"Pecos Bill" is a song from the eponymous segment of the 1948 animated anthology film, Melody Time. It was composed by Eliot Daniel and Johnny Lange. It was performed by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers.
It was later performed on Season 5 of The Muppet Show in the Wally Boag episode, sung by Wally, Annie Sue, and other Muppets.
It would also be used in some Disney Sing Along Songs videos including From Hercules, Little Patch of Heaven, and Let's Go to Disneyland Paris. In the version used in Let's Go to Disneyland Paris, Goofy assumes the role of Pecos Bill.
Lyrics[]
Whoaaaa...
Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas
And the western Superman to say the least
He was the roughest, toughest critter
Never known to be a quitter
'Cause he never had no fear of man nor beast
So, Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
(cut in censored version)
Once he roped a ragin' cyclone out of nowhere
Then he straddled it and settled down with ease
And while that cyclone bucked and flitted
Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it
And he tamed that orn'ry wind down to a breeze
(part of verse uncut in censored version)
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh, i-ohh
(yodel)
Once there was a drought that spread all over Texas
So to sunny Californy he did go
And though the gag is kinda corny
He brought rain from Californy
That's the way we got the Gulf of Mexico
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Once a band of rustlers stole a herd of cattle
But they didn't know the herd they stole was Bill's
And when he caught them crooked villains
Pecos knocked out all their fillin's
That's the reason why there's gold in them thar hills
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh, i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Oh, Pecos lost his way while travelin' on the desert (Water...)
It was 90 miles across the burnin' sand (Water...)
He knew he'd never reach the border (Water...)
If he didn't get some water (Water...)
So he got a stick and dug the Rio Grande
(yodel)
(cut in "From Hercules" Sing-Along Songs version)
While a tribe of painted Indians did a war dance
Pecos started shootin' up their little game
He gave them redskins such a shakeup
That they jumped out from their makeup
That's the way the Painted Desert got its name
So yippee-i-ay, i-ohh...
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Ugh!
While reclinin' on a cloud high over Texas
With his gun he made the stars evaporate
Then Pecos saw the stars declinin',
So he left one brightly shinin'
As the emblem of the Lone Star Texas State!
So yippee-i-ay, yippee-i-ohh...
Oh...!
Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas
And a western Superman to say the least
He was the roughest, toughest critter
Never known to be a quitter
'Cause he never had no fear of man or beast
So, Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Once he roped a ragin' cyclone out of nowhere
Then he straddled it and settled down with ease
And while that cyclone bucked and flitted
Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it
And he tamed that orn'ry wind down to a breeze
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Once there was a drought that spread all over Texas
So to sunny Californy he did go
And though the gag is kinda corny
He brought rain from Californy
That's the way we got the Gulf of Mexico
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Once a band of rustlers stole a herd of cattle
But they didn't know the herd they stole was Bill's
And when he caught them crooked villains
Pecos knocked out all their fillin's
That's the reason why there's gold in them thar hills
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh, i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Pecos lost his way while travelin' on the desert
It was 90 miles across the burnin' sand
He knew he'd never reach the border
If he didn't get some water
So he got a stick and dug the Rio Grande
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh, i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Now one day Pecos found his fav'rite dogie missin'
The dogie that was nearest to his heart,
So then he lassoed all the cattle
Clear from Texas to Seattle
That's the way the Texas round-up got its start
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh, i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
While a tribe of painted Indians did a war dance
Pecos started shootin' up their little game
He gave them redskins such a shakeup
That they jumped out from their makeup
That's the way the Painted Desert got its name
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh, i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
While reclinin' on a cloud high over Texas
With his gun he made the stars evaporate
Then Pecos saw the stars declinin',
So he left one brightly shinin'
As the emblem of the Lone Star Texas State!
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh, i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo!
Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas
And the western Superman to say the least
He was the roughest, toughest critter
Never known to be a quitter
'Cause he never had no fear of man nor beast
So, Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Once he roped a ragin' cyclone out of nowhere
Then he straddled it and settled down with ease
And while that cyclone bucked and flitted
Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it
And he tamed that orn'ry wind down to a breeze
So, Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Once there was a drought that spread all over Texas
So to sunny Californy he did go
And though the gag is kinda corny
He brought rain from Californy
That's the way we got the Gulf of Mexico
Once a band of rustlers stole a herd of cattle
But they didn't know the herd they stole was Bill's
And when he caught them crooked villains
Pecos knocked out all their fillin's
That's the reason why there's gold in them thar hills
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Pecos lost his way while travelin' on the desert
It was 90 miles across the burnin' sand
He knew he'd never reach the border
If he didn't get some water
So he got a stick and dug the Rio Grande
While a tribe of painted Indians did a war dance
Pecos started shootin' up their little game
He gave them redskins such a shakeup
That they jumped out from their makeup
That's the way the Painted Desert got its name
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo!
While reclinin' on a cloud high over Texas
With his gun he made the stars evaporate
Then Pecos saw the stars declinin',
So he left one brightly shinin'
As the emblem of the Lone Star Texas State!
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo!
Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas
And the western Superman to say the least
He was the roughest, toughest critter
Never known to be a quitter
'Cause he never had no fear of man nor beast
Once he roped a ragin' cyclone out of nowhere...
Then he straddled it and settled down with ease
And while that cyclone bucked and flitted
Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it
And he tamed that orn'ry wind down to a breeze
While a tribe of painted Indians did a war dance
Pecos started shootin' up their little game
He gave them redskins such a shakeup
That they jumped out from their makeup
That's the way the Painted Desert got its name
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh, i-ohh
Fer the roughest critter west of the Alamo
Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas
And the western Superman to say the least
He was the roughest, toughest critter
Never known to be a quitter
'Cause he never had no fear of man nor beast
So, Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
While a band of rustlers stole a herd of cattle
But they didn't know the herd they stole was Bill's
And when he caught them crooked villains
Pecos knocked out all their fillin's
That's the reason why there's gold in their hills
So, Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Oh, Pecos lost his way while travelin' on the desert
It was 90 miles across the burnin' sand
He knew he'd never reach the border
If he didn't get some water
So he got a stick and he dug the Rio Grande
Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
I said, "Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo"
While reclinin' on a cloud high over Texas
With his gun he made the stars evaporate
Then Pecos saw the stars declinin',
So he left one brightly shinin'
As the emblem of the Lone Star Texas State!
Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
I said, "Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo"!
Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas
And a western Superman to say the least
He was the roughest, toughest critter
Never known to be a quitter
'Cause he never had no fear of man nor beast
So, Yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
(Minnie vocalizes)
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Once a tribe of painted Indians did a war dance
Pecos started breakin' up their little game
He gave them redskins such a shakeup
That they jumped out from their makeup
That's the way the Painted Desert got its name
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
He's the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Once a band of rustlers stole a herd of cattle
But they didn't know the herd they stole was Bill's
And when he caught them crooked villains
Pecos knocked out all their fillin's
That's the reason that there's gold in them thar hills
So yippee-i-ay, i-ay, yippee-i-ohh,
Fer the toughest critter west of the Alamo
He's the roughest, toughest, leanest, meanest, slickest, quickest, neatest, sweetest, best-in-the-westest critter... (Goofy: (as Pecos) That's me!) ...west of the Alamo
Goofy: (as Pecos) Yahoo!
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- In home video releases in the United States, the verse about the cyclone was cut from the song when Disney removed the scenes featuring Pecos Bill with a cigarette.
- However, in other countries, as well as on the Disney+ streaming service and the '80s VHS of American Heroes, the song remained intact along with the scenes of Pecos Bill with a cigarette.
- The verse about the painted Indians is cut from the version on Disney Sing Along Songs: From Hercules (which is a Disney Sing Along Songs volume that had not been released in the US).
- The verse about Pecos getting lost in the desert is a reference to "Cool Water", another song made famous by the Sons of the Pioneers, right down to the high pitched "water".
- In the television film "Disney's Rootin' Tootin' Roundup" (1989), though the cigarette smoking scenes (including both visual and in song: "Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it") are kept intact, however the segment referring to "painted Indian" Native Americans was cut. Also cut before the titular song begins is the scene where Pecos Bill shoots the screen with a pistol [1].
- In the version that's used in Let's Go to Disneyland Paris, the sing-along uses a few verses from the original song although that version only uses the first verse and the verses about Pecos Bill with the painted Indians and dealing with the cattle rustlers along with the "yippiee-ai-ay" part of the song being repeated a few times.
- An underscore of this song plays during Mickey's introduction sequence to Friday's "Talent Round-Up Day" on the original Mickey Mouse Club series.
References[]
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