Following the Sun All Day

Bob Nolan
Original copyright: October 9, 1937

We’ve been following the sun ever since the day begun
And we’re weary.
‘Til the fading western light brings the shelter of the night
So dreary.

Refrain:
Following the sun all day.
Move those mountains from our way.
Wheels are turning, hearts are yearning,
Following the sun all day.

We don’t know where we’ll end maybe just around the bend
Trouble’s hiding.
But the sun is in the lead and that’s all we’ll ever need
For guiding.

Every day and everywhere there’s been something in the air
Growing stranger.
For we haven’t heard a sound and the silence all around
Warns there’s danger.

Bob was fascinated by the great move West in the previous century and wrote several songs in that theme, including "Frontiers". We have Bob's rough working copy of the lyrics (link below).

The song was apparently used in Columbia's Call of the Rockies, a Charles Starrett film. It was not commercially recorded until January 21, 1966 (RCA Victor) but was included in the 1940 Orthacoustic Symphonies of the Sage, on the April 2, 1945 10-2-4 Time program and used several times on the later Teleways Radio Productions transcriptions, the Lucky U Ranch radio show series and also in the Smokey the Bear radio show programs during the 1950s.

The song was registered for copyright on October 9, 1937, and the sheet music was published in Bob Nolan’s Folio of Original Cowboy Classics No. 1, © 1939 by American Music, Inc.

Following the Sun All Day (American Music, Inc.)

SONS OF THE PIONEERS TRANSCRIPTION RECORDINGS

Orthacoustic Symphonies of the Sage (064353)

NBC Thesaurus transcriptions, LPT 1623 (courtesy of Wallace Smith)

10-2-4 Ranch radio show, No. 155-06) (January 13, 1943)

10-2-4 Time radio show Date: 08/07/45 (02) (August 07, 1945)

Teleways Radio Productions transcriptions: #4-32-64-76-93-129-169-206

Lucky U Ranch radio programs courtesy of Larry Hopper
- Transcriptions disc TR-77/78 (November 8, 1951)
- Transcriptions disc TR-152/153 (December 19, 1951)
- Transcriptions disc TR-220/221 (January 31, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-296/297 (March 25, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-399/400 (June 5, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-569/570 (November 19, 1952)
- Transcriptions disc TR-662/663 (23 January 1953)

Smokey the Bear radio show, episode no. 7 (1956)