Memories from the Homestead: ‘Twilight on the Trail’ celebrating 90 years

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was said to have three favorite Cowboy songs. The 1870s "Home On the Range," the Sons of the Pioneers famous "Cool Water," and a 1936 favorite—"Twilight on the Trail."

Even though "Twilight on the Trail," was in a movie with a Kentucky mountain setting and was based on a 1908 novel of the same name, the song version, written by Sidney Mitchell and Louis Alter in 1936, soon saw popularity in the Western genre thanks to Hopalong Cassidy. 

The movie that introduced the song has often showed up on the Encore Westerns channel. The 1936 Paramount feature "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" was where "Twilight" made its debut. The film starred Henry Fonda, Sylvia Sidney and Fred MacMurray. This was a great feature, as the film was the first outdoor movie ever filmed in color. 

The 1936 sheet music release of "Twilight on the Trail" that accompanied the Paramount film "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine." (Photo courtesy of the Sons of the Pioneers Museum)

Paramount used the song again in 1941 in a production starring Hopalong Cassidy. Going forward, many of the Western performers performed it. Gene Autry had a successful recording, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans later included it in their radio broadcasts. The version that President Roosevelt loved was the cut by Bing Crosby.

The great Sidney Mitchell was one of Hollywood's finest when it came to writing songs for musicals. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, June 15, 1888, his career began as a newspaper reporter, then by 1917 he became associated with a New York publishing house as a songwriter. He moved to Hollywood in 1929 writing songs and special material for films. Mitchell died at the young age of 54 in Los Angeles February 25, 1942.

Louis Alter, historically another one of America's great writers, wrote the musical portion of "Twilight on the Trail." He was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on June 18, 1902. Starting on the piano at age nine, four years later he was accompanying silent films as a pianist in a local theater. He ignored the cue sheets that came with the films and created his own to suit the action in the picture. Working in New York as a music arranger, he also moved to Hollywood in 1929 and had a long career.  He passed away on November 5, 1980.

Bing Crosby's record of "Twilight on the Trail" as well as Mitchell and Alter's manuscript copy are on display in Roosevelt Memorial Library in Hyde Park, New York.  

I first heard the song at age seven on the Sons of the Pioneers 1959 "Cool Water" album and found the words to it in Granny Evelyn's box of Western sheet music and song books shortly after. Granny had discovered it in a 1945 Roy Rogers song folio. Her copy was falling apart, missing its front and back cover, but at least I had the lyrics, which I found very thrilling. I also discovered a "live" radio version by the Pioneers in 1951 with Ken Curtis doing the solo.  

The instrumentation took forever to figure out when I started performing it 20 years ago. I will admit the chord progressions are challenging. I recall a 2005 radio performance I was asked to do on Branson Country USA when it was still hosted by Don Paul, at Grand Country Music Hall. I chose "Twilight" as Don wanted me to do a popular movie song that fans knew. The Grand Band chose to skip the song, as Larry Allred stated, "Man, we can't figure out where this one goes." So, I performed it with just my rhythm guitar!

There are a number of excellent recordings of "Twilight" all on YouTube, including the 1941 Hopalong Cassidy feature. Check them out!

Happy trails, everyone!