~ A song and poem by Arthur Brooke Baker.

The following words with accompanying music were published as Sheet Music in 1922.  “West” became wildly popular across the nation with both those that had already moved west and those that hoped some day to do so.  Horace Greeley had advised young men to go west a generation earlier, but Greeley didn’t provide poetry or music to move the point along; Baker‘s “West” did.

Two inappropriate lines have been deleted.

Verse:
East is the place where the wise men sit, West where the strong men walk;
West is the place where the young men act, East where the old men talk;
East is a land where a book is bound, West where a life is free;
Take your choice of the whole world around, West of the world is for me!

Chorus:
Westward ho!  West we go!  West of the sunset gold!
Shining West!  Mining West!  West with its wealth untold!
Dreaming West  Gleaming West!  West of the brave and bold!
Looming West!  Booming West!
West! West! Oh! West!

Verse:
North is the land where the pine trees fight, South where the Palm trees wait;
West is the land where the redwoods stand, Guards of the Golden Gate;

Chorus:
Going West!  Glowing West!  West of the far-spread plain!
Thrilling West!  Willing West!  West of the vine and grain!
Youthful West!  Truthful West!  West that forgets its pain!
Striving West!  Thriving West!
West! West! Oh! West!

Verse:
East is the land where the law is strong, West where the heart is true;
East is the place where the millions throng, West is for me and you;
East is the place of tradition and right, West of humanity’s need!

Chorus:
Airy West!  Fairy West!  West of the glad and free!
Lonely West!  Only West!  West of the world for me!
Camping West!  Tramping West!  West where we love to be!
Making West!  Breaking West!
West! West! Oh! West!

[1922.01.01 / West]