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High, Wide and Handsome

And the horse you rode in on.

Dear Word Detective: I have been intrigued by the song “Rawhide” (from the TV show of the same name) and the phrase “livin’ high and wide” that is used in the song. I have tried to research its meaning and can’t come with much more than that it might describe a wide open sky with clouds high above. Can you shed any light on the meaning of “living high and wide?” — Ginny Haddy.

Wow. As far as I know, I never actually watched Rawhide when it originally aired from 1959 through 1966, because I was never fond of westerns. But that theme song started playing in my head as soon as I read your question, and now I can’t get rid of it. (Time to break out my emergency tape of “My Sharona.” That kills anything.) “Rawhide” sure is a catchy tune, which isn’t surprising since it was written by Dimitri Tiomkin, winner of a slew of Oscars for his film scores, with lyrics by Ned Washington. I had not realized (Thanks, Wikipedia!) that the song has been recorded over the years by artists ranging from Frankie Laine (for the show) to Oingo Boingo. That’s what I call a tune with legs.

Set in the late 1860s, Rawhide followed “drovers” on a cattle drive from Texas to Missouri, with stops along the way to solve the problems of the locals, argue with Indians, etc. (which must be why the trip took seven years). The show was, in other words, basically “Route 66″ with cows (and a young Clint Eastwood). The first stanza of the theme song contains the phrase in question: “Keep movin’, movin’, movin’ / Though they’re disapprovin’ / Keep them dogies movin’ Rawhide! / Don’t try to understand ’em / Just rope and throw and brand ’em / Soon we’ll be living high and wide. / My heart’s calculatin’ / My true love will be waitin’ / Be waiting at the end of my ride.”

Judging by the context, “living high and wide” is obviously a pleasant state of prosperity and ease, but the phrase “high and wide” in this sense is distressingly absent from all the dictionaries and collections of slang I’ve checked. “High,” of course, occurs in many phrases denoting well-being and wealth, such as “living high on the hog,” which comes from the fact that the best cuts of ham, bacon, etc., are found high on the flanks of pigs. The “high” in that phrase also connotes, beyond porcine anatomy, the sense of floating above everyday cares and woes, as “high and mighty” and similar phrases do. But “high and wide” was nowhere to be found among such figurative uses of “high.”

After a prolonged spell of staring at the cornfield across the road, however, a tiny light clicked on upstairs. I realized that Ned Washington, the lyricist, was almost certainly using a cropped form of the venerable US slang phrase “high, wide and handsome,” meaning, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), “In a carefree manner, in good style” or, according to the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE), “Grandiloquent, stylish, successful.”

The earliest printed occurrence of “high, wide and handsome” found so far comes from 1907 (“Tim could talk high, wide, and handsome when he set out to.”), but the phrase was almost certainly in wide oral use by the mid-19th century. It also seems to be largely associated with the American West, making it a good choice for a cowboy song. A glossary of slang published in 1932 lists the phrase and notes: “Common shout at a rodeo: ‘Ride him, Cowboy, high, wide and handsome.'”

As is often the case with slang, the logic behind “high, wide and handsome” is a bit hard to trace. “High” and “wide” both carry the sense of pride, respect and ease, as if one were strolling confidently down the street while being admired by lesser folk, and “handsome” certainly conveys a sense of being well-groomed and prosperous. The general flavor of the phrase is that the person is feeling and acting on top of the world.

Interestingly, “high, wide and handsome” seems to have later given birth to a more general sense of “unambiguously” or “forcefully” (“The day was riding high, wide and handsome into the deeps of the incredible blue sky,” 1939), as well as serving as a template for turns of phrase that denote anything but well-being (“The cops’ll be high, wide and helpless. They won’t know what in hell’s hit ’em,” 1971).

9 comments to High, Wide and Handsome

  • Nancy

    My anti-earworm song is “Go tell Aunt Rhodie”, kills them dead; I think it is the relentless droning tune. “My Sharona” is relentless too, but not quite as droning. I may have to try it next time.

  • Raquel

    I always thought it was “dogies” – calves – not doggies, especially in light of the next two lines in the verse.

  • Dave Khan

    It is definitely “dogies” rather than “doggies”, and I am quite sure the lyric is also “don’t try to understand ‘em / Just rope and throw and brand ‘em”, which not only has the advantage of making sense, but also rhyming. I suspect Mr. Morris was done in by a typically bad Internet lyric-quoting site, which are invariably riddled with typos, mondegreens and other sillinesses.

  • David Falterman

    Personally, I don’t think anything beats Neil Diamond’s “I’m A Believer” for anti-earworm songs (Yes, I know The Monkees originally recorded it, but Neil Diamond wrote it, and plus I like his version better…). Really, though, any catchy song that you only know about a third of the lyrics to will work….

  • Roy

    Living high and wide denotes a person of means and importance. Would agree with “living high on the hog” and would add “cutting a wide swath”.

    “A Lion Sleeps Tonight” works well to clear the others songs out.

  • Kevin

    It is “doe gees”, but I understand it’s spelled “doggies”.

    I always thought it was “rope & bull & brand ’em”, since the wrangler (they hated being called “cowboys”) would have to bulldog ’em to brand ’em.

    • Randy

      Spelled ” dogies ” – that is what makes it a calf and not a hound ( doggy ).

      And – it is def. ” rope, throw and brand ” as that is what a cowboy does when he brings an animal to the ground to brand. He ropes it, he dismounts and throws it on the grond and they brand it.

  • mark m.

    The answer to what “HIGH AND WIDE” means is actually in one of the Rawhide episodes. Season 7, episode called “THE EMPTY SLEEVE” The scout Pete says he found water and the river is “HIGH AND WIDE”. Remember a big part of every show is constantly looking for the next water hole to survive and it is a blessing to find it.

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