From the recording Chinook Waltz

John Ware
John Ware was a black man, born a slave in South Carolina. When slavery was abolished, he set off to Texas to become a cowboy. He ended up becoming one of Alberta’s most respected and loved cowboy/ranchers of his day. We tried to give this song kind of a cool under groove, rather than the standard 2/4 bluegrass feel… We felt he would like that!

Lyrics

John Ware
Craig Bignell & Suzanne Levesque
Son of a slave, born in Carolina
Owned by the man, since he came to be But freedom came one day, to Carolina He headed west to fill his destiny
Caught a wagon train, bound for Texas
Life of a cowboy filled his dreams
Now he’s moving longhorns, north to Montana A good horse on the range, forever free
CH:
Ooh on the wings of an eagle
Free from the prison, of the cotton fields
Tall in the saddle, singing to the cattle
He rode that trail right into history
That rugged trail, led him to Alberta
Worked on the Bar-U, in 1882
That roughriding cowhand, from South Carolina A gentle man and friend to all he knew
CH:
Ooh on the wings of an eagle
Free from the prison, of the cotton fields
Tall in the saddle, singing to the cattle
He rode that trail right into history

BRIDGE:
No stranger to toil, days without end Feeling helpless down to his bones
Now that he’s free, he smiles at the world This land and life are his own
And his legend carries on
He met his bride, Mille out in Calgary
Asked for her hand on Christmas Eve Through the hard times, they had each other A simple life was all they’d ever need
CH:
Ooh on the wings of an eagle
Free from the prison, of the cotton fields
Tall in the saddle, singing to the cattle
He rode that trail right into history
John Ware was a living legacy
Forever in this world
He was free