Streets of Laredo

Streets of Laredo, also called "The Cowboy's Lament" and "The Dying Cowboy," is an 19th century American cowboy balled adapted from another folk tune called "The Unfortunate Rake." The song is about a dying ranger telling his story to another fellow cowboy.

This rearrangement of it takes the original tune and expands upon it before, between, and after repetitions of the song, even varying it up slightly on the last go-around. It is a very slow and delicate piece, perfect for a slow, middle song of a concert program.