English
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Español
Back East
Published Sep 10, 2025
Updated Sep 10, 2025
Poetry and Songs
2 min
Poetry and Songs
Published Sep 10, 2025
Updated Sep 10, 2025
2 min
1
Like
0
Love
0
Solidarity
0
Wow
0 comments
74 readings
On Panodyssey, you can read up to 10 publications per month without being logged in. Enjoy6 articles to discover this month.
To gain unlimited access, log in or create an account by clicking below. It's free!
Log in
Back East
Contribute
One thing you can’t argue about Death Valley,
It earned its name the hard way.
Horse gone for miles; it’s just my hat and my boots,
I stumble into the dust, just looking for my roots.
But from desert to swamp, too many states to count,
I’m afraid I won’t make it without a proper mount.
Went looking for adventure in the far west,
Ended up losing everything of interest,
Born in the bayou, raised in the wetlands,
I wasn’t meant to dig gold in some fairylands.
From Frisco to Lafitte, I plotted my way back,
Seems I underestimated this desert on the track.
[CHORUS]
Should not have gone the way of the conquest,
Should not have followed everyone else west.
Greener pastures were already there before I chose to roam,
My body and my soul are now just craving for home.
I can’t go on under that infernal dry heat,
I fell into the dirt, listening to my last beat.
I see the cypress trees when I close my eyes,
Hear the fiddles echo under the southern skies.
But this barren land can’t sing me back to life,
Only the bayou can heal a Cajun’s strife.
If my bones stay buried in this desert sand,
Tell them I longed for my father’s land.
I left my soul where the swamp birds cry,
And that’s where a Cajun’s heart should die.
Mo regard s’éteint su’ l’horizon,
Mais les étoiles s’allument ben d’ssus ma maison.
[CHORUS]
Should not have gone the way of the conquest,
Should not have followed everyone else west.
Greener pastures were waiting there before I chose to roam,
Now I’ll never see them again — but I know where is home.
74 readings
0 comments
Previous publication
4 min
You can support your favorite writers
