"Rawhide" is a Western song written by Ned Washington (lyrics) and composed by Dimitri Tiomkin in 1958. It was originally recorded by Frankie Laine. The song was used as the theme to Rawhide, the western television series that ran on CBS from 1959 to 1966. The song is about the job of a drover on a cattle drive.
Rawhide was an American Western series starring Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes. The series was produced and sometimes directed by
Clint Eastwood 'Rowdy Yates'
Charles Marquis Warren, who also produced early episodes of Gunsmoke. It is often said that this series was the catapult that launched Clint Eastwood to stardom, first in Spaghetti Western Movies and then later moving onto more series Westerns and then into the role of Dirty Harry as a rough and tough cop.
Spanning seven and a half years, Rawhide was the fifth-longest-running American television Western, exceeded only by eight years of Wagon Train, nine years of The Virginian, fourteen years of Bonanza, and twenty years of Gunsmoke.
The typical Rawhide story involved drovers, portrayed by Eric Fleming (trail boss Gil Favor) and Clint Eastwood (ramrod Rowdy Yates), coming upon people on the trail and getting drawn into solving whatever problem they presented or were confronting. Sometimes one of the members of the cattle
drive or some of the others would venture into a nearby town and encounter some trouble from which they needed to be rescued. Rowdy Yates was young and at times impetuous in the earliest episodes and Favor had to keep a tight rein on him. Favor was a savvy and strong leader who always played "square" with his fellow men. He was a tough customer who could handle the challenges and get the job done.
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This single is certainly worth inclusion into the 'W.O.C.K on Vinyl' hall of fame, as its Scottish tones and Gaelic vocals are nothing short of being Weird and Crazy. The first pressings of the single were incorrectly labelled as McRAWHIDE.
Rawhide
The Chaps Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rollin', Rollin', Rollin',
Rollin', Rollin', Rollin',
Rollin', Rollin', Rollin',
Rawhide!
H'yah! H'yah!
Keep Rollin', Rollin', Rollin',
Keep them dawwgies rollin', Rawhide!
Through rain and wind and weather,
Hell bent for leather,
Wishing my girl was by my side,
All the things I'm missin'
Good fiddles, love and kissin',
Are waiting at the end of my ride.
Move 'em on, hit 'em up, hit 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, hit 'em up, Rawhide
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in, ride 'em im,
Let 'em out, cut 'im out, Ride on in, Rawhide!
H'yah! H'yah!
Keep movin', movin', movin',
Though they're disapproving,
Keep them dawwgies rollin', Rawhide!
Don't try to understand them,
Just rope and throw and brand 'em,
Soon we'll be living high and wide!
My heart's calculating,
My true love will be waiting,
Be waiting at the end of my ride.
Move 'em on, hit 'em up, hit 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, hit 'em up, Rawhide
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in, ride 'em im,
Let 'em out, cut 'im out, Ride on in, Rawhide!
H'yah! H'yah!
Rawhide!
H'yah! H'yah!
Rawhide!
The Chaps’s song “Rawhide” is an ode to the life of a cowboy. It provides a vivid picture of what a cowboy’s daily routine might have been like, as he herds cattle across the country. The song starts with a chorus of “Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’” which sets the tempo for the rest of the song. The opening lines evoke images of cowboys riding across the vast prairies: “Keep Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’, Though the streams are swollen, Keep them dawggies rollin’, Rawhide!”. The lines “Through rain and wind and weather, Hell bent for leather” further emphasize that the life of a cowboy was tough, and not for the faint-hearted. It was a job that required a lot of stamina, determination and courage.
The third and fourth stanzas of the song focus on the heart of a cowboy. The loneliness and longing that comes with being on the road all the time is expressed in the lines “Wishing my girl was by my side, All the things I'm missin', Good fiddles, love and kissin', Are waiting at the end of my ride”. Even though the cowboy loved the freedom of the open road, he still missed his love and the comforts of home. However, he was willing to carry on because he knew that his true love was waiting for him at the end of his journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Rollin', Rollin', Rollin',
Continuously moving forward
Rawhide!
The destination of the journey
Keep Rollin', Rollin', Rollin',
Keep moving forward continuously
Though the streams are swollen,
Despite facing obstacles
Keep them dawwgies rollin', Rawhide!
Keep the cattle moving towards the destination
Through rain and wind and weather,
Despite facing challenging weather conditions
Hell bent for leather,
Determined to reach the destination at all costs
Wishing my girl was by my side,
Missing a loved one
All the things I'm missin'
Feeling the absence of things important to the artist
Good fiddles, love and kissin',
Yearning for a joyful life
Are waiting at the end of my ride.
Happiness and satisfaction are expected at the destination
Move 'em on, hit 'em up, hit 'em up, move 'em on
Encouragement to keep the cattle moving forward
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in, ride 'em im,
The process of separating and riding the cattle towards the destination
Let 'em out, cut 'im out,
Cutting the cattle out from the herd
Ride on in, Rawhide!
Continue towards the destination
Keep movin', movin', movin',
Continuously moving forward
Though they're disapproving,
Facing criticism from others
Don't try to understand them,
Not worrying about the opinions of others
Just rope and throw and brand 'em,
The process of managing the cattle
Soon we'll be living high and wide!
Expectation of a prosperous future
My heart's calculating,
Longing for a loved one
My true love will be waiting,
Expectation of reuniting with a loved one
Rawhide!
The destination of the journey
Contributed by Jacob K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@that70sgirl90
I remember this... we used to sing this when it was time to go! 'Rollin'... Rollin'... Rollin'!!' 🚗 Brings back some Wonderful & fun Memories... thank you for sharing!! 💖
@henrifischer1119
best version of this song ever, ever.
@brodusclay2012
Niet kapot te krijgen dit nummer
@edmundcramp4583
It's so lovely to see the video - I loved this back in the old days and still have the 45! I still play it and laugh and laugh!
@PinkAndOrangeAndGold
Why are people disliking this, and saying it's cringe? This is a classic song and even pretty original classic, and in 2021 this 1983 song gets 1/3 dislikes?
@m0r1arty
Got me through my coma back in 88 and so we'll done boys. Raw hide!
@PopeSalty1
Wikipedia roulette brought me here. I was looking for an alleged Jackson 5 cover of this track - which, for the record, I can't find anywhere - and I stumbled across this. And it is glorious. I don't know why hearing "Rawhide" in a thick Scottish accent cracks me up so much, but dammit, it does. Thanks for sharing this. It's perfect.
@martinhowe3679
love it well done chaps
@chazmccord2523
Love this version of Rawhide I first heard it on Glasgow radio station Radio Clyde back in 83 and I bought it later the same day. Unique and cracking parody. I've still got the 45 .
@deiseclemente817
Really ..Crazy...