A life in the West

Oh! brothers, come hither, and list to my story,

Merry and brief will the narrative be,

Here, like a monarch, I reign in my glory,

Master am I, boys, of all that I see:

Where once frown'd a forest a garden is smiling,

The meadows and moorlands are marshes no more;

And there curls the smoke of my cottage, beguiling

The children who cluster like grapes at the door.

Chorus:

Then enter, boys--cheerly, boys, enter and rest;

The land of the heart is the land of the west!

O-ho! boys! O-ho! boys! O-ho! boys! O-ho!

Talk not of the town, boys, give me the broad prairie,

Where man, like the wind, rolls impulsive and free;

Behold how its beautiful colours all vary,

Like those of the clouds, or the deep-rolling sea.

A life in the woods, boys, is even as changing,

With proud independence we season our cheer;

And those who the world are for happiness ranging,

Won't find it at all if they don't find it here.

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Chorus

Here, brothers, secure from all turmoil and danger,

We reap what we sow, for the soil is our own;

We spread hospitality's board for the stranger,

And care not a fig for the king on his throne.

We never know want, for we live by our labour,

And in it contentment and happiness find;

We do what we can for a friend or a neighbour,

And die, boys, in peace and good-will to mankind.

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Chorus