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Out west we have
A history all our own
We took this land
(Some say stole)
And made it our home.

It started with "Manifest Destiny"
Chasing a promise of gold and a hope
Some headed south to the Frisco Bay
And felt a sense of what's to come.
Lewis and Clark and The Donner party
Questioned unbreakable family bonds.

Illnesses and ordeals,
Broken wagon wheels
Of tribulations and trials we've had the most
Wagon coaches chained to dying oxen
For the Oregon Trail and the California coast

Let's not forget the battle
Of Wounded Knee
Land claims and Indians
We were once enemies,
Now we're family and friends.

Train hijackers and outlaws
The railway industry sprung
Soldiers, battles, fighters
Songs that now go unsung.

We moved on to The Civil War and all of us damn yanks
The north, a promise of hope and a sense of what's right
We fought for freedom for all
And freedom no matter for black or for white

We share a common heritage
Five hundred nations. We're one people now
And with our sense of all for one
Indians, whites, blacks, Asians, the salad bowl
We are one nation of five hundred and one.

Out west we have
A history all our own
We borrow this land from our children
And we make it our home.

Learn more about this author, Sarah Parrish.
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