They say in Montana there are golden mountains
Shimmering n’ shining in the sun.
But the long Missouri doesn’t quite afford 
The convenience of a year-round river run.
 	So with team n’ wagon fully loaded with supplies
 	O’er the Oregon Trail, to get rich quick or die
 	You can shave off some miles, n’ stake your claim in style
 	By following the Bozeman Trail.
 
Proposed by Mr. Bozeman as a cash cow highway
With emigrants to fleece and bills to fill
Callously constructed, a policy conducted
By the gold chain of command up on the hill.
 	With no where else to go, Cheyenne, Sioux ‘n Crow
 	Struggled to reduce the threat to the buffalo
 	As we shaved off them miles, to stake our claim in style
 	By following the Bozeman Trail.
 
 		How many roads must dissect the wilderness
 		Before we realize the cost?
 		What we take rarely, if ever,
 		Is given back to God.

(Musical Interlude)

 	As we shaved off them miles, to stake our claim in style
 	By following the Bozeman Trail.
 
They say in Montana there are golden mountains
Shimmering n’ shining in the sun.
But the long Missouri doesn’t quite afford
The convenience of a year-round river run.
 	So with team n’ wagon fully loaded with supplies
 	O’er the Oregon Trail to get rich quick or die
 	You can shave off some miles to stake your claim in style
 	By following the Bozeman Trail.
 
 	You can shave off some miles to stake your claim in style
 	By following the Bozeman Trail.

Can the angels separate our wants from our needs?
So human a nation we’ve colored red, white and blue
Off the freeway is a coffee bar grinding up beans
Where beautiful people sort various versions of truth.

	“Truth is not always seen when shown.
	Truth is not always loved when seen.”
	In our Buffalo Republic
	Buffalo Republic

	(Pledge of Allegiance)

	Buffalo Republic !

There’s a high wind, over eastern Wyoming
Mystic chords of memory stir from within
With a soldier of tin, whose conscience is forming
We’re not sure where we’re going, but certain it’s not where we’ve been. 
 	May the ears that these words reach 
 	be like the sand upon the beach
 	Of the Buffalo Republic.
 
Kick the horses into overdrive
We’re poised like two warriors forged in the bright morning sun
Feel the forces push and pull you from side to side
Pernicious greed and compassion are born into one. 
 	The lessons of retreat 
 	accompany the beat...
 	Of the Buffalo Republic!
 
 		Before you go to sleep, contemplate the subject
 		Wolves become sheep in our Buffalo Republic.
 		Buffalo Republic.

 (Musical Interlude)
 
Fallen promise, slain by popular greed
Collective morality’s colors are red, white, and blue
Crowded freeways, a taste of paradise lost
As wilderness struggles to stand in the wake of “The Fall.”
 	“Truth is not always seen when shown. 
 	It’s not always loved when seen.”
 	In our Buffalo Republic
   	Buffalo Republic
 	In our Buffalo Republic

        Contemplate the subject...

We are Tsa-la-gi,
From the dawn of time to the last rays of dusk,
Driven west by bayonet from our homes in the middle of the night
By injustice deemed just.
 
Sequoyah’s brilliant alphabet, Chief John Ross’s eloquence
We built houses, farms and roads, had families that could read
We knew what we were up against.
 
 	The Hunters and the Healers, The Sowers of the seed
 	Where the miracles at work within the heart 
 	and in the mine of the human soul
 	Let ancient rhythms flow.
 
When pioneers pushed to increase the take.
Georgia filed its demand.
John Ross took and won our case in Washington
In the High Court of the land.
 
Then, the U.S. President 
articulated his contempt.
“Chief Justice Marshall made this ruling, defiant to our course,
And now it’s his to enforce.”
 
 	(For Those Who Cried)
 		For the Hunters and the Healers,
 	(Were Those Who Cried)
 		For the Sowers of the seed
 	For the miracles at work within the heart 
 	and in the mine of the human soul
 	Where ancient rhythms flow.
 
 			We abhor the holocaust and ethnic cleansing
 				(Employed on foreign soil)
 			There’s conscience in us all.
 			Now, the dreams of Manifest Destiny
 			Desperately need overhaul.

When Justice Marshall walked the sunset
Liberty’s bell tolled its respect
Freedom’s chime stopped. Forever silent...
By a crack shot deep and wide.
 
On an empty band of Interstate
Against a headwind, with time running late
We still print twenties with exactly the same face
We’ve been unwittingly enslaved...
 
 	(With Those Who Cried)
 		With the Hunters and the Healers,
 	(With Those Who Cried)
 		With the Sowers of the seed
 	Where the miracles at work within the heart 
 	and in the mine of the human soul
 	Let ancient rhythms flow.
 
 	(Ancient rhythms flow)
 		Through the Hunters and the Healers,
 	(Ancient rhythms flow)
 		Through the Sowers of the seed
 	Through the miracles at work within the heart 
 	and in the mine of the human soul
 	Where ancient rhythms flow.
 
 	Yes, miracles still work within the heart
 	And in the mine of the human soul
 
 	Where ancient rhythms flow...

It’s what we say and do as we strive to be human
It’s every breath taken, every blink of the eye.
Some carry Noble Hearts, embracing the Sun
In Leaders and Chiefs, in Kings and in Queens, 
We’re drawn to the ones...

	The ones who give their lives to that high plateau
	To the ones whose lofty dreams become real.
	One human’s love can start a thousand hearts
	As calloused hearts begin again to feel.

 		Founding Fathers, beacons for the human race
		Loving mothers, ideals for us to chase
		The course of a lifetime, flowing steady, going strong
		In the blink of an eye, can blend with the sky, 
		Aligned with the dawn.

Some men are born to lead, rising high as an eagle
And some born to follow, when they find what they need
Some are materially bound, clinging fast to their gold
And some know that things in this short life 
are too small to hold.

	Somewhere later on, beyond that high plateau
	Where wild mountain rivers rush and fall
	Relatives and friends will be rejoined again
	But first our lives must answer to "The Call"...

		Of the...

		Founding Fathers, beacons for the human race
		Loving mothers, ideals for us to chase
		The course of a lifetime, flowing steady, going strong
		In the blink of an eye, can blend with the sky, 
		Aligned with the dawn.

		May the force of our lifetimes emerge steady and be strong 
		So one day in time we’ll blend with the sky, 
		Aligned with the dawn.

		So one day in time we’ll blend with the sky, 
		Aligned with the dawn.

I knew a man west of Ketchikan, he lived in a house by the bay,
He’d coffee his pot up before five o’clock, 
then easily java'd in the day.
He said, “When I was young, my uncle took me down this path to the shore.
‘Son’, he said, ‘you will understand when you hear the ocean’s roar.’
 
 	You see, we had to get up.
 	We had to get up.
 	We had to get up 
 	And Go Fishin’.”
 
General Crook nibbled at the hook on his way up north to help Custer.
He ran into Crazy Horse and thousands of Sioux. 
The catch was more than he could muster.
He blew all his ammo, shooting at dust, then captured an empty field.
After a nap, he said, “Men, fall back. Thank God we still got our rods and our reels.
 
 	We just have to get up.
 	We have to get up.
 	We have to get up 
 	And Go Fishin’.”

 
 		To every shore, on every continent, rivers run to the sea
 		In the beginning, there was nothin’ but waves, with life beneath
 		Meet the dawn with respect, with a pole and a net
 		And accept what you get... 
 		And Go Fishin’.

Mr. Kuralt, was a travelin’ man, he detoured through the Big Sky.  
He had him a cabin way off of the road, a recreational alibi.
When he’d check in with his bosses at home, he said, “I’m doin’ fine.
Men find peace playin’ catch and release, and one is making her way to my line.”
 
 	You see, he had to get up.
 	He had to get up.
 	He had to get up 
 	And Go Fishin’.
 
 		To every shore, on every continent, rivers run to the sea
 		In the beginning, there was nothin’ but waves, with life beneath
 		Meet the dawn with respect, with a pole and a net
 		And accept what you get...
 		And Go Fishin’.
 
 		Meet the dawn with respect, with a pole and a net
 		And accept what you get...
 		And Go Fishin’
    		And Go Fishin'
      		And Go Fishin'

         	And Go Fishin'.

		Hoe Yo, Hoe Yo, Heave Hoe Yo, Hoe Yo, Heave Hoe

When we left St. Louis, we were laughin’ ‘n singin’ to the rhythm of the Missouri
We were the command of two captains west, called the Corps of Discovery.
Of all my friends with whom I was impressed, one stood more intriguing than all
 	He was brave, loyal and strong, there seemed nothing that he didn’t have
 	Except for freedom in the land of the free, cause his skin was black.
 	It’s my duty to report, his name was York
 
Pushing ‘n’ sailing, rowing ‘n’ towing the Big River’s winding bends.
Against the current but with the wind, we were chosen among men.
Discovery’s channels are not always clear, sometimes we’d run ‘er aground.
 	Patient will ‘n’ brotherhood, Unified the Corps.
 	We left behind the other world where slavery was in force.
 	Could the river change its course, In Search of York?
 
 
 		Camped on a sandbar on an island in the stream, 
 		as Cruzatte’s fiddle bowed us lullabies.
 		And he whispered, “There was a time when my people lived in freedom.
 		We built from sand, empires ‘neath our own kings and queens.”
 
 
 		Hoe Yo, Hoe Yo, Heave Hoe Yo, Hoe Yo, Heave Hoe
 
Indian tribes were in awe of my friend, they called him Big Medicine
His skin the tone of rich Mother Earth, respect awakened him.
Jefferson’s vision pushed us across the continent tribe after tribe
 	York a natural passport, engaging young and old
 	It became apparent to most of the Corps that no one should be owned
 	The river reached a fork, In Search of York
 
  		Hoe Yo, Hoe Yo, Heave Hoe Yo, Hoe Yo, Heave Hoe

Triumph and pain, losses and gains endured on foot and in boat
The camp we’d spend the winter in ‘twas put to a vote.
“Come and be counted, Come all of ye crew, Come York ‘n’ Bird Woman, too.”
 	Cedars bowed approval at what first occurred
 	An American election, in which, democracy was served.
 	The voices on the shore, included York’s!
 
 
 		Upon our return, our hopes and spirits soared 
 		double pay and land grants to the Corps.
 		But to Clark, York was just a slave, to keep and hire out, too.
 		Ignoring pleas for freedom, as callous masters do...
 
 
Seasons have tumbled since I last saw my friend, though eventually Clark set him free
And for a time he drove his own team, tasting freedom, to a degree.
Some say disease stole the light from his eyes enroute returning to Clark.
 	But in words from a sober trapper, I heard what I pray is the truth
 	York somehow ventured back up the Big River To live what he once knew.
 	The natives, as before, Welcomed York.
 
 	In Search of York...
   		In Search of York...
 
 	In Search of York...
 
 		Hoe Yo, Hoe Yo, Heave Hoe Yo, Hoe Yo, Heave Hoe

Long ago the earth grew old, hope was more dead than alive
Our elders prayed for a hero so good humans could survive.
 	The world had been taken by, wicked beings and greed was without end
 	From the heart of the buffalo a saving hand was lent.
 
 		When ‘cross the verdant plains of buffalo grass
 		He walked with our people in a time long past
 		Into village and wilderness, through forest and stream
 		Sometimes I see his Shadow in My Dreams.
 
With giving heart and steady hands and Little Dog by his side
He granted attention to those in need, finding means to provide.
 	When selfishness and deceit made evil the actions of men
 	If they chose to oppose our hero, evil found an end
 
 		When ‘cross the verdant plains of buffalo grass
 		He walked with our people in a time long past
 		Into village and wilderness, through forest and stream
 		Sometimes I see his Shadow in My Dreams.
 
 			We’re awake in the twenty-first century
 			Inside a hungry beast of our own righteous design
 			Be it a system or addiction or a serpent in a tree
 			It’s the heart that we must listen for
 			It’s the heart that we must find
 			Through legends and lore.
 
The healing circle of the Sun considers Grandmother Earth
And every creature and human child, to her song adds a new verse.
 	Sometimes when I feel weak and empty I dream back those wilderness plains
 	There I find a proud and fearless hero whose spirit still remains…
 
 		Upon the verdant plains of buffalo grass
 		He walked with our people in a time long past
 		Into village and wilderness, through forest and stream
 		Sometimes I see his Shadow in My Dreams.
 
 		Sometimes I see his Shadow in My Dreams.
 
 		Sometimes I see his Shadow... (Kút-oy-is)

Temperature’s falling,
The snow lay on the ground
Angels are calling.
I can’t ignore the sound.

	My husky friend is sinking low.
	His instinct tells him not to go on
	But stop...and gather wood
	To Build A Fire.

Visions of gold dust
Have led me to this place
It’s boom or slow bust
Upon this path I take

	To be surrounded by this cold
	Reminds me I am getting older
	I thought I never would...
	Neglect the fire.

		I just want to see the sun ascending, 
		Just one more day
		He who eagerly accepts the credit
		Can shoulder the blame
		And carry the game...

Daylight is fading.
The sky is almost black.
In this awakening,
There is no going back.

	I had it all, but lost my way
	Predators become the prey
	If they wait...to gather wood
	To Build A Fire
		To Build A Fire

	To Build A Fire

In 1803, Jefferson bought what he thought was Napoleon’s to sell.
This strange transaction leads to the story I tell
About the U.S. spreading west to Louisiana (Territory)
 
Up the muddy Missouri, to the source of its course, was their mission and beyond.
The wild “Rock Mountains” rising up from the Plains,
Onto the wild Pacific shore of the Great Northwest
 
 	But there were people whose homes were in the way
 	Who if threatened, would be able to deliver Judgment Day
 	So the two commanders with men and boats in tow 
 	Sang, “I christen thee..
 	The Lewis and Clark Traveling Magical Show.”
 
Tricking the Arikara, York played a trained black bear.
Francois danced on his hands… the crowd went wild!
With standing room only, the Mandan held their show over for the winter.
 
Sacajawea and her little baby, Pomp, 
assured it would be a... a family show
A giant canine performed a dozen drooling hound dog tricks
 
 	Fans fell entranced by the fiddle driven band
 	Needles danced in compasses with magnets tucked in hand
 	Cannon fuses sparkled bright with Technicolor’s incandescent glow
 	From the Lewis and Clark Traveling Magical Show

 (Musical Interlude)
 
 	But the Sioux and Blackfeet nations were left unimpressed
 	By American shenanigans and adolescent jest
 	Obliviously stumbling from the stage before a hostile audience
 	“Were The Lewis and Clark Traveling Magical Show.”

Most of the tribes helped the mission claim success
Though some of its members tipi crept to excess!
Some Indian women were willing to return what had been given
 
“Harmonic Diplomacy” for Lewis and Clark was the key to longevity
Through the months bright and dim of their American Odyssey
Through species wild and cultural in nature
 
 	Let us pause to applause ‘n give the cast its due.
 	Their sense of luck and timing changed for perpetuity...
 	The destiny of a people and a land, ponder this comedy
 	The Lewis and Clark Traveling Magical Show
 
 	Traveling Magical Show
   	Traveling Magical Show
 	Traveling Magical Show
 
 	Simply a Magical Show!