The war against us is finally done,
and you are the ones who've won.
The last of us growl and cry,
howling over and over, "Why?"
"Why do we all have to die?"
The spirits of the fallen quietly weep,
while the living whimper in uneasy sleep.
Forests, mountains, valleys, prairies, rivers, streams,
America was once a Paradise land for the wild things.
For the sake of your cows and sheep you purged the West,
once you began you would not - could not - rest.
You saw us as a menace, on more thing standing in your way,
and you swore you would rid America of us one day.
First you killed off all the buffalo, leaving us little to eat,
then you put livestock in their place, declaring them forbidden meat.
We could not hide from you, nor could we run,
little did we know then that you'd only begun.
You trembled with fear when we circled outside your campfire light,
you shivered when you sensed our presence just beyond your sight.
To you our howls were like the screams of demons from Hell,
and when you looked into our eyes you felt challenged as well.
We became the scapegoat for all your hates and fears,
and you cursed us whenever our voices rang in your ears.
To take our strength, our lives, and our will,
you devised many cruel ways in which to kill.
Traps, guns, snares, airplanes, poison.
In destroying us you nearly lost all reason.
You burned whole forests so we would have no place to live,
you took everything from us and refused to give.
Killing us alone was not enough for you,
millions of other wild animals fell with us too.
Now all around us lies blood and death,
our Age has breathed its final breath.
No more to we roam this great land,
together we no longer stand.
Pack-mates shot, elders trapped, puppies slain,
we will never forget the shame and pain.
Our wild world has been forever lost,
our lives taken without a cost.
Now we are all but gone,
only in a few places do we still stand strong.
Why did you want to silence our song?
What did we do that was so wrong?
You called us the Devil's dog and rejoiced in our pain,
while our silent, invisible tears fell like falling rain.
Did you know that we are God's creatures too?
He made us just as He made you.
The people who came before you treated us with respect and love.
They honored us, singing our praises to the Great Spirit above.
Like us, when you came, you killed them and drove them away,
and over their hunting grounds only you held sway.
We, the outlaw wolves, fought you to the very last.
Hunting our lost tribe we dreamed of the days gone past.
Once you were our brother and our friend,
now you've nearly brought our existence to an end.
No more do our howls echo through the night.
No more do we run, hunt, play and fight.
You have triumphed over us at last,
now our memories will fade into the past.
How can the power of wolves and Nature remain
when it has fallen under your condemning reign?
The time of the wolf, buffalo, and Indian has gone,
our future has died in the light of your new dawn.
Maybe one day you will come to understand,
maybe one day you will let us return to this land.
But for now, you dance the victory dance and cheer,
never knowing you killed what God and Nature held dear.
The war against the wolf is finally done,
The West has fallen, and you humans have won.
- Copyright by Lobo, Blanca, Three Toes, Wosca,
and Rags the Digger, the last outlaw wolves
of the old West.
