The West

Then came West Virginia came Nevada and Nebraska

Colorado and Dakota, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming

And the West was opened up

And for ther first time it seems

That the nation was really conscious of itself as a nation

Railroad tracks crossed the land as did telegraph wires

Public opinion and great ideas were now reflected on a national basis

And never in this land before us and never more hereafter

Will a land know such a people as a man we call a cowboy

His hat and his bandana his unique brand of lingo

All his devil deeds of daring bold and skillful in the saddle

Brave and daring in the rambling wild and eager in exploring

Land that calls him with a challenge

But the land was already claimed by a people

When the cowboy came and when the soldiers came

The story of the American Indian is in a lot of ways a story of tragedy

Like that day at Wounded Knee South Dakota