Of all the cowboy love songs this poem has perhaps enjoyed the greatest sustained  popularity. It was originally titled, "A Border Affair". It has been revised several times; and under one of several revisions, it was set to music and renamed, "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue". In the romantic era during which it was written, it had wide appeal. It lingered long after most other cowboy love ballads were forgotten. Its story of true love thwarted by the barrier of "racial" differences, had wide appeal.
 

Badger Clark was named the first Poet Laureate of South Dakota in 1937 by then Governor Leslie Jensen.  His distinctive cowboy poetry was published widely during his lifetime in such notable publications as Sunset Magazine, Pacific Monthly, Arizona Highways, Colliers, Century Magazine, the Rotarian, and Scribners. Beginning with his first book, "Sun and Saddle Leather" in 1915, the cowboy poet's books have never been out of print.       "Ridin" (originally titled "IN Arizony") was the first poem ever published by Badger Clark and the poet was fond of telling the story of how it came about. He had found life on an Arizona ranch exhilarating and prose seemed inadequate to express his feelings. Consequently, when he sent his mother a letter, he wrote the poem.  Recognizing its literary merit, his mother sent it to The Pacific Monthly which promptly published it and sent Badger a check for $10.00. When Badger discovered that the  magazine would actually pay him for his poem which had come so easy, he decided to pursue a literary life.            In later years, Badger Clark settled in the Black Hills. His cabin (pictured above) is now in Custer State Park and open to the public.  It is called the Badger Hole.