Lyrics to Bonanza Songs And Other
Trivia Bonanza Theme DOWNLOAD the theme to Bonanza in zipped
.mp3 format HERE (sung by
Lorne Greene) [Lorne Greene speaking: “Welcome to the
Ponderosa, my friends, for an evening of songs and stories about the American
West…a land of legend, of romance, of friendship and courage…a motherlode of
remembrance…a true Bonanza.”] Bonanza We chased Lady Luck, ‘till we finally
struck Bonanza With a gun and a rope and a hatful of hope, We planted our family tree We got a hold of a pot full of gold, Bonanza With a horse and a saddle, and a range full of cattle, How rich can a fellow be? On this land we put our brand, Cartwright is the name Fortune smiled, the day we filed the Ponderosa claim. Here in the West, we’re livin’ in the best, Bonanza
If anyone fights any one of us, he’s got a fight with me
! [music] Bonanza [music] Bonanza Hoss and Joe and Adam know every rock and pine
No one works, fights, or eats, like those boys of mine Here we stand in the middle of a grand Bonanza With a gun and a rope and a hatful of hope, we planted our
family tree We got a hold of a pot full of gold, Bonanza With a houseful of friends where the rainbow ends, How rich can a fellow be ?
On this land we put our brand, Cartwright is the name Fortune smiled the day we filed the Ponderosa claim Here in the West we’re livin’ in the best Bonanza With the friendliest, fightin’est, lovin’est band That ever set foot in the Promised Land
And we’re happier than them all That’s why we call it Bonanza…Bonanza…Bonanza…BONANZA ! Q.:
What was “Hoss” Cartwright’s “real” character name ? A.: Eric Haas Cartwright. What were your favorite
episodes of Bonanza? Mine were “Hoss & the Leprechauns” (Season 5, Episode
146, December 22, 1963), and “A Man To Admire” (Season 6, Episode 179,
December 6, 1964). In “Hoss and the
Leprechauns,” Hoss is convinced that he’s seeing Leprechauns on the
Ponderosa, but no one believes him.
In “A Man to Admire,” Hoss is charged with murder in a pool room, and
a young attorney proved him innocent.
The attorney turns out to be none other than Abraham Lincoln. Saga of the Ponderosa Sung by Lorne Greene
DOWNLOAD The Saga of the Ponderosa in zipped .mp3
format HERE (Spoken) Before you right off into the night, my
friends, here’s a story for the road.
It’s my own story of the west…The Saga of the Ponderosa. Behind
me lay the stormy sea that I would sail no more, The
love that was so dear to me lay buried on the shore, And
my arms were holding my newborn son, Reminding
me that the past was done, And
the wind I heard, carried a strange-sounding word, Ponderosa,
Ponderosa ! The
dusty road ahead of me was callin’ like a friend, My
hungry boots were itchin’ made to reach the other end, Where
the land was free and the years turned slow With
room for me and my son to grow And
the west winds came, bearing that strange-sounding name, Ponderosa,
Ponderosa ! My
Adam was a yearling when we reached the Ole Missouri, And
I labored day and night to buy a wagon and a team, ‘Cause
my hopes were in a hurry, But
suddenly my heart stopped me flat in my tracks…Like that ! ‘Twas
a woman, gay and pretty, sparkling with joy, And
I wanted her to share my dreams… Our
wedding cake was as light as down, With
a Valentine bride in a frosting gown, And
she was all things beautiful, and a mother to my boy We
started off together, on that February morn, Through
Nebraska down to Kansas, Through
the Spring and Autumn weather To
the edge of Colorado, where my second son was born Husky,
and jolly, and hardly ever cried, My
wife named him Eric…but I called him Hoss My
life was full of happiness, too wonderful to tell, When,
down upon our wagon train, there swarmed a savage hell, Made
of crying arrows and dying men, And
all my sorrows returned again, And
the wind wept through the sky, Telling
my dead Love goodbye, Ponderosa,
Ponderosa ! I
took my sons and mothered them, but fear had left its shadow, It
seems they grew the farther on we went in Colorado, For
the land rose up, and it stood on end, With
a crown on top, cold and white, And
the days were made of ridin,’ and a-slippin,’ and a slidin,’ And
my boys wouldn’t hide their fright, I
would wake up in the night and hear them crying in their sleep, And
I’d weep… But
they never knew, and somehow, We
got through From
Utah to Nevada, it was easy all the way, We
left behind that shadow, and it faded day by day, For
the sweet winds heralded a laughing tune, The
wagon wheels rumbled, “We’ll get there soon,” And
the ground all around, thundered that strange, rolling sound, Ponderosa,
Ponderosa ! Virginia
City ! Boomtown ! Brash, Bold town, Wired,
Silver and Gold town, Where
I worked, and I jumbled, and I watched my fortune grow, Till
disaster dealt a hand I couldn’t play Big
Joe Collins was a friend, and my life woulda’ ended, But
he saved it at a cost of his own, And
his wife was alone, far away from the West, And
I couldn’t refuse his last request, I
made the sad and weary trip, and told her how he died, And
from the day I saw her tears, I couldn’t leave her side, And
the months flew by, like so many startled birds, We
both seemed to know without uttering the words, And
my friend would have wanted it so, And
I brought her west, and she became lovely as a mother, So
she gave my boys a brother, and we called him Little Joe Well,
it was time to find my land, and to build a dream I’d planned, So
I started off alone, and the wind led on me to a valley rich as Eden, Where
the trees were like a pillar for a temple, With
a wide, blue dome, and, all at once, I knew… This
place was home. I
asked an old trapper what kind of trees they were, But
he went right on draggin’ in his line, Then
he raised his ancient head, and I shivered when he said, We
call ‘em Ponderosa Pine And
on half a million acres of that strange-sounding name, I
staked my claim My
sons have grown to manhood, as the years have drifted on, And
each of them reminds me of a love that’s passed and gone, But
the strength that flows from the earth and the pine, Warms
my heart like a vintage wine, With
a love rich and strong, For
this is where we belong On
the Ponderosa, Ponderosa,
Ponderosa
! What were the names of Ben
Cartwright’s Wives? Elizabeth
Stoddard (Adam’s mother – from New England -- died during childbirth); Inger
Borgstrom (Hoss’ mother – Scandanavian – died during an Indian attack); and Marie
DeMarigny (Little Joe’s mother – from New Orleans – died from accident when
she fell off a horse (DeMarigny must have been her maiden name, because,
according to the lyrics of the Saga of the Ponderosa, her married name
would have been Collins)). What was the size of the
Ponderosa? 600,000
acres What were the names of the Cartwright
horses? Ben’s – Buck; Adam’s – Beauty and Sport; Hoss’ – Ginger, Piaute, and
Chubby; Little Joe’s – Paint, Cochise,
and Concho Ringo DOWNLOAD Ringo in zipped .mp3 format HERE (Spoken): They lie in Boot Hills all through the West… the
outlaws, the gunslingers, the Billy-the-Kids, and worse. Say a fellow is a coward that shot Bill
Hickok in the back. There’s always one
like that in every time of history.
Most of them were varmints.
But, every once a while in one of them, there may have lived a man. He lay face down on the desert sand, Clutching a six-gun in his hand, Shot from behind, I thought he was dead, For under his heart was an ounce of lead, But a spark still burned, so I used my knife, And late that night, I saved the life Of Ringo Ringo Ringo I nursed him ‘till the danger passed, The days went by, he mended fast, Then from dawn to setting sun, He’d practice with that deadly gun, And hour and hour I watched in awe, No human being could match the draw Of Ringo Ringo Ringo One day we rode the mountain crest, And I went east, and he went west, I took to law, and wore a star, While he spread terror near and far, With lead and blood, he gained such fame, All through the West, they feared the name Of Ringo Ringo Ringo I knew some day, I’d face the test, Which one of us would be the best, And sure enough, the word came down, That he was holed up in the town, I left the posse out in the street, And I went in alone to meet Ringo Ringo Ringo They’d said my speed was next to none, But my lightning draw had just begun, When I heard a blast that stung my wrist, The gun went flying from my fist, And I was looking down the bore, Of the deadly .44 Of Ringo Ringo Ringo They say that was the only time That anyone had seen him smile, He slowly lowered his gun, and then, He said to me, “We’re even, friend,” And so, at last, I understood, That there was still a spark of good In Ringo Ringo Ringo I blocked the path of his retreat, He turned and stepped into the street, A dozen guns spit fire and lead, A moment later, he lay dead The town began to shout and cheer, Nowhere was the shed of tear, For Ringo Ringo The story spread throughout the land, That I had beaten Ringo’s hand, And it was just the years, they say, That made me put my guns away But on his grave, they can’t explain, The tarnished star above the name Of Ringo Ringo Ringo Ringo Ringo |