Popular Culture Review Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2002 | Page 145

Hank Snow, The Singing Ranger

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Snow song titles reveal his fascination withtravel: “We Met Down in the Hills of
Old Wyoming,” “My San Antonio M ama,” “The Texas Cowboy,” “On the
Mississippi Shore,” “Under Hawaiian Skies,” “Galveston Rose,” “Old Moon of
Kentucky,” “Rose of the Rio,” “My Sweet Texas Bluebonnet Queen,” “On That
Old Hawaiian Shore With You,” “Out on the Open Range,” “On a Tennessee
Saturday Night,” “I wish I Was the Moon,” “Sleepy Rio Grande,” "Tf Ever Get
Back to Georgia,” “Duquesne, Pennsylvania,” “North to Chicago,” “My Little
Old Home Down in New Orleans,” “Colorado Country Morning,” “Beautiful Ohio,”
“Texas Plains,” “Roll Along Kentucky Moon,” "Mississippi River,” “M iller’s
Cave,” “The Man Who Robbed the Bank at Santa Fe,” “Town of Laredo,” “Music
Makin’ Mama for Memphis,” “Rose of Old Monterey,” “When It’s Springtime in
Alaska,” “Wabash Blues,” “The Spell of the Yukon,” “Mississippi River Blues,”
“El Paso,” Cross the Brazos at Waco,” “If I Ever Get Back to Georgia,” “Peach
Pickin’ Time in Georgia,” “Alabama Jubilee,” “Arkansas Traveler,” "Kentucky
Waltz,” “Beaumont Ride,” and “San Antonio Rose.” In fact, one of his biggest
hits, a song which won him attention outside of country music, was appropriately
titled, “I’ve Been Everywhere.”:
Been to Reno, Chicago, Fargo,
Minnesota, Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota
Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma, Tampa
Panama, Mattawa, LaPaloma, Bangor
Baltimore, Salvador, Amarillo
Tocopilla, Barranquilla and
Padilla, I’m a killer
I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
‘Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man
O f travel I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhere (3)
Another aspect of Snow’ work was his willingness to experiement. His
catalog of songs is as varied as it is lengthy. He was willing to record novelty songs
and titles—certainly titles like “Honeymoon on a Rocket Ship,” “The Gal Who
Invented Kissin’,” “Chattin’ With a Chick in Chattanooga,” “When Mexican Joe
Met Jole Blon,” and “The Night I Stole 01’ Sammy Morgan’s Gin” fit into this
category of experimentation. “Rhumba Boogie,” one of his biggest hits, is a popular
example of his unique style: