Whow, I did´nt know, that this was such an old poem! - I know the Song by Michael Martin Murphey who used the words on one of the most beautiful Christmas albums, I have ever heard (Cowboy Songs II - Cowboy Christmas). I play this song from the CD every Christmas in the barn for my horses.
Here is another favourite of mine from the Michael Martin Murphey CD:
Corn, Water and Wood
I was in the arroyo gatherin’ strays
You know cowboys and cattle don’t get holidays
I would have been finished except for one little guy
Who kept leading me farther away
He went up on the mesa, across a ravine
At the Indian ruins and the muddy red stream
So I stopped for a spell, ‘cause I was bone tired
And I guess that I started to dream
I saw three painted horses, three dark skinned men
With masks made of clay and voices like wind
Singing we seek the soul, of all that is good
We come bearing corn, water and wood
Stop and behold, all that is good
Give thanks for the corn, water and wood
I’m an old trail hound and I’ve always believed
Your boots and your saddle are all that you leave
No miracles happen, no angels appear
But I swear three men were standing there
I shook myself over, had I been asleep
That’s just three pueblo children, tending their sheep
And they yelled Merry Christmas, as they brought me my stray
And their voices rang through the mesquite
Singing we seek the soul, of all that is good
We come bearing corn, water and wood
Stop and behold, all that is good
Give thanks for the corn, water and wood
