A Life in the West

(Verse 1)
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!

(Verse 2)
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

(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!

(Verse 3)
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

(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!