Read "Spanish Johnny" by Willa Cather online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
The old West, the old time, / The old wind singing through / The red, red grass a thousand miles, / And, Spanish Johnny, you! / He'd sit beside the water-ditch / When all his herd was in, / And never mind a child, but sing / To his mandolin.
The big stars, the blue night, / The moon-enchanted plain: / The olive man who never spoke, / But sang the songs of Spain. / His speech with men was wicked talk -- / To hear it was a sin; / But those were golden things he said / To his mandolin.
The gold songs, the gold stars, / The world so golden then: / And the hand so tender to a child / Had killed so many men. / He died a hard death long ago / Before the Road came in; / The night before he swung, he sang / To his mandolin.