Way Out There

Bob Nolan
Original copyright: October 2, 1933

A lonely spot I know where no man will go
Where the shadows have all the room,
I was ridin’ free on the old S. P., softly humming a Southern tune
When a man came along, made me hush my song,
Kicked me off away out there.

Refrain: (A trio yodel that sounds just like the old train whistle.)

As she pulled out of sight, I turned to my right,
The left, and everywhere,
But all I could see was a cactus tree
And a prairie dog playing there.
Saw the prairie dog feed on the tumbling weed.
That’s his home away out there.

So I threw down my load in the desert road,
And rested my weary legs.
Watched the sinking sun make the tall shadows run
Out across the barren plain.
Then I hummed a tune to the rising moon.
He gets lonesome ‘way out there.

And then I closed my eyes to the starlit skies,
And I lost myself in dreams.
Dreamt the desert sand was a milk and honey land
Then I woke up with a start.
There’s a train coming back on that one-way track
Gonna take me ‘way from here.

As she was passing by, caught her on the fly.
I climbed in an open door.
Then I turned around to that desert ground
Saw the spot I will see no more.
And as I rode away heard the pale moon say,
“Farewell, pal, it gets lonesome here.”

"Way Out There" celebrated Bob Nolan's boyhood. He was a self-admitted hobo for much of his young life. Unable to afford a ticket, he used the train every chance he could - on top of it, inside it or underneath. It was the fastest way a young fellow could see the country and, because it was risky, it was exciting. The song was also Bob Nolan's first copyright song (October 2, 1933) under the original title, "Away Out There" with an arrangement by his friend, Slumber Nichols, who was classically trained in music. Bob wasn't. The song also became Bob's introduction into a paid radio job that grew quickly into fame if not fortune.

Bob Nolan talks about "Way Out There" and the Pioneer Trio's first audition on KFWB to Ken Griffis on January 12, 1972:

NOLAN: It was a Jimmie Rodger’s-style song called Away Out There. It was written about my freight train hoboing around the country, see. Evidently, Jimmie Rodgers was a professional hobo, too, before he finally started making records for, I believe, it was RCA Victor.

GRIFFIS: Now, this song Way Out There. Was the basis of this in a poem…?

NOLAN: No, it was just a backdrop [for] an excuse to do this train whistle yodel that I had written, see. I wrote about 8 short verses and at the end of which I would yodel like Jimmie Rodgers used to do. Jimmie used to write all his own songs and they were just short verses in order for him to yodel, see? We was rehearsing mostly my tunes. Yes. We still had the song Way Out There which we had developed now into 3-part harmony yodel, see, and it was a sensational thing to listen to because we really pepped it up and the rhythm was just frantic, it was so fast. We had developed our yodeling breaks to where we could break real fast, you know, just like trip hammers. It was strictly a gimmick tune but it was so impressive to hear that every time we sang the doggone thing, we just knocked people off their stools. We had Tumbling Tumbleweeds. No, it wasn’t Tumbling Tumbleweeds at that time. It was still Tumbling Leaves. I had written the song out in West Los Angeles and also had also finished Cool Water and, oh, what were the songs we had in our audition repertoire? We’d go from fast to slow and then right back into one of these tearing tempo tunes. We had an audition repertoire of about 8 songs that lasted for about 20 minutes, see, and this was our audition. And we never did – at the time that we was accepted – we’d never get through the doggone thing. We’d get to this one song Way Out There and when we finished that, they’d say, “Well, you’re hired!”

Bob also introduced the song in various ways in the Teleways Transcriptions in 1947-8:

"Back when I was growing up, when a guy was broke and wanted to get someplace, he didn’t hitch a ride in a car, he just hit the rods on a freight. I wouldn’t recommend that as a means of travel any more. It sometimes gets you into trouble. There’s something in the rolling wheels of a train that makes music in your ears and starts your heart to pounding. That’s the way it affected me back in the days when I was riding the rods. But then, a railroad brakeman had a different idea [and kicked me off the train.]" (Teleways)

When Bob Nolan was interviewed by Edythe Jacobs for her book, Sing Your Heart out Country Boy, he told her:

"This was my very first tune. There was something about the lure of the road and the knights of the road that prompted me to join them. For approximately four years, my young life was spent in riding the rails and enjoying the ‘romance of the road’. I traveled everywhere in this country, moving along on a capricious thought. I actually composed ‘Way Out There’ when I was enjoying the freedom of boyhood travel."

The song became popular because of the unusual trio yodel. In 1935 the trio and the song were featured in The Old Homestead. A year later, a Paramount short, Star Reporter of Hollywood featured the Sons of the Pioneers singing "Way Out There" and, ten years later, Republic Pictures featured it again in Song of Arizona.

Cross & Winge, Inc. included the sheet music in The Sons of the Pioneers Song Folio No. 1 in 1936.

Way Out There (American Music, Inc.)

The Sons of the Pioneers recorded it for Decca in August of 1934, the same month they included it in the Standard Radio transcriptions.

SONS OF THE PIONEERS TRANSCRIPTION RECORDINGS

Standard Radio transcription, No. 1681 (1934)

10-2-4 Ranch radio show, July 14, 1943 (06)

Orthacoustic Symphonies of the Sage, (064397)

Teleways Radio Productions transcriptions, Nos. 8, 58, 74, 220, and 242 (c. 1947-48)

Lucky U Ranch radio shows (courtesy of Larry Hopper) (some confusion of transcription numbers)
- Transcriptions disc TR-150, 151 (December 18, 1951)
- Transcriptions disc TR-214/215 (January 28, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-250/251 (February 21, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-337/338 (April 23, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-443/444 (July 14, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-499/500 (September 1, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-541/542 (October 30, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-599/600 (December 11, 1952)
Lucky U Ranch radio shows without the Sons of the Pioneers
- Transcriptions disc TR-730/731 (March 11, 1953)
- Transcriptions disc TR-808/809 (May 5, 1953)

Smokey the Bear radio show, episode No. 5 (1955)