I don’t really know why, but no-one, absolutely no-one that I know, knows this song. It’s a tragedy. An outright tragedy. Every parent should be teaching this song to their children alongside the traditional Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. My dad taught this to me when I was really little, and it’s my favorite Christmas song!
Rudy the red gun cowboy,
had a very shiny gun.
And if you ever saw him,
you would turn around and run.
All of the other cowboys,
used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudy,
join in any poker games.
Then one foggy Christmas eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your gun so bright,
won’t you shoot my wife tonight?
Then how the cowboys loved him,
as they shouted out with glee.
Rudy the red gun cowboy,
you’ll go down in history!
28 Comments
December 5, 2007 at 7:41 pm
After doing a quick Google search, I am pretty sure your dad made that song up. However, I am going to teach AJ so that way it can live on forever.
December 6, 2007 at 12:02 pm
You are a very good mom!!!!
December 7, 2007 at 11:32 am
I remembered there was a cool version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and started singing it. Only I quickly found out I couldn’t remember most of the words. I remember it being Rudolph the two-gunned cowboy with a pair of shiny guns. But the rest is how I now remember it. It will now be sung around this house.
thanx
December 10, 2007 at 11:13 pm
I told my boyfriend about this version and he did not believe it. I am so glad that you made a believer out of him. Ong lives the “Two Gunned Cowboy”.
December 10, 2007 at 11:18 pm
YES SIR MY GIRLFRIEND MADE A BELIEVER OUT OF ME! I REALLY DID NOT BELIEVE HER….
December 25, 2007 at 6:05 pm
I remember this song from my childhood. In fact, I found this blog because I was curious about whether or not it was a real song or one my friends just made up.
December 26, 2007 at 11:21 am
It makes me really happy to see that other people know of this song!!! Sing it people!
January 10, 2008 at 5:16 am
My uncle, Bob Wesley (a country musician, little known and now deceased) actually recorded this song under the title “Randolph the two-gun Cowboy.” I don’t know who wrote it. He played his guitar and sang it to us at home. I wish I could ask him about it, but he died in 2005.
January 10, 2008 at 5:20 am
The main difference in my uncle’s version of this song has to do with the stanza about shooting Santa’s wife. Here is the version uncle Bob sang to us:
Then one foggy serious night
The sheriff came to say:
Randolph with your guns so bright
Won’t you guide my posse tonight?
August 3, 2008 at 1:43 pm
The way I remember it:
Dead Eye the 6 gun cowboy
had a very shiny gun
and if you ever saw it
you would turn around and run
All of the other cowboys,
used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Dead Eye,
join in any poker games.
Then one foggy Christmas eve,
the Sheriff came to say,
Dead Eye with your gun so bright,
won’t you shoot my wife tonight?
Then how the cowboys loved him,
as they shouted out with glee.
Dead Eye the 6 gun cowboy,
you’re going to the penitentiary !
December 5, 2008 at 11:14 am
I was actually googling this song because I couldn’t remember all the words. But when my mom taught it to me it was DeadEye the Western Cowboy and it was you would grab your horse and run. It’s funny there are so few people out there that were taught this song when they were little ! !
December 5, 2008 at 11:59 am
That’s just sad! More people need to know this song!
December 10, 2008 at 8:19 am
I was trying to tell my co-workers about this song, they believed my Dad had made it up. But I always heard the 3rd stanza go:
Then one foggy Saturday night
The sheriff came to say
Randolf with your gun so bright
Won’t you guide my posse tonight?
Well thanks for letting this song live on. I love it.
December 20, 2008 at 6:02 am
For me, it was “Rudy, the quick gun cowboy”, but pretty much the same lyrics, and I learned it back in the early 60’s.
December 23, 2008 at 9:44 am
Hi, Just wanted to ad something. That song can’t be made up by someone dad, if it was. Then how come I also know that song and I tought it to my kids? They think I’m nuts when I sing it. But They hear me every year sing it. I too can’t find it on google serches.
December 23, 2008 at 9:46 am
Also would like to add of anyone knows of where I could find t hat song……. “Rudy The Six Gun Cowboy” I have to say, the way I herd the song was “Six Gun The six Gun Cowboy” but the words are other wise the same.
May 1, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Wow, there are a lot of versions out there! I remember knowing this song, but not all of it. I remember it going “Randolph the six gun cowboy….”, but I do not remember the rest. I actually have myself recorded singing that very first part, until my sister cut me off! It was recorded about 25 years ago arounf 1985.
May 10, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Response to “L”. I Googled “Randolph the two-gun cowboy” so I could give credit to the author in the book I’m writing. It seems there are numerous versions of this song and the author is unknown. My version is circa 1954/1955 and it was a skit in our elementary school’s community Christmas pageant. The part of Randolph was one of my childhood friends and I played a poker player. I taught this song to my children in the ’70s and they in-turn are teaching their children.
“RANDOLPH THE TWO-GUN COWBOY”
Randolph the two-gun cowboy / Had two very shiny guns / And if you ever saw them / You would turn around and run / All of the other cowboys / Used to laugh and call him names / They never let poor Randolph / Join in any poker games / Then one foggy Friday night / The sheriff came to say / Randolph with your guns so bright / Won’t you guide my posse tonight / Then how the cowboys loved him / As they shouted out with glee / Randolph the two-gun cowboy / You’ll go down in history!
Just passing on a little history. I’m near the end of my time on this earth and several friends from around the world have been after me to write my memoir. So, for the past three years, that’s what I’ve been doing and the book will be published in the late summer, early fall of 2009.
June 24, 2009 at 10:17 am
I assure you that this song DOES exist.
I was born in ‘82 and we used to sing it on the School Bus from Bensonhurst to Canarsie in New York.
Our version, however, was slightly different:
Rudolph the red gunned cowboy
Had a very shiny gun
And if you ever saw it
You would drop your pants and run
All of the other cowboys
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Play in any cowboy games
Then one foggy Xmas night
Santa came to say:
“Rudolph with your gun so bright
Won’t you kill my wife tonight”
Then all the cowboys loved him
As they shouted out with glee:
“Rudolph the red gunned cowboy
He’ll go down in World War three!”
June 25, 2009 at 11:10 pm
I remember my dad singing this song as well.
As everyone else here, I still am clueless as to who wrote it, but I see it as a hidden Gem that few know about. But the few that do, pass it to others…who eventually forget about it instead of passing it on.
December 2, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Thank you for reminding of a piece of my twisted but fun childhood. I remember this song as well as: Jingle Bells
Batman smells
Robin laid an egg
The batmobile lost its wheel
And the Joker got away.
My kids think I am nuts, but I don’t care. I had a fun childhood.
December 2, 2009 at 7:36 pm
I loved this from my childhood (Thunder Bay, Ontario, 1977)! I tried doing a search a couple of years back and came up with nothing, so it’s nice to see there are other people who remember this song. Too bad it’s not as well-known as “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells”.
I can remember our 2nd grade class singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and a few of us were instead singing “Rudolph the Red-Gunned Cowboy”. One of the other kids got so upset and cried out “Teacher! They’re singing a song about cowboys!!!”
December 2, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I loved this song too, and it’s amazing how many people have never heard it!
December 2, 2009 at 8:27 pm
It’s a great song!
December 9, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Just thought I would check to see if this song really existed as I thought a schoolmate wrote it back when I was in grade 4 in Edmonton Alberta. Her name was Minerva….
Her version:
Randolph the two-gun Texan, had two very shiny guns, and it you ever saw them, you would turn around and run. All the other cowboys, use to laugh and call him names, they never let poor Randolph join in any cowboy games. Then one foggy roundup day, Sherrif came to say, Randolph with your guns so bright, won’t you shoot my wife tonight. Then how the cowboys loved him and they shouted out with glee, Randolph the two-gun Texan, he’ll go down in history.
December 17, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I work at a radio station and was trying to find a recording of this song for our christmas show next week but can not find it anywhere…im glad i know it actually exsists now although the one my grandpa taught me is dead eye the one gun cowboy, but everything else is exactly the same!
December 18, 2009 at 5:42 am
Randolph the six gun cowboy! My dad sang this song every year in the car while we drove around town looking at Christmas lights (circa 1973). I sing it to my kids too, but they don’t seem to enjoy it as much as I did.
December 21, 2009 at 11:44 am
My dad sang this every Christmas when we were little. I don’t think my son appreciates it they way I did.