Trying
By Pat O'Cotter
The dream of the white man ever goes out
To the fight that can never be won,
And ever he plans to do the things
That they say can never be done.
It's seldom he values the things that are
What he craves he may never gain,
Yet ever he tries, till the day he dies
And then feels he has lived in vain.
He climbs to the top of the highest hills
To search out the vales afar;
He bedrocks a hole on the deepest creeks
He hitches his cart to a star.
He's ever the first in the far stampede
As he chases the rainbow's blend,
But it's not the need, and it's not the greed,
It's the wanting to win in the end.
And whether he strives in the lofty range
Or tries in the crowded mart,
The longing to do what has never been done
Is uppermost in his heart.
He tries to build where none other has built,
Win the maid that none other has won,
To find the gold that he never can hold,
To finish what cannot be done.
He lives his life in a trying way
And he scorns the things that are tame,
If all seems lost, he still fights on,
For ever he plays the game.
And the efforts he makes as he strives to win
Are a credit to him and his breed,
And the gods will count and give full amount
And accept the act for the deed.
FOR
The dream of the white man ever goes out
To the fight that can never be won,
And ever he plans to do the things
That they say can never be done.
It's seldom he values the things that are,
What he craves he never may gain,
But ever he tries, till the day he dies
And then feels he has lived in vain.