Maybe it was watching classic spaghetti westerns with my dad on Friday nights as a kid, combined with my love of horses that naturally led me to appreciating all things “Americana”. Now when I say Americana, I’m not referring to apple pies and balls games, but rather the folklore of the Western United States. The title image of this post is a 1906 painting by Frederic Remington titled The Charge (or alternatively A Calvary Scrap). Remington was not just an accomplished painter, but also sculptor, and writer. His American roots run deep with his family tracing their immigration to the United States back to the 1600s during the initial arrival of British settlers to the new world. Further adding to this, he is related to the founders of Remington Arms, America’s oldest gunmaker. He attended art school at Yale, but did not complete a degree. Instead, he embarked on a journey to Montana which opened the door for his exploration and documentation of the American West. Not only did he capture typical scenes of the time such as skirmishes between the US Calvary and Native American tribes, but he also lived them, hunting game and working a ranch. Though he returned to a more urban life, his experiences on the frontier added a grittiness to his paintings.

Looking through his collection of works, you can feel the warm evening air as the twinkling stars of the open night sky look down upon you. The creak and groan of the carriage lulls you to sleep, as the team of horses makes their way along a bumpy dirt road in the Nevada desert. Smells of cigarette smoke and dusty air fill your nostrils as the driver lets you know there’s just a few more miles to go. Any of his paintings could be the inspiration for a story, they way they masterfully depict scenes of every day life in the “Wild West”.

Now to set the soundtrack for my voyage into the West, I put on a classic by Townes Van Zandt, legendary American country folk singer. His song Pancho and Lefty is a staple of the genre. Just a man’s voice and the strumming of an acoustic guitar are enough to transport me to a saloon somewhere in Texas. The “cowboy ballad” is a vital part of the Western American identity, its beginnings tracing back to the cattle drives of the mid-1800s and evolving into the genre we know and love today. Modern American Folk music is alive and well through artists such as Benjamin Tod, Sierra Ferrell, and Zach Bryan. Though adapted for the modern ear, their songs still hold true to the feel of Americana through and through.

Then there are the books that capture the feel of the West. One of the most well-known authors of the genre is the late Cormac McCarthy. Reading Blood Meridian, you are immersed into the struggle of The Kid as he navigates the dog-eat-dog world of the American frontier. It is by no means an easy read, but it is worth it. The addition of magical realism only makes the landscapes and characters more vivid and larger than life.

Now you must excuse me as I have to go saddle up my horse, grab my gear, and prepare for whatever adventures lay ahead.