After the Roundup

The poem was printed on October 6, 1893 under the name D. J. White. O'Malley wrote as his stepfather, the Fort Keogh soldier, who was discharged in 1881 and disappeared that fall, never seen by his family again. John Lomax published the words in 1910 as a song collected from tradition. On August 4, 1925, Carl T. Sprague recorded it for Victor in Camden, New Jersey, and the record reportedly sold some 900,000 copies, the first hit by a singing cowboy. O'Malley took his own father's name after moving to Wisconsin.

What the plaque says

After the Roundup D. J. O'Malley grew up living at frontier forts because his step-father served in the 19th Infantry. He lived at Fort Keogh, near Miles City, for five years before going to work in 1882 at age 16 for the Home Land and Cattle Co. (N-Bar-N) for $45 a month. His 14-year tenure with the outfit included three trail drives from Texas. In O'Malley's day, writing verse about life on the range was a common cowboy pastime and O'Malley was one of the best. His poem, "After the Roundup," appeared in the Miles City STOCKMENS' JOURNAL in 1893. Thirty years later, it had become the classic, "When the Work's All Done This Fall." Here is the refrain from the original poem: "After the round-up's over, After the shipping's done, I'm going straight back home, boys, Ere all my money's gone. My mother's dear heart is breaking, Breaking for me, that's all; But, with God's help I'll see her, When work is done this fall."

Where it stands

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