by Brewster Martin Higley, VI, Dr. (1823 - 1911)
Translation by William Goodwin and by Mary Goodwin

Oh, give me a home where the Buffalo...
Language: English 
Oh, give me a home where the Buffalo roam
Where the Deer and the Antelope play;
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the sky is not cloudy all day.

Chorus:
 A home! A home!
 Where the Deer and the Antelope play,
 Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
 And the sky is not clouded all day.

Oh! give me a land where the bright diamond sand
Throws its light from the glittering streams,
Where glideth along the graceful white swan,
Like the maid in her heavenly dreams.

(Chorus)

Oh! give me a gale of the Solomon vale,
Where the life streams with buoyancy flow;
On the banks of the Beaver, where seldom if ever,
Any poisonous herbage doth grow.

(Chorus)

How often at night, when the heavens were bright,
With the light of the twinkling stars
Have I stood here amazed, and asked as I gazed,
If their glory exceed that of ours.

(Chorus)

I love the wild flowers in this bright land of ours,
I love the wild curlew's shrill scream;
The bluffs and white rocks, and antelope flocks
That graze on the mountains so green.

(Chorus)

The air is so pure and the breezes so fine,
The zephyrs so balmy and light,
That I would not exchange my home here to range
Forever in azures so bright.

(Chorus)

About the headline (FAQ)

Dr. Higley was an otolaryngologist.
Note: the poem was first published under the title "Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Buffalo Roam" in the Smith County Pioneer, 1873.

Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (William Goodwin) (Mary Goodwin) , title unknown, 1904


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-11-02
Line count: 34
Word count: 221

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo...
Language: English  after the English 
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play;
There seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the sky is not cloudy all day.

Chorus
 A home, a home
 Where the deer and the antelope play,
 There seldom is heard a discouraging word
 And the sky is not cloudy all day.

Yes, give me the gleam of the swift mountain stream
And the place where no hurricane blows;
Oh, give me the park where the prairie dogs bark
And the mountain all covered with snow.

(Chorus)

Oh, give me the hills and the ring of the drills
And the rich silver ore in the ground;
Yes, give me the gulch where the miner can sluice
And the bright, yellow gold can be found.

(Chorus)

Oh, give me the mine where the prospectors find
The gold in its own native land;
And the hot springs below where the sick people go
And camp on the banks of the Grande.

(Chorus)

Oh, give me the steed and the gun that I need
To shoot game for my own cabin home;
Then give me the camp where the fire is the lamp
And the wild Rocky Mountains to roam.

(Chorus)

Yes, give me the home where the prospectors roam
Their business is always alive
In these wild western hills midst the ring of the drills
Oh, there let me live till I die.

(Chorus)

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Based on:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]

Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (John Avery Lomax) , title unknown, 1910


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-11-02
Line count: 34
Word count: 238