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