Call Of The West

New England's hills are bright in fall,
With color spreading over all.
The leaves put forth their gay display,
E're winter comes to have it's way.

But solitude you fail to find,
So trodden over with mankind.
So many folks who live near by,
Where'ere you look they meet your eye.

The eastern cities large and grand,
Their crowded hulks spread o'er the land,
Will make you stand in awe and sigh,
Their buildings almost reach the sky.

With man-made spires of snowy white,
And man-made lights that gleam all night.
With man-made strife and man-made joys,
Man-made filth and man-made noise.

To some it beckons loud and strong.
They love to be amid the throng.
So there they go to spend their days,
With city folks and city ways.

For me a different call I hear.
A soft breeze brings it to my ear.
It whispers of a starlit night,
A sunny day that's clear and bright.

A fine shade tree, a clean cool stream,
Where I might sit and think and dream.
A rugged peak that i might scale
And watch an eagle soar and sail.

Give me a land that's broad and grand
With boundless scenes on every hand.
And time and space enough, I know,
For me and all who come and go.

A friendly face, a western drawl
That greets me with a, "Hi, you all!"
So keep the east, give me the west,
I like the way God did it best.