs and found another verse that Dad never sang.  I imagine it goes after the “laid sweetheart down” and before the chorus.

They said as she was dying
She breathed her sweetheart’s name
And asked them with her last breath
To tell him when he came

…thrumble thrum thrum…

The  Lomax brothers included “Cowboy Jack in their collection, Cowboy Songs and other Frontier Ballads, but their wording is slightly different.  They cite it as:
*from p. 15, Cowboy sings, ed. Kenneth s. Clark (New York: Paull-Pioneer Music Co.).

Further Jack song-spiration stories:

Stay tuned for how I took that song and “novelized” it into Jack: A lot of hullabaloo on the prairie. A hint:  check out the subtitle…

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Comments

  1. Vanessa K says

    January 21, 2016 at 5:43 pm

    Beautiful ballad! I might print it out and frame it somewhere 🙂

    Reply
  2. Alicia says

    January 19, 2016 at 8:09 am

    Absolutely beautiful… The song and the post…

    Reply
  3. Flo says

    January 18, 2016 at 6:41 pm

    Awesome – I love the idea of books based on ballads, what concept. Jack is such a wonderful story 🙂

    Reply
  4. Karen Morgan says

    January 18, 2016 at 5:19 pm

    I’m not familiar with this ballad, but I enjoy hearing old cowboy ballads. I enjoyyed reading the words to this one, since I have read the book. I’m so glad the book ended differently!!!!!

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      January 18, 2016 at 6:21 pm

      I had to do something different… if only because then it’s just a rewrite of Shakespeare elsewhere, right?

      Reply
  5. Amanda says

    January 18, 2016 at 4:29 pm

    What a neat ballad. I love ballads that just have a ring of romanticism to them. And I enjoyed the book immensely!

    Reply
  6. Cathe says

    January 18, 2016 at 4:18 pm

    I love that ballad! Looking forward to the book. Do you plan to do a series of books based on cowboy ballads?

    Reply
  7. Ryoko says

    January 18, 2016 at 5:00 am

    I had never heard of the song. Thank you for sharing your childhood memories and the lyrics. It adds layers to the story, looking forward to live date!

    Reply

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Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
byChautona Havig

Hey, we’re back after a couple of weeks of vacation, and boy did I need it. And, have I got a fabulous interview for you. Nancy Naigle and I talked about her books, her most recent release, What Remains True as well as her Christmas books and the one I’m most anxious to read, The Shell Collector. Listen in and learn about what Nancy says about this bet she has going on in What Remains True. Great stuff!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Need a Great Romantic Read to Wind Up Your Summer Reads?

As I said in the podcast, a while back, someone told me I’d LOVE The Shell Collector–one of those people who recommends books you HAVE to read if they say you do.  So I bought it and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since. Well, now it’s on my GoodReads shelf, and I’m about to start it (and I optimistically thought I’d be done with it by the time this episode released. Oh, me of too much faith in myself and my time management!)

Author of over thirty books, not to mention a bestselling author who also has movies made of her novels (And The Shell Collector has been optioned! EEEP!), Nancy loves to write Christmas books and small-town stories. Seriously, as we talked, I felt like she was talking about me half the time. We’re so very alike in so many ways. It was fun.

Nancy also pointed out that her first books (if you go WAY back) are not Christian fiction and are a bit spicier than she prefers to write and definitely more than she writes today. So be warned there, but she did assure us that they are all closed-door books.

What Remains True by Nancy Naigle

One woman wants to win a bet. One man wants to become a rodeo champion. One little girl may give them both something even better—from USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle.

“A commitment-phobic rodeo star and a divorcée with secrets find love in this wholesome romance. . . . As uplifting as it is sweet.”—Publishers Weekly

Working at a little shop on Main Street in a small town is exactly the break that executive Merry Anna Foster needs following her divorce. She’s made a bet with her ex-husband that she can live on the amount of money she’s giving him in alimony. If she can do it, then Kevin will have to stop complaining and leave her alone. But after three months of this new life, will she even want to leave Antler Creek?

Adam Locklear, bull rider and owner of the local feedstore, is having the best year of his rodeo career. He’s also a bit distracted by the pretty new neighbor living in his old bunkhouse. But Adam has no time for matters of the heart. He’s got his future all mapped out, and that future doesn’t involve a woman just yet. It doesn’t involve parenting a little girl either. However, Carly Fowler still suddenly leaves five-year-old Zan—the daughter Adam didn’t know he had—in his care.

Is it possible that the future holds a life even better than what Merry Anna and Adam had each dreamed of? One that includes both tenderness and even love—not just for each other but for Zan too?

You can learn more about Nancy’s books and movies on her WEBSITE.

Oh, and PSST… I’m loving the audiobook of this one!

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Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
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