# A Cowboy at the Carnival explained — Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp

> Chapter companion for Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp by John A. Lomax.

## What happens

A cowboy from the range describes his disorientation and discomfort at a carnival in Denver, contrasting the noisy, crowded city life with the freedom and simplicity of his life on the cattle ranch. He feels like a stray animal, watched by a policeman, and longs to return to the open range where he can breathe freely and wear his own clothes.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom and Independence

The cowboy contrasts the constrained, noisy carnival with the open range where he feels free and at home.

### Nostalgia and Loss

The narrator expresses a deep longing for his former life on the ranch, feeling lost and out of place in the city.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The cowboy narrator who feels out of place at the carnival and yearns for the range.

### Stranger

Addressed as 'pardner' by the narrator, the listener at the carnival.

## Key lines

> Every bone I got's a-achin', an' my feet as sore as if I had hit a bed o' cactus, an' my hinges is as stiff From a-hittin' these hot pavements as a feller's jints kin git

My whole body aches and my feet are as sore as if I stepped on cactus; my joints are stiff from walking on the hot pavement.

_The cowboy describes his physical discomfort from the unfamiliar urban environment._

> I'm hankerin', I tell you, fer to hit the trail an' run Like a crazy, locoed yearlin' from this big cloud-burst o' fun Back toward the cattle ranches, where a feller's breath comes free

I'm longing to leave and run like a crazy steer away from this overwhelming fun back to the ranches where I can breathe freely.

_The cowboy expresses his intense desire to escape the carnival and return to the range._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/songs_of_the_cattle_trail_and_cow_camp_se/chapters/a-cowboy-at-the-carnival
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/songs_of_the_cattle_trail_and_cow_camp_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/songs_of_the_cattle_trail_and_cow_camp_se/chapters