LYRICS to the songs on the soundtracks
of How The West Was Won

(Note that the lyrics may differ between the movie, the single CD soundtrack, and the two CD soundtrack versions.)

How The West Was Won (sung by the MGM chorus, Ken Darby Singers, and Dave Guard & The Whiskeyhill Singers)
The promised land
I'm going, I'm going, going, going to the bountiful,
Bountiful land!
Roll, wagons, roll!

I am bound for the promised land,
I'm bound for the promised land
Oh who will come and go with me
I am bound for the promised land

It's a land of plenty that never fails
where trees immortal grow,
where rocks and hills and brooks and vales
with milk and honey flow
milk and honey, milk and honey, milk and honey flow.

I am bound for the promised land,
I'm bound for the promised land
Oh who will come and go with me
I am bound for the promised land
Who will come and go with me
I am bound for the promised land

Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
Roll away, you rolling river
Oh, Shenandoah, I'm sure to leave you
And away, I'm bound to go, cross the wide Missouri.

Endless prairie, I wanna leave you
I'm gonna leave you - goodbye!
Because I don't aim to die
Here on the prairie
Where the wind blows so hard
That you have to walk sideways
To keep from flying
I'm gonna leave this endless prairie
Or I'm gonna die from trying

I popped my whip and I bring the blood
I make those leaders take the mud
We grab the wheels and we turn 'em round
One long pull and we're on hard ground
Tim-a-roe, tim-a-roe, tim-a-ridee-oh
Tim-a-roe, tim-a-roe, tim-a-ridee-oh
Tim-a-ridee-oh, tim-a-roon-I-oh
Tim-a-roe, tim-a-roe, tim-a-ridee-oh

When I got west, the hills were steep
T'would make a tender person weep
To hear me cuss, and pop my whip
To see my oxen pull and slip
Tim-a-roe, tim-a-roe, tim-a-ridee-oh
Tim-a-roe, tim-a-roe, tim-a-ridee-oh
Tim-a-ridee-oh, tim-a-ridee-oh, tim-a-ridee-oh! Tim-a-roon-I-oh
Tim-a-roe, tim-a-roe, tim-a-ridee-oh

When I get home, I'll have revenge
I'll land my family 'mong my friends
I'll bid goodbye to the whip and line
And drive no more in the wintertime
Tim-a-roe, tim-a-roe, tim-a-ridee-oh
Tim-a-roe, tim-a-roe, tim-a-ridee-oh
Tim-a-ridee-oh, tim-a-ridee-oh, a-ridee-ohhhh

Ohio (the promised land)
Nebraska (the promised land)
Wyoming (the promised land)
Colorado (the promised land)
The Promised Land!

I am bound for the promised land,
I'm bound for the promised land
Oh who will come and go with me
I am bound - for the promised land!

Home In The Meadow (sung by Debbie Reynolds, to the tune of Greensleeves)
Away, Away
Come away with me
Where the grass grows wild, where the winds blow free
Away, Away
Come away with me
And I'll build you a home in the meadow

Come, Come
There's a wondrous land
For the hopeful heart, for the willing hand
Come, Come
There's a wondrous land
Where I'll build you a home in the meadow

The stars, the stars
Oh how bright they'll shine
On a world the Lord must have helped design
The stars, the stars
Oh how bright they'll shine
On that home we will build in the meadow

Come, Come
There's a wondrous land
For the hopeful heart, for the willing hand
Come, Come
There's a wondrous land
Where I'll build you a home in the meadow.

(Extra verses - from the songbook of the movie)
The hills! The hills! Look beyond the hills,
there are rivers wide, there are whip-poor-wills
The hills! The hills! Look beyond the hills,
To that home we will build in the meadow.

(Chorus)

The stars, the stars
Oh how bright they'll shine
On a world the Lord must have helped design
The stars, the stars
Oh how bright they'll shine
On that home we will build in the meadow

(Chorus)

Raise A Ruckus Tonight (sung by Debbie Reynolds)
C'mon along, everybody come along
While that moon am shining bright
C'mon along, and raise your voice in song
We gonna raise a ruckus tonight

T'ain't no time to sit and brood
Raise a ruckus tonight
It's time to strike a lively mood
Raise a ruckus tonight

Go and get that old banjo
Raise a ruckus tonight
Just pat your foot and tap your toe
Raise a ruckus tonight

Do ya hear me? Come on along -
little children come along
While that moon am shining bright
C'mon along now, tune up that string
And let that banjo ring
We gonna raise a ruckus tonight

Sing it out now!  Come on along -
little children come along
While that moon is shining bright
Join in, let's all sashay
Until the break of day
We're gonna raise a ruckus, raise a ruckus, raise a ruckus tonight!

Come on along -
little children come along
While that moon is shining bright
Let's all sashay, until the break of day
(Yahoo! That's the spirit! That's the way to feel!)
We're gonna raise a ruckus tonight 
(repeat section again)

(Extra verses - from the songbook of the movie)
We've come quite a ways I know
Raise a ruckus tonight
We've got quite a ways to go, so
Raise a ruckus tonight.

Can't cha hear that old coyote's mournful wail,
Raise a ruckus tonight
Sounds like he's been put in jail,
Raise a ruckus tonight

Ain't you all done sat a spell,
Raise a ruckus tonight
Now's the time to raise some well!
Raise a ruckus tonight

Leave that brayin' to the mule,
Raise a ruckus tonight
Come up here and cut the fool,
Raise a ruckus tonight

What Was Your Name In The States? (sung by Debbie Reynolds)
What was your name in the States?
Was it Thompson or Johnson or Bates?
Did you happen to draw on your mother-in-law?
Or sink the old lady with weights, my friend,
Eh, What was you name in the States?...Oh!

What was your name in the States?
Was it Murphy, MacDonald or Gates?
Did you hold up a bank as a juvenile prank
And pack up the money in crates, my friend,
What was your name in the States?...Tell the truth...

What was your name in the States?
Now yuh must have had some honest traits (I doubt it).
Did you try to abscond with a beautiful blond?
Such minor offenses we tolerates,
Eh, What was your name in the States?

Sure, an' what was your name in New York?
Was it Clancy, O'Toole or O'Rourke?
Are you wanted for life 'cause you left your poor wife
When she caught you sniffing a cork, my friend,
What was your name in New York?

What was your name in the East?
And how recently was you released?
Are you ridin' the rails 'cause you held up the mails?
Or was it the females you held, you beast!
Oh, What was your name in the East?

Oh, what was your name in the States?
Though you've suffered the cruelest of fates,
'Way out here in the West ev'ry body's a guest,
So line up and fill up your plates, my friend,
Who ever you are in the States!

Nine Hundred Miles From Home (sung by Dave Guard & The Whiskeyhill Singers)
I'm walkin' down the track I got tears in my eyes
I'm tryin' to read a letter from home.
If that train runs right I'll be home tomorrow night
'Cause I'm nine hundred miles from my home
And I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.

The train I'm ridin' on is a hundred coaches long
You hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.
If those tracks run right I'll be home tomorrow night
'Cause I'm nine hundred miles from my home
And I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.

On The Banks Of The Sacramento (sung by Dave Guard & The Whiskeyhill Singers)
We'll explore the western shore,
we'll fill our pockets with the the golden ore.
It's been found just lyin' around
in a bushel and a peck all over the ground

Then ho, boys, ho! to California go!
There's plenty of gold in the world I'm told
on the banks of the Sacramento.

(That) gold out there is ev'rywhere
and ev'rybody is a millionaire.
It's so thick we'll get rich quick
just pickin' up a chunk as big as a brick.

Then ho, boys, ho! to California go!
There's plenty of gold in the world I'm told
on the banks of the Sacramento.

Exit Music (Finale Ultimo)
The promised land - the promised land - the promised land!
The promised land, the land of plenty rich with gold
Here came dreamers with Bible, fist and gun
Bound for land, across the plains their wagons rolled
Hell bent for leather - that's how the West was won

Side by side they tamed the savage prairie land   (note: the songbook says "stride by stride")
Nothing stopped them - no wind nor rain nor sun
Side by side these pioneers from ev'ry land
All pulled together - that's how the West was won

And they sang of the day when they would rest their boots
In a land where the still waters flow
Where the dreams of a man and wife could put down roots
And their love and the seeds of love would grow
And grow and grow!

Dream by dream they built a nation on this land
Forged in freedom for ev'ry mother's son
Here it is, the beautiful the promised land
We won't forget them and how the West was won!

- END -

Click here if navigation bar is not visible on the left