View source for Out Where the West Begins

{{short description|1917 poem by Arthur Chapman}}
{{Infobox book
| name          = Out Where the West Begins:<br><small>And Other Western Verses</small>
| title_orig    = 
| translator    = 
| image         = OutWhereTheWestBegins1917.png
| caption       = Title page (1917)
| author        = [[Arthur Chapman (poet)|Arthur Chapman]]
| illustrator   = 
| cover_artist  = 
| country       = 
| language      = 
| series        = 
| subject       = 
| genre         = 
| publisher     = Houghton Mifflin Company
| pub_date      = [[1917 in literature|1917]]
| english_pub_date = 
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| pages         = 
| isbn          = 
| oclc          = 
| preceded_by   = 
| followed_by   = 
}}
[[Image:OutWhereTheWestBegins1920.png|thumb|"Out Where The West Begins"&mdash;Cover of sheet music, 1920.<ref name="ReferenceA">Chapman, "Out Where The West Begins" (Sheet music).</ref>]]
'''"Out Where the West Begins"''' is a poem written by [[Arthur Chapman (poet)|Arthur Chapman]] and first published in his 1917 book of verse, ''Out Where the West Begins: And Other Western Verses.'' It is his most popular poem, still included in modern readings and compilations of [[Cowboy poetry|Cowboy and Western poetry]]. The poem itself is about the wonders of nature, and is designed to create feelings of peace{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}.

==Poem==
The poem as written by Chapman:<ref>Chapman, ''Out Where the West Begins'', p. 1.</ref>
:''Out where the handclasp's a little stronger,''
:''Out where the smile dwells a little longer,''
::''That's where the West begins;''
:''Out where the sun is a little brighter,''
:''Where the snows that fall are a trifle whiter,''
:''Where the bonds of home are a wee bit tighter,''
::''That's where the West begins.''

:''Out where the skies are a trifle bluer,''
:''Out where the friendship's a little truer,''
::''That's where the West begins;''
:''Out where a fresher breeze is blowing,''
:''Where there's laughter in every streamlet flowing,''
:''Where there's more of reaping and less of sowing,''
::''That's where the West begins.''

:''Out where the world is in the making,''
:''Where fewer hearts in despair are aching,''
::''That's where the West begins.''
:''Where there's more of singing and less of sighing,''
:''Where there's more of giving and less of buying,''
:''Where a man makes a friend without half trying,''
::''That's where the West begins.''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://dmr.bsu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/ShtMus&CISOPTR=678&REC=6 Sheet music for "Out Where the West Begins"], by Estelle Philleo, lyrics by Arthur Chapman, Forster Music Publisher, 1917.

==Bibliography==
*Chapman, Arthur. ''Out Where the West Begins: And Other Western Verses.'' New York: Houghton Mifflin Company (1917).
*Chapman, Arthur (w.); Philleo, Estelle (m.). "Out Where The West Begins" (Sheet Music). Chicago: [[Forster Music Publisher, Inc.]] (1920).

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[[Category:American poems]]
[[Category:Western music (North America)]]
[[Category:1920 songs]]


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