When I close my eyes I see Flathead and Sioux,
Nez Perce, Blackfeet, Shoshone, and Crow
Razor sharp obsidian points on their arrows
Racing through the air off their Big horn bows.
Lewis and Clark sought a west ward course
No, they never journeyed up to the Yellowstone source
John Coulter traded on the Yellowstone and Snake
First White man to see the great Yellowstone lake!
Chorus:
This vision of freedom is something I share
With the bison and the elk and the grizzely bear
Just knowing there’s a place still wild and strange
I’m returning with the wolf to the Yellowstone range.
First came the trappers and the fur traders
Next prospectors searching for gold
Maps were drawn up by the fortune seekers
Far and wide the great mystery told
Jim Bridger talked of a fantasy land
Where hell bubbles up from the steaming sands
Rivers run so fast, their bottoms get hot
Hard to believe what is real and what’s not.
Chorus:
The Hayden Expedition was federally funded
Back in the year 1871
They brought along artists and with photographs
Proved the wonders of Yellowstone to everyone
Just a year later, Ulysses S. Grant
Serving as our 18th president
Dedicated Yellowstone to be set apart
Making it the world’s first national park
Chorus:
The jewel in the crown of our national treasure
Where bison will roam and the deer and elk play
To honor this gift given by our ancestors
Preserved for the children of some distant day.
Chorus:
credits
from Visions of Freedom,
track released December 3, 2019
Fiddlin' Pete Watercott/Mandolin & Vocals, Tammy Kilpatrick/Vocals, Neil Gelvin/Guitar, Dan Connor/Guitar, Ryan Finch/Bass
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