‘For Liza Am I Westward Bound’: A Lyrical Folk Ballad by Davis Saunders

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For Liza Am I Westward Bound

_The year was 1868,
__The place—Old King James’ town,
_Young John was by his window sat,
__Entranced and looking down.
_For walking by was Liza Jane,
__With flowers in her hair.
_In all his life, he’d never seen
__A lady quite so fair.

Oh little Liza, little Liza Jane,
_She walks in beauty down the lane,
__Oh little Liza Jane!

_But her house was the guvnor’s house,
__At the end of the street,
_And John’s house was the little one,
__So they could never meet.
_Young John a resolution made,
__Determined, set his chin,
_That he’d become a wealthy man,
__So Liza he could win.

Oh little Liza, little Liza Jane,
_If only she would look my way,
__Oh little Liza Jane!

_With this idea in his mind,
__He heard from out the house,
_The singing voice of Abraham,
__A freedman from the South:

_Out west! Out west! Or so I’m told,
_The land is rich and full of gold!
_Oh Abraham, Oh Abraham,
_I’ll take you to the Promised Land!
_The milk and honey ever flow,
_I hear the rivers rush with gold!
_Oh Abraham, Oh Abraham,
_I’ll take you to the Promised Land!
_Good Lincoln signed it with his name,
_A man like me can make his claim!
_Oh Abraham, Oh Abraham,
_I’ll take you to the Promised Land!

_A Promised Land of rivers gold?
__This, John could not pass,
_His chance to be a wealthy man,
__That she’d be his at last!

Oh little Liza, little Liza Jane,
_I’ll pass through sunshine and through rain,
__For little Liza Jane!

_Young John, Young John, yes! Come along!
__We’re off to western land!
_I’ve come this far with nothing but
__A Bible in my hand!”

_With dreams and sights set far away,
__Both John and Abraham,
_Along with fellow Homesteaders,
__They joined a caravan.
_Horses, wagons, shotguns in tow,
__They set against their fears,
_A hundred-sixty-acre claim,
__For every pioneer.
_They started off with heads held high,
__And not before too long,
_Before their hearty caravan,
__Their leader sang this song:

_Though born a wealthy man was I,
__No burden on my back,
_That life of comfort I despised,
__Adventure did it lack!
_Like Dave Crockett, I join the best… 
___Let trials come,
___They’ll meet my gun,
__And so I’m headed west!

_As they went on, marching along,
__The others joined his song:

_A widow though I’m oh so young,
__My husband died at war,
_A little less it might’ve stung,
__If he had left me more!
_Alas, he left me penniless…
___I’m off to find,
___Those golden mines,
__And so I’m headed west!

_My wife and I, our house was burned,
__The war, it took the lot,
_And when from battle, I returned,
__I returned to naught!
_Our home, the east, there’s nothing left…
___So hand in hand,
___We seek new land,
__And so we’re headed west!

_From chains to freedom, do I look,
__My name is Abraham,
_Like those before in the Good Book,
__I seek the Promised Land!
_The Lord shall guide me on my quest…
___And by His strength,
___I’ll walk by faith,
__And so I’m headed west!

_Under the banner of true love,
__Do I depart the east,
_For Liza Jane is far above,
__A poor young man like me!
_For Liza Jane, I’d pass through death…
___And then she’ll know,
___I love her so,
__And so I’m headed west!

_They journeyed on for many days,
__They left their homes behind,
_For John, still little Liza Jane,
__Was always on his mind:

Oh little Liza, little Liza Jane,_
_I promise I’ll come back some day,
__To little Liza Jane!

_By roads and towns, they passed with ease,
__Their songs made travel light,
_But after about seven weeks,
__They found their first great plight.
_Before their path, no way around,
__The Mississippi stood,
_They had no choice, they had to cross,
__But knew not if they could.
_The water rushed both fast and deep,
__Impossible to ford,
_But Abraham spoke up and said,
__Have faith!—trust in the Lord!
_If we’re to reach the Promised Land,
__Then giants we must fight,
_This river stands against us as
__A violent Canaanite!

__Thus, they resolved to cross:

Into the water entered horses first,
Against the current strong they, straining, braced.
Next homesteaders into the water plunged,
The wagon by their ropes held fast in hand,
Then John cried out, he stumbled and he slipped,
Was dashed against a hardened, jagged, stone,
Which, though it pierced his flesh, prevented him
From being washed away to certain death.
They heard a song above the river’s noise,

_Deliver us!—Oh Jesus Christ,
_Let not the river take our lives!
_Oh Abraham, Oh Abraham,
_I’ll take you to the Promised Land!

To all’s relief, John braced himself again.
The first horse stepped ashore and they found hope,
The next and they believed that they’d be safe.
A sudden force—the wagon tipped and they,
With all their might held fast to set it right.
They watched as their provisions tumbled out
Into the river, lost and washed away.
And though they safely reached the other side,
They knew they would be in for hungry nights.

_Oh Lord your mercy’s deep and wide,
_You brought us to the other side!
_Oh Abraham, Oh Abraham,
_I’ll take you to the Promised land!

_Their clothes soaked through, all freezing cold,
__The sun had long since gone,
_They fixed their minds on western lands,
__By joining in a song:

_Out where the wild runs full of game,
_With fearsome bears and mountain cats,
_With fangs that tear and claws that scratch,
__Out west, I’ll stake my claim.

_Where mountains stand by groves of pine,
_And mountains keep great caverns old,
_And caverns deep hold stores of gold,
__Out west I’ll take what’s mine.

_Where luscious grass fills valleys grand,
_Leaves turn in fall and bloom in spring,
_Where crops grow tall and robins sing,
__Out west we’ll find our land.

_Where flowers woo the honeybees,
_Where deer will prance and eagles fly,
_And sunsets dance across the sky,
__Out west I will be free.

_But John thought not of western lands,
__He did not join their song.
_He only thought of Liza Jane,
_To whom his heart belonged:

Oh little Liza, little Liza Jane,
_There was ne’er a sweeter name,
__As little Liza Jane!

_Through rough terrain and stormy days,
__And cold and dreary nights,
_They persevered for miles until,
__The land was in their sight.
_The Rocky Mountains to the west,
__The Great Plains to the east,
_They planted their new settlement,
__With eight score acres each.
_For five long years they worked the land,
__They toiled, and they tilled,
_And this is how the Homesteaders
__Their dreams in life fulfilled

_The leader of the caravan
_Became a famous hunting man.
_The greatest in the west, they said,
_His walls hold many fearsome heads.
_A warrior till his last breath,
_Against an awful bear, he fell,
_(Itself, an epic tale to tell),
_Was mighty as in life, in death.

_The widow loved her settled land,
_She worked it with a steady hand
_All by herself—she took no spouse,
_She was the head of her own house.
_Although she never did find gold,
_Her crops produced a greater wealth.
_She lived in happiness and health
_And died when she was very old.

_The soldier and his loving wife,
_By crops and kids, created life.
_Their harvest left their stomachs filled,
_And yet their home was fuller still
_With children, more than I can count.
_No longer felt they pain of war,
_Their newfound joy was so much more,
_Their children’s children were their crown.

_In faith, the godly Abraham,
_A church built in that Promised Land.
_With walls and pews and roof and steeple,
_Weekly was it filled with people
_To hear him preach the Holy Word.
_As he had been from slavery,
_He, from bondage, set souls free,
_And taught them how to trust the Lord.

_But through those five years, long and hard,
__John only had one aim:
_To earn enough wealth, that he may,
__Return to Liza Jane.
_And he struck gold! A lot of gold,
__Worth millions at least,
_Enough, he thought, for Liza Jane,
__And so he headed east!

Oh little Liza, little Liza Jane,
_I’m on my way! I’m on my way!
__Oh little Liza Jane!

_He raced back east, he raced back home,
__As fast as he could fly,
_No force on earth could slow him down,
__For Liza was his prize!

Oh little Liza, little Liza Jane,
_I’m on my way! I’m on my way!
__Oh little Liza Jane!

_In little time, he found himself
__Outside Old King James town,
_And from within the walls he heard,
__A mighty ringing sound!
_The ring was heard by angels high,
__It shook the gates of hell.
_John asked the noble watchman there,
__Good sir, why rings that bell?

_Why, sir, to John, the guard replied,
__It marks a joyous day!
_The bells proclaim the wedding feast
__Of little Liza Jane!

_John heard again the bell ring out,
__His face a wretched white,
_The piercing ring, it pierced his heart,
__And from his knees he cried,

Alas, what is a man, a man not loved,
By woman with her soft and gentle kiss?
He seeks the earth below and heavens above,
No place for him is found within their midst.
The Lord God said to man it is not good
For him to be alone in paradise.
How then can loneliness be well withstood
When Eden has been sold at serpent’s price?
For Cain was cursed to never rest his head,
To wander and forever be alone.
So I say better off was Abel dead,
Than he who had no place to call his own.
Still more than I who with no other part,
Am cursed forever with a broken heart.

_That piercing ring rang out again,
__But this time with it rang,
_A voice he’d come to know and love,
__Which to his sorrow sang:

_Out west! Out west! Where you belong,
__The bells here sing a better song,
_Oh Abraham, Oh Abraham,
__I’ll take you to the promised land!

__And so, he headed west!

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Davis Saunders is a 21-year-old student at Texas A&M University pursuing a degree in physics and a future career in the United States Air Force.