As soon as I heard Haskel’s “Rodeos of North Hollywood,” I thought of the Oregon Trail. To be specific, I thought of the game called The Oregon Trail that I played as a kid (one of my first experiences on a computer), a movie called “Meeks Cutoff” (about the Oregon Trail), and the history of this route across the United States that was used from the 1840s through the 1860s. I listened through Haskel’s catalog of beautiful guitar pieces (and more!) and just kept coming back to this Oregon Trail idea. All of the guitars (rhythm, slide, acoustic) are Haskel. I played the other instruments by hand (except the bass- used a midi keyboard) to keep the old-timey acoustic feel. I hope you enjoy this treacherous (and hopefully somewhat humorous) journey.

*Thanks to Haskel for the inspiring guitars- it was fun to get to know your work better. I hope you dig.*

WORDS
Hannah has exhaustion
Reuben, a broken leg
Wyatt has a snake bite
Martha has dysentery
That retched dysentery

Just farmers from Illinois
Trying to make our way
Across these rough and wild states
Along the Oregon Trail
The treacherous Oregon Trail

Just a wagon and spare parts
Three yoke of oxen to pull
Food packed up to get us through
Bullets to hunt if we run out

Hannah has the measles
Reuben has cholera
Wyatt has typhoid
Martha has dysentery
That retched dysentery

But we’ll only stop when we must
We’ll travel fast in the Gold Rush
If someone dies, we’ll dig a grave
Then we’ll be on our way
We’ll be on our way

Dehydration, heavy fog
Inadequate grass for our ox
Rivers to forge, impassible trails
Desserts, blizzards, and wagon fires

But we’ll only stop when we must
We’ll travel fast in the Gold Rush
If someone dies, we’ll dig a grave
Then we’ll be on our way.