I had an idea, a kind of a notion

That I would travel across the great ocean

To a land that was so far away

That you couldn’t reach in more than a day

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So we set sail my family and me

For that great land to travel and see

Times were so hard and money was scarce

I never thought that it could get any worse

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The fare across was about all we could save

Disease and hunger took my youngest to a salty grave

Before that passage was all but through

It took our baby that was three days new

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We landed upon an unwelcome shore

For we had expected so much more

But we found a place from out of the storm

Food and a bed to keep us all warm

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But we soon had to move on

For our money was all but gone

It was difficult and many a cold night

Then my eldest got killed in a fight

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I found work, but life was so hard

It was difficult to believe that there was a god

Then I lost the thing that meant most in my life

Through a fever I lost my dear wife

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So now I stand here all alone

Looking back I wish I had known

But now I don’t know what is for the best

So with all that I have, I’m heading out west.

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