This Old White Mule of Mine

Bob Nolan
Original copyright: March 16, 1936

‘Way up high in the mountains,
In the kingdom of the Pine,
I lived with the best old pal I know,
This old white mule of mine.

Refrain:
His back’s caved in and he’s mighty thin
But his legs are strong and fine.
So I sing a song as he carries me along,
This old white mule of mine.

When they have a dance in the valley,
I quit my job at the still
And I climb aboard my old white mule
And go ridin’ down the hill.

He shares my joys and my sorrows,
He shares my bed and wine.
He even wants to share my gal
But there I draw the line.

The other night we quarreled
And I called him a nasty name
So he kicked me down the mountainside
But I loves him just the same.

The judgment day soon is coming
And the Golden Stairs I’ll climb.
And I know St. Peter will welcome me
On this old white mule of mine.

When the Sons of the Pioneers entered the entertainment field, the radio stars were the Beverly Hill Billies, a pseudo-hillbilly family. The Pioneers sang a lot of the same songs and Bob wrote "This Old White Mule of Mine". We understand that when Bob was with the Rocky Mountaineers, the Pioneers would often drive around Hollywood with a white mule seated in the back seat of their open car.

The Sons of the Pioneers included it in their Standard Radio Transcriptions (1934), sang it in The Old Homestead in 1935 and included the sheet music in their first songbook, Sons of the Pioneers Song Folio No. 1 1936, Cross and Winge. Then it was heard of no more. It was registered for copyright on March 16, 1936.

This Old White Mule of Mine (American Music, Inc.)

SONS OF THE PIONEERS TRANSCRIPTION RECORDINGS

Teleways Radio Productions transcriptions, Nos. 80, 142, and 189 (c. 1947-48)

Lucky U Ranch radio shows (courtesy of Larry Hopper)
- Transcriptions disc TR-141/142 (December 12, 1951)
- Transcriptions disc TR-668/669 (January 28, 1953)