Lyrics to
The Rifleman
♫ For all of you
who have waited patiently, Laurel Records is proud to announce
that we have finally completed the project and Music From The
Rifleman is now available for purchase at:
www.laurelrecords.com
THE RIFLEMAN
from the ABC-TV Series
The Rifleman starring Chuck Connors
a Four Star-Sussex Production Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions
words by Alfred Perry, ASCAP Music by Herschel Burke Gilbert, _______________________________________________________ASCAP
Verse 1. HE IS NO STRANGER TO THE SETTLERS
AND THE BAD MEN KNOW HIS FAME
THEY SPEAK OF HIM IN WHISPERS
BUT THEY NEVER USE HIS NAME
Chorus: THEY CALL HIM THE RIFLEMAN,
THE STRONG, COURAGEOUS RIFLEMAN
A GREAT BIG MOUNTAIN OF A MAN.
Verse 2. HE NEVER REACHES FOR HIS RIFLE
EXCEPT WHEN HE'S ATTACKED.
HE RECKONS THERE'S A TIME TO SPEAK
AND THERE'S A TIME TO ACT.
Chorus: THEY CALL HIM THE RIFLEMAN
THE STRONG, COURAGEOUS RIFLEMAN
A GREAT BIG MOUNTAIN OF A MAN.
Verse 3. THEY KNOW THAT WHEN IT COMES TO
MARKSMANSHIP
HE'S BETTER THAN THE BEST.
STILL, SOME-ONE'S ALWAY FOOL
ENOUGH
TO PUT HIM TO THE TEST.
Chorus: THEY CALL HIM THE RIFLEMAN
THE STRONG, COURAGEOUS RIFLEMAN
A GREAT BIG MOUNTAIN OF A MAN.
Verse 4. TO EVERY LAD WHO COMES TO HIM
TO LEARN THE SECRET OF HIS ART
HE TELLS THEM THERE'S NO MEDICINE
TO HEAL A COWARD'S HEART.
Chorus: THEY CALL HIM THE RIFLEMAN
THE STRONG, COURAGEOUS RIFLEMAN
A GREAT BIG MOUNTAIN OF A MAN.
Verse 5. THERE IS A MORAL TO HIS EXPLOITS
AND HE'S TAUGHT IT TO HIS SON
SPEAK SOFTLY TO YOUR ENEMY
BUT LET HIM SEE YOUR GUN!
Chorus: THEY CALL HIM THE RIFLEMAN
THE STRONG, COURAGEOUS RIFLEMAN
A GREAT BIG MOUNTAIN OF A MAN
(*Please be patient while this song loads, it may take a few seconds to load
but is well worth the wait!
Please note..... when clicking on the link to this sound wav - it will
download to your computer.)
A friend of mine from Australia send me a
copy/picture of The Rifleman Theme on 45 which of course is the
A Side /
The B Side was a teaser from the Dick Powell show.
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♫'s about the lyrics
& music to The Rifleman — The lyrics were written by Alfred Perry, Herschel's long time friend and collaborator. Alfred
was Herschel's Right Hand Man
at Four Star Productions and took over the music department for Herschel when he left Four Star for CBS in 1964.
The lyrics are owned by Herschel Burke Gilbert's publishing company: John Paul Music.
John & Paul are Herschel's son's. Neat huh?
The Rifleman theme was one of the most popular western themes on television. It was on a par only with Bonanza (which had a longer run).
This theme music and score received more fan mail than all other Four Star productions combined and even more fan mail, in one season, than Chuck Connors.....Chuck was surprised as a lot of other people were.
"These lyrics are copyrighted by John Paul Music Inc.© and may not be copied or used for any purpose whatsoever without expressed, written permission of the publisher."
The only themes identifying characters for The
Rifleman are those for Mark and Lou. Everything else is variation on
those two themes. There is no theme identifying Lucas per se although
there are themes such as McCain's Chase, McCain's Fast Ride, McCain's
Question, McCain's Walk and McCain and Son once again, variations. But
one could also associate the main title with Lucas as well although it's
used pretty universally throughout the episodes. And then there's that
treasure trove of cues from various films such as The Naked Hills.
♫
Mark's theme
(*Please
be patient while this song loads, it may take a few seconds to load
but is well worth the wait!
Please
note..... when clicking on the link to this sound wav - it will
download to your computer.)
On behalf of The Rifleman....."Welcome to the McCain Ranch" and all the fans of Herschel Burke Gilbert's music
& fans of The Rifleman,
I wish to thank John for the permission to be able to add these lyrics to my website.
They truly are an asset! Thanks John!
♫ For all of you
who have waited patiently, Laurel Records is proud to announce
that we have finally completed the project and Music From The
Rifleman is now available for purchase at:
www.laurelrecords.com
Laurel Records
John Gilbert, Herschel Burke-Gilbert's son, sent these links of several interview videos on
Herschel Burke Gilbert for you to enjoy. They are brought to you by
Archive of American Television Interview Herschel Burke Gilbert. Hear Herschel talk about his life, how he got to do the theme for The Rifleman and a lot of his great music scores. So much history here about the man and his music, "The Theme Weaver"
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