Facing West From California's Shores
FACING west, from California's shores,
Inquiring, tireless, seeking what is yet unfound,
I, a child, very old, over waves, towards the house of maternity, the
land of migrations, look afar,
Look off the shores of my Western Sea--the circle almost circled;
For, starting westward from Hindustan, from the vales of Kashmere,
From Asia--from the north--from the God, the sage, and the hero,
From the south--from the flowery peninsulas, and the spice islands;
Long having wander'd since--round the earth having wander'd,
Now I face home again--very pleas'd and joyous;
(But where is what I started for, so long ago? 10
And why is it yet unfound?)
poem by Walt Whitman
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Related quotes
Western Hero
Frontier town, home of the westren hero
Frontier justice, dealt with the iron hand
He wore a long coat to the ground
He wore big boots that made a sound
He wore a six gun on his hip
But now he doesnt carry it
Sure enough, he was a western hero
On the deck, sighting an old jap zero
And on the shores at normandy
He fought for you, he fought for me
Across the land and on the sea
But now hes just a memory
And in the distance, the rockets red glare
The bombs burst in the air
This time were never going back
Through the years he changed somehow
Hes different now
Hes different now
Open fire, here comes the western hero
Standing there, big money in his hand
Sure enough, he was a western hero, sure enough
song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Money and Success
How much money will be needed
For you to think you've succeeded?
A million, two, three or four?
Or does that still leave you feeling poor?
What'll you do to gain that wealth?
Be open, honest or use stealth?
And what'll you give for this take?
Family, friends, birthday cake?
Think hard and long. It's only once around.
So be sure you don't end up unfound.
Unfound by self and those dear.
You and your funds won't long be here.
While you toil to make your mark,
In life's flight please disembark
To stop and question what you've been told?
Your real assets spring not from gold.
Think first of love, joy and friends.
Then when your sojourn finally ends,
Success will be your guarantee
Whatever money there may be!
poem by Gregory Huyette
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California Sunset
I remember long ago
How I wondered where Id go
While the blizzards, cold wind and snow
Pounded outside my window.
California sunset
Going down in the west
All the colors in the sky
Kiss another day goodbye.
Land of beauty, space and light
Land of promise, land of might
Youre my home now and its true
California, heres to you.
California sunset
Going down in the west
All the colors in the sky
Kiss another day goodbye.
California sunset
Going down in the west
All the colors in the sky
Kiss another day goodbye.
The golden state!
song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Soldier's Grave
Twas long ago, in the summer-time,
On a day as sad as this,
That I laid my babe in its father's arms,
And he gave it his farewell kiss;
When the army sail'd from the English shores
In a mist of sun and rain,
To the vine-clad hills and citadels
And the olive groves of Spain.
I set my face to the balmy south,
And listen'd, intent and dumb,
As though a cry from the battle-grounds
On the fragrant wind might come.
I yearn'd for a gleam of the red camp fires
Which burn'd through the watchful nights,
For the shine of the bayonets that clash'd one day
On the dread Albuera heights.
Ah me! And my face cannot turn away,
Though the ashes are on my brow,—
Though the news of the battle came once for all,
And there's nothing to watch for now!
Though 'tis further away than that far south land
I must look for my dear man's face,—
Though I know he will never come home again
To the chair in the old house-place!
poem by Ada Cambridge
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After The Shores
when the Buddha in me
sees the Buddha in you,
he leaps with joy!
as if great waves of stillness
arise from a calm, placid sea,
to lap at the shores of...
we are those shores,
and yes, we are the waves,
but most of all...
we are what remains,
after the shores are stripped bare!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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In the Storm that is to come
By our place in the midst of the furthest seas we were fated to stand alone -
When the nations fly at each other's throats let Australia look to her own;
Let her spend her gold on the barren west, let her keep her men at home;
For the South must look to the South for strength in the storm that is to come.
Now who shall gallop from cape to cape, and who shall defend our shores -
The crowd that stand on the kerb agape and glares at the cricket scores?
And who will hold the invader back when the shells tear up the ground -
The weeds that yelp by the cycling track while a nigger scorches round?
There may be many to man the forts in the big towns beside the sea -
But the East will call to the West for scouts in the storm that is to be:
The West cries out to the East in drought, but the coastal towns are dumb;
And the East must look to the West for food in the war that is to come.
The rain comes down on the Western land and the rivers run to waste,
When the city folk rush for the special tram in their childless, senseless haste,
And never a pile of a lock we drive - but a few mean tanks we scratch -
For the fate of a nation is nought compared with the turn of a cricket match!
There's a gutter of mud where there spread a flood from the land-long western creeks,
There is dust and drought on the plains far out where the water lay for weeks,
There's a pitiful dam where a dyke should stretch and a tank where a lake should be,
And the rain goes down through the silt and sand and the floods waste into the seas.
We'll fight for Britain or for Japan, we will fling the land's wealth out;
While every penny and every man should be used to fight the drought.
God helps the nation that helps itself, and the water brings the rain,
And a deadlier foe than the world could send is loose on the western plain.
I saw a vision in days gone by and would dream that dream again
Of the days when the Darling shall not back her billabongs up in vain.
There were reservoirs and grand canals where the Dry Country had been,
And a glorious network of aqueducts, and the fields were always green.
I have seen so long in the land I love what the land I love might be,
Where the Darling rises from Queensland rains and the floods run into the sea.
And it is our fate that we'll wake to late to the truth that we were blind,
With a foreign foe at our harbour gate and a blazing drought behind!
poem by Henry Lawson
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Drums Of The Islands
(words & music by polynesian cultural centre - tepper - bennett)
Drums of the islands youre beating in my heart
Youre with me no matter where I roam
If ever I wander if ever were apart
I know that you will lead me home
If I should journey across the deep blue sea
Ill never forget these coral shores
Drums of the islands I hear you calling me
And Ill return forever yours
I love each valley each grain of sand each hill
The flowers the music of the isles
These are the things I love and always will
Though I may roam ten thousand miles
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ocean Girl
In the jungle land
With the sea and the sand
Can I meet you there?
Well be drinkin bananas
From long tall glasses
In the open air.
Ocean girl
Come round the world
From forgotten shores.
Therell be music playin
What no words could say
When you first get there.
Well be lost in a corner
That we find in each other
There so much to share.
Ocean girl
Come round the world
From forgotten shores.
song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ain't No Sunshine
Ain't no sunshine when shes gone
It's not wram when she's away.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
and she's always gone too long anytime she goes away.
Wander where this time she's gone
Wander if she's gonna stay
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
and this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away.
coz i know, i know, i know ...............
Hey i'd leave young thing alone ain't no sunshine whens she's gone.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
only darkness everyday.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
and she's always gone to long anytime she goes away
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
and this house just ain;t no home
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
song performed by by Will Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ain't No Sunshine
Ain't no sunshine when shes gone
It's not wram when she's away.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
and she's always gone too long anytime she goes away.
Wander where this time she's gone
Wander if she's gonna stay
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
and this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away.
coz i know, i know, i know ...............
Hey i'd leave young thing alone ain't no sunshine whens she's gone.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
only darkness everyday.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
and she's always gone to long anytime she goes away
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
and this house just ain;t no home
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
anytime she goes away
song performed by by Will Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Root Like A Rose
There's a green, green palce
Where you lift your face
To the sound of the waves and the wind
Down by the shore
Where my soul does endure
Where the mother sea ends and begins.
Take me home
To the sand and the foam
Where my dreams walk in the mist
I'll fall to the earth and root like a rose
In the salt land
That gave me my verse.
Though I wander afar
The same sea, the same stars
Still shine to the tears in my eyes
They take me home to a land
That my soul understands
Where the heart of the rose never dies.
Take me home
To the sand and the foam
Where my dreams walk in the mist
I'll fall to the earth and root like a rose
In the salt land
That gave me my verse...
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When
I dwell in the western inland,
Afar from the sounding sea,
But I seem to hear it sobbing
And calling aloud to me,
And my heart cries out for the ocean
As a child for its mother's breast,
And I long to lie on its waters
And be lulled in its arms to rest.
I can close my eyes and fancy
That I hear its mighty roar,
And I see its blue waves splashing
And plunging against the shore;
And the white foam caps the billow,
And the sea-gulls wheel and cry,
And the cool wild wind is blowing,
And the ships go sailing by.
Oh, wonderful, mighty ocean!
When shall I ever stand,
Where my heart has gone already,
There on thy gleaming strand!
When shall I ever wander
Away from the inland west,
And strand by thy side, dear ocean,
And rock on thy heaving breast?
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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Wild West Hero
Wish I was, yeah, a wild west hero.
Sometimes I look up high and then I think there might
Just be a better life.
Away from all we know, thats where I wanna go,
Out on the wild side
And I wish I was, o-oo-o-oh, a wild west hero.
Ride the range all the day till the first fading light,
Be with my western girl round the fire, oh, so bright.
Id be the indians friend, let them live to be free,
Ridin into the sunset, I wish I could be.
Id ride the desert sands and through the prairie lands,
Tryn to do whats right.
The folks would come to me, theyd say, we need you here.
Id stay there for the night.
Oh, I wish I was, o-oo-o-oh, a wild west hero.
Ride the range all the day till the first fading light,
Be with my western girl round the fire, oh, so bright.
Id be the indians friend, let them live to be free,
Ridin into the sunset, I wish I could be.
Oh, I wish I was, o-oo-o-oh, a wild west hero.
Oh, I wish I was, o-oo-o-oh, a wild west hero.
Oh, I wish I was, o-oo-o-oh, a wild west hero.
Oh, I wish I was, o-oo-o-oh, a wild west hero.
Wish I was, o-o-oo-o-o-o-oo, a wild west hero.
song performed by by Electric Light Orchestra
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Long to See Home
I sit here and listen
to each story told
and hear of tropical island breeze
that make the palm trees
sway in its wake
and white beachs glemming
Where the waves
lap against its shores
I long to see
were I can place my hand
and run sand in my hand
seeing the deep blue lagoons
that hide the oceans life
Taste the fruits
that are abundance galore
to see the colours of rainbows
of flowers that spread
across its shores
I sit and sigh
and think will I see
those wonderful sites
Will I see the beauty
of the home were
my parents use to roam
as children of old
and hear the legends
being told by the camp fire site
Will I ever get to see
the moon shine its light
by the beautiful shores
of my parents home
Will I ever see their home
I sigh with a dreamy eye
thinking one day I just might
poem by Kaila George
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Song. (Birds Of Passage. Flight The Fifth)
Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.
Weary and homesick and distressed,
They wander east, they wander west,
And are baffled and beaten and blown about
By the winds of the wilderness of doubt;
To stay at home is best.
Then stay at home, my heart, and rest;
The bird is safest in its nest;
O'er all that flutter their wings and fly
A hawk is hovering in the sky;
To stay at home is best.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Would You Speak Revisited
You would speak
again of journeys
planned places
unseen to go
listed amazing things
remaining to be seen?
I have never left
these unique island shores.
Yet I have seen
more secrets of the land.
Than you perceptive have
or ever perceiving shall.
This is the land
of our collective people.
This is the land
of our migrations sail.
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Wander-Wander
Wander Wander where to go
This way that way I don’t know
Just keep walking forward stance
Take in views and capture chance
Two Herons here and horses there
Country wandering more than fair
Crossing style and jumping brook
Sit a while and take a look
See the water meander down
Watch a small frog jump around
Then move on and up the hill
Wild grass grows and always will
Wander Wander where to go
Down long lane and past hedge row
Light is fading now it’s late
A distant building I cannot wait
For the light that glimmers from within
It’s no public house, it’s a ‘real ale’ Inn!
Copyright © 2008 Ray Feasey
poem by Ray Feasey
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A Town Called Paradise
Copycats ripped off my words
Copycats ripped off my songs
Copycats ripped off my melody
It doesnt matter what they say
It doesnt matter what they do
All that matters is my relationship to you
Gonna take you out
Get you in my car
Were going for a long long drive
Were going down to a town called paradise
Down where we can be free
Were gonna drink that wine
Were gonna jump for joy
In a town called paradise
Were going up the mountainside
Child you can look for miles
And see the vision on the west
Were gonna swing round
And look from north to south
Swing round from east to west
And go round in a circle too
And were gonna start dancing
Like weve never done before
Im gonna take you in my arms
Im gonna squeeze you tight
Everything will be alright
Were gonna get that squealin feelin
Gonna take you down to a town called paradise,
Down where we can be free
It doesnt matter what they say
It doesnt matter what they do
All that matters is my relationship to you
By the river we will linger
As we drive down to be free
Were gonna ride all night long
All along the ancient highway
Gonna be there for the mornin comes
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Long Way Home
Its hard to say from where you stand
Exactly when it all began
But someplace theres a point you cross the line
You see the tears than stain your face
Mirrored in your make-up case
And know its time to leave this place behind
Chorus:
Its a long way home
Its a long way home
Its a long way home
Trying to retrace your steps
All too easy to forget
Just which way to go
Its a long way home
Outside the sky is threatening
You slowly gather up your things
And wonder how you ever will explain
Walking out so self-assured
Yeah, you were gonna change the world
Walking back, a child in the rain
Chorus:
Its a long way home
Its a long way home
Its a long way home
How can you retrace the steps
Youve been trying to forget
Still its time to go
And its a long way home
And if you lose your way
Just keep your eye upon that endless broken line
Throw bag beneath the bus
Sit among the curious
It happens to the best of us, you know
Chorus:
Its a long way home
Its a long way home
Its a long way home
Starting to retrace your steps
You learn to live with your regrets
Next stop heaven knows
Its a long way home
Such a long way
Its a long way home
song performed by by Vanessa Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Alone in Love with an Elven queen
Smoke serpents no longer govern
The skylines of my surroundings.
I find myself in the valley green,
Alone in Love with an Elven queen
– Grounded.
Seeking the child unfound
That I hath been promised
Through dreamstate visions.
poem by David Lacey
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