G Am
1) 'Twas another time, many years ago,
D G
I was young and restless, no place to go,
G Am
Met a Captain Lewis, he was a-lookin' for men,
D G C G
Says,If you can shoot, well come on in.
Chorus:
C G
He said, Come with us, to the lands uncharted,
Am D
We'll see this country at its very best,
C D G C G
We'll follow the wild, wide Missouri,
Am D G C G
Into the sun, we'll go Way Out West.
2) Now I could shoot and I could track,
So I signed on and I never looked back,
And we sailed up the river on one spring day
Headin for the mountains so far away
(Chorus)
3) It was good, but it was hard,

Livin' off the land, but keepin' on your guard,
Winter with the Mandan, built our lodges in the snow,
Waiting for the spring and the buffalo.
4) Another summer come but we were tough
After the great falls, things got rough,
Oh we lined and we portaged, and we paddled and we 
swore,
But we got through, went on for more.
(Chorus)
5) But that damn river, went on and on,
On we followed, like she's the only one,
Come the day, neath the Great Divide,
I straddled that river, with a foot on each side.
6) Oh I whooped and I hollered, and I jumped and I 
pranced,
Captain Lewis laughed, then he joined the dance.
Right there neath the mountain, where the winds run 
wild,
I crossed that river and I crossed in style.
(Chorus)
7) That trip to the ocean , was like alivin' a dream,
The land was raw, and fresh and clean,
And we made it back to St. Louiys shore
But I tell you now, I don't know what for.
8) Now the men are scattered, as with the years,
Captain Lewis is dead now, or so I hear.
And I sit in my rocker, and I take my rest.
I dream of that river, and Way Out West!
(Final Chorus)