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

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

                                    D                A
His mother died that summer and he never learned to cry
                                 D             E
He never knew his father and he never did ask why
    A                                 D            A
He never knew the answers that would make an easy way
                                              E             A
But he learned to know the wilderness and to be a man that way
                                         D              A
His mother's brother took him in to his family and his home
                                               D                 E
Gave him a hand that he could lean on and a strength to call his own
         A                             D                  A
And he learned to be a farmer and he learned to love the land
                                           E                  A
And he learned to read the seasons and he learned to make a stand

   CHORUS

       A                             D             A
On the eve of his 21st birthday, he set out on his own
                                     D                  E
He was 30 years and runnin' when he found his way back home
           A                               D              A
Ridin' a storm across the mountains and an achin' in his heart
                                       E                 A
Said he came to turn the pages and to make a brand new start
                                    D                A
Now he never told the story of the time that he was gone
                                D            E
Some say he was a lawyer, some say he was a john
           A                             D                 A
There was something in the city that he said he couldn't breathe
                                            E                A
There was something in the country that he said he couldn't leave

   CHORUS

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

   CHORUS 2X