Uploaded October 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago

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A cowboy singer ponders the frontier myth of the American west, with yodeling!

From the album The American Songbook: Redacted: robprocks.com/release/the-american-songbook-redacted
on bandcamp: robprocks.bandcamp.com/track/the-people-who-were-already-here
on spotify: open.spotify.com/track/4lfHbTJvzSmGWBcBhQgBDP?si=d2a1ba2766af427a
on Apple Music: music.apple.com/us/album/the-people-who-were-already-here/1646865974?i=1646866462

Lyrics:
The Western sky covers all we revere
Except for the people who were already here
There’s opportunity for those who can persevere
Except for the people who were already here

Come on and grab yourselves some acres
we need lots of takers
We fake it til we make it
that’s why makers are such fakers
We’re out here where the opportunities are sublime
Except for the people who’ve been here the whole time

The heavy hand of government will not interfere
Except with the people who were already here
We believe in meritocracy out on this frontier
Except for the people who were already here

This land of opportunity’s a clarion call
Our divine mission is clear
The bounty of this land will be open to all
Except for the people who were al-
ready here

We’ll spread the gifts of liberty that we hold dear
Except to the people who were already here
Anyone can stand their ground if they’re ever in fear
Except for the people who were already here
The taming of this land will give us all cause to cheer
Except for the people who were already here
We’ll idolize western characters for years
Except for the people who were already here
La-eeeee eee-eee-heee
eee-eee-heee-eee-hee
I’m not even talking about the descendants of the Spanish and the southwestern people who’ve been here for hundreds of years.
Or even the Chinese laborers who were brought over to build the railroad and basically enslaved and not given any rights.
You see the economy of the West had less to do with cattle and more to do with real estate and mining and lumber and other extractive industries.
My point is history’s complicated.