He was born in the Bitteroot Valley in the early morning rain 
Wild geese over the water, heading north and home again 
Bringin' a warm wind from the south, bringin' 
The first taste of the spring 
His mother took him to her breast and softly she did sing: 

Oh,oh, Montana, give this child a home 
Give him a love of a good family and a woman of his own 
Give him a fire in his heart, give him a light in his eyes 
Give him the wild wind for a brother and the wild Montana skies 

His mother died that summer and he never learned to cry 
He never knew his father and he never did ask why 
And he never knew the answers that would make an easy way 
But he learned to know the wilderness and to be a man that way 

His mother's brother took him in to his family and his home 
Gave him a hand that he could lean on and a strength to call his own 
And he learned to be a farmer and he learned to love the land 
And he learned to read the seasons and he learned to make a stand 

Oh,oh, Montana, give this child a home 
Give him a love of a good family and a woman of his own 
Give him a fire in his heart, give him a light in his eyes 
Give him the wild wind for a brother and the wild Montana skies

On the eve of his 21st birthday, he set out on his own 
He was 30 years and runnin' when he found his way back home 
Ridin' a storm across the mountains and an achin' in his heart 
Said he came to turn the pages and to make a brand new start 

Now he never told the story of the time that he was gone 
Some say he was a lawyer, some say he was a john 
There was something in the city that he said he couldn't breathe 
There was something in the country that he said he couldn't leave 

Oh,oh, Montana, give this child a home 
Give him a love of a good family and a woman of his own 
Give him a fire in his heart, give him a light in his eyes 
Give him the wild wind for a brother and the wild Montana skies

Now some say he was crazy and some are glad he's gone 
But some of us will miss him and we'll try to carry on 
Giving a voice to the forest, giving a voice to the dawn 
Giving a voice to the wilderness and the land that he lived on

Oh,oh, Montana, give this child a home 
Give him a love of a good family and a woman of his own 
Give him a fire in his heart, give him a light in his eyes 
Give him the wild wind for a brother and the wild Montana skies

Oh,oh, Montana, give this child a home 
Give him a love of a good family and a woman of his own 
Give him a fire in his heart, give him a light in his eyes 
Give him the wild wind for a brother and the wild Montana skies