Down in Texas comic poem, El Paso, TX, 1954

Subjects: Comics & Humor Horses
Card type: Linen
Date: c. 1954 (Chrome)

Back of Down in Texas comic poem, El Paso, TX, 1954, Miss Elaine Steele, WI, USA, c. 1954 linen postcard — Back

About this postcard

"Down in Texas" is a tall-tale comic poem framed by a red Texas star and bluebonnets, with a cowboy on a bucking yellow bronco, saguaro cacti, a rider silhouetted in a red sun, and a mission-style building with palms. The verses exaggerate Texas as a place of casual gunplay, corrupt lawmen, extreme weather, and boastful local pride, from bandits stealing jitneys and marshals stealing booze to bullets falling like hail and "it's hell down here in Texas, Where they all shoot on the wing."

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

back with the pictures we took of all of you and of Bobby. We didn't see them on a screen yet but they look mighty nice tho. We want to leave for Cal. Monday if possible, all depends on they wanted to fly here and go to Cal. with us, we didn't hear yet. We were to the museum yesterday and saw Aunt Clara's piano. Love to all Grandma and Grandpa.

PublisherE. C. Kropp Co.

DOWN IN TEXAS We're down here in old Texas, Where you never have the blues, Where the bandits steal the jitneys And the Marshals steal the booze; Where the buildings horn the sky- line, Where the populace is boost, Where they shoot men just for pastime, Where the chickens never roost, Where the stickup men are wary And the bullets fall like hail; Where each pocket has a pistol And each pistol's good for jail; Where they always hang the jury, Where they never hang a man If you call a man a liar, you Get home the best you can; Where you get up in the morning In a world of snow and sleet And you come home in the evening Suffocating in the heat; Where the jitneys whiz about you And the street cars barely creep; Where the burglars pick your pockets While you "lay me down to sleep;" Where the bulldogs all have rabies, And the rabbits they have fleas; Where the big girls, like the wee ones, Wear their dresses to their knees; Where you whisk out in the morn- ing Just to give your health a chance; Say "Howdy" to some fellow who Shoots big holes in your pants; Where wise owls are afraid to hoot And birds don't dare to sing, For it's hell down here in Texas, Where they all shoot on the wing.

PostmarkedEl Paso, TX, January 7, 1954, 17:30

Addressed to

Miss Elaine Steele

217 Walnut St Oconomowoc, WI

Postcard record

Postmarked	January 7, 1954, 17:30, El Paso, TX
Publisher	E. C. Kropp Co.
Series	T42 12582
Condition	Fair
Place addressed	Miss Elaine Steele, 217 Walnut St, Oconomowoc, WI
Place mentioned	Texas, TX
Publisher	E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, WI
Stamp	2c John Adams, red, perforated on all sides
Stamp	2c Theodore Roosevelt, perforated on all sides
Notes	Linen-textured stock; paper loss and a small chunk missing along the top edge, light corner wear; copyright by E. C. Kropp Co. and series T42 printed at lower left. Postmark: EL PASO TEXAS JAN 7 1954 5:30 PM. Divided back; blue-ink message written sideways along left edge; E. C. Kropp Co. comic card; artist signature Ch. Gehm beside the bucking horse; tiny illegible print near the Alamo drawing (caption or plate number); light edge wear. In the message, the word "news" after "all depends on" is struck through.

Cite this card

Down in Texas comic poem, El Paso, TX, 1954, postcard, c. 1954. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/down-in-texas-comic-poem-el-paso-tx-1954. Accessed November 3, 2026.