- Harvey Derrick & Shelley Ann Richter - "Tattered & Torn"



C. M. Russell Poetry Contest Winner, 2005

                                                            


 
      The Drifter by Charles M. Russell    

Tattered And Torn

A cowboy ain't nothin' till he proves he's somethin'.
My old friend was somethin' a long time ago
but through the ages, he burned all his pages.
Now there's no place that he can call home

Tattered and torn and so badly worn
are the boots that he wears on his feet.
Achin' with pain as he rides in the rain,
does chores for somethin' to eat.

His sweet young wife cried the day he said goodbye,
but, he promised her that he'd make good;
swore he'd find a ranch with a clear water branch,
and he'd give her the life that he should.

Now, he's just a drifter, driftin' to nowhere;
drinkin' whiskey as long as it lasts.
Sometime he thinks of the life he could have had with his young wife.
Now they're just a page in the past.

Yes, he's tattered and torn and so badly worn.
All his dreams are like dust on the prairie.
He's sad and alone and ashamed to go home,
so he drifts as he grows old and weary.

He's just a drifter, a lonely old cowboy
who left Billings with a heart full of plans.
His luck didn't last and his years went by fast,
leavin' a trail of bottles and empty tin cans.

He's tattered and torn and so badly worn,
like the clothes that he wears on his back.
Hungry and cold, he's grown weary and old
in the saddle of his trusty old hack.

 Just an old cowboy grievin', but always believin',
wishin' that he could have made it;
but his sun has gone down and there's darkness all around'.
His moon and stars have all faded.

"Tattered and torn and so badly worn.
A soul that only God could save".
Those are the words I scribed on a stone when he died;
and I placed it on top of his grave.

Harvey Derrick & Shelley Ann Richter ©1984
 

 

                                         ABOUT THE CO-AUTHORS    
                    HARVEY DERRICK

      Harvey Derrick lived and worked most of his younger years on a ranch. He is a soft spoken, easy going Oklahoman who's performance, whether in the church, on the football field or on the stage, has gained the admiration, respect, and love of friends, fans and fellow veterans. Born September 23rd in Pawhuska, Ok, he was an all-star athlete. But, he joined the U.S. Army when he graduated from Edmond High School (Edmond, OK). During his twenty-one years (ten Active Duty) of military service, he has served in special services, logistics, administration, and was a member of the United States Army Europe Honor Guard in Heidelberg Germany with the 529th MP Company and a Senior Enlisted Records Specialist with the 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg Germany.

After the army, he received a football scholarship at Missouri Southern State College, in Joplin Mo, and became the most prolific scorer in that school's history. He still holds most of the kicking records at MSSC, including the longest field goal, 57 yards. He was voted Most Valuable Player his sophomore year, and was high in the running for the All-American Team his junior year. He was inducted in the College's Football Hall of Fame in 1994. Hampered by a leg injury his senior year, he decided to go back to Oklahoma after receiving his bachelor's degree and start working on his songwriting career.

Harvey sang in churches all over Oklahoma as a child and was an End-Man, "Mister Bones", in a Minstrel Show for almost two years. He won first place in his highschool talent show, his senior year, singing two of his original compositions. He has performed at state fairs, clubs, show cases, restaurants, concerts, and many charity events from coast to coast, and appeared on the Louisiana Hayride, as well as live radio and television shows. He produced and hosted a thirty minute country music show that aired on local Oklahoma City television fifteen times in 1985, which was picked up by a satellite company and aired throughout the world.

   Harvey recorded his first record in 1983, and his first album in 1984 "Dreams On The Line" which contained his nationally acclaimed patriotic song "Butterfield's Taps" that was the number one most requested song on KEBC Radio, Oklahoma City in 1985.  He has had thirty-nine of his original songs published and recorded. He wrote the lyrics to the theme song of the OKLAHOMA COUNTRY MUSIC ASSO.. In May of 1987, his "Dreams On The Line" album was released in England by an English Record label and reached number #9 on their charts. He has a terrific voice and you can hear  clips of Harvey singing this song and others, all taken from his new album, Harvey Derrick and Friends on his web site:
                                                  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/harveyd                              
                               
                                                       SHELLEY ANNE RICHTER
       Shelley Anne Richter was born in Lodi, Ohio and she moved to Oklahoma with her family in 1961.  Shelley developed an appreciation for the rich history of her new home state and decided in 1993 to co-write an album titled "Tales of the Western Trail," with her mentor Harvey Derrick.  Shelley has written five chapbooks of poetry and co-produced an award winning documentary titled "The Shiver Shack." She shares a home with her mother in Oklahoma City and her three-year-old Schnauzer, Blossom.

                                                                CONTACT INFORMATION
               Harvey can be contacted at P.O Box 4121, Edmond, OK 73083-4121. For further information:
                                                                                
                                                           furrowmusic@sbcglobal.net
 

 


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