Music in the Westward Expansion by Laura Dean

Author:Laura Dean
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Published: 2022-05-26T00:00:00+00:00

“Ho! For the Kansas Plains,” by James. G. Clark. Sheet music cover art depicting a Native American and a pioneer. Published by Oliver Ditson, Boston, 1856 (Kanas State Historical Society).

“Ho! For the Kansas Plains”–Poetry and Music by James G. Clark.

Huzza for the prairies wide and free; Ho! For the Kansas plains;

Where men shall live in liberty; Free from a tyrant’s chains.

We spurn at the power and break the rod, Wreaking in guilt and crime;

We bow the knee to none but God, Maker and King of time:

And the brave will round us rally, From the mountain and the valley,

Till the skies with freedom ring, And the world shall hear us sing.

O sweet is the charm of rock and tree; Bright are the flowing rills,

Where we have roam’d in youthful glee, Over the eastern hills:

But we turn from all their beauty, To the call of truth and duty,

And we give our chainless might, To the battle of the right.

Tho’ far from the soil of Pilgrim fame, On the Atlantic shore,

Here we will build a noble name, Proud as our fathers wore.

And the faroff Rocky Mountains, With their flashing lakes and fountains,

Shall behold our glory spring, While the world shall hear us sing.56

There were several pieces of music published in the mid-nineteenth century inspired by “Oregon Fever.” For example, “My Home’s on the Prairie Lee,” “Prairie Waltz,” “Oregon Quick Step,” “Wait for the Wagon,” and “Oregon Waltz.” “The Girl I Left Behind Me” was a favorite of emigrants on the trail. As is the case for many songs of the trail, there were multiple sets of lyrics that went with the same melody. “The Girl I Left Behind Me” dates back to an eighteenth-century English folk song, and there were multiple versions of the song floating around on the Oregon Trail. Below are the lyrics to one version found in “Songs and Dances of the Oregon Trail.”57

“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

I hit the trail in seventy-nine

the herd strung out behind me

As I jogged along my thoughts went back to the girl I left behind me.

(Chorus) Oh that sweet little girl, that pretty little girl, the girl,

The girl you do remind me,

That sweet little girl, that dear little the girl,

the girl I left behind me.

If ever I get off the trail

And the Indians they don’t find me

I’ll make my way straight back again

To the girl I left behind me.

(Chorus)

The wind did blow and the rain did flow

The hail did fall and blind me;

I thought of that girl, that sweet little girl,

That girl I left behind me.

(Chorus)

She wrote ahead to the place I said

I was always glad to find it;

She says, “I’m true, when you are through

Right back here you will find me.”

(Chorus)

When we sold out I took the train

I knew where I would find her.

When I got back we had a big smack

And I ain’t no gol-durned liar.

In conclusion, music served multiple roles on the Oregon Trail. People brought heart, fortitude, and passion to the trail as they endured hardships, loss, and countless challenges on the road toward fulfilling their dream for a new life in the West.

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