# The Call of the Plains explained — Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp

> Chapter companion for Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp by John A. Lomax.

## What happens

A poetic yearning for the freedom and beauty of the prairies, expressing a deep longing for the open landscape, the wind, and the cowboy life.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom and Independence

The poem celebrates the spirit of freedom embodied by the prairies and the narrator's ecstatic response.

### Nostalgia and Loss

The narrator yearns for past days on the prairies, expressing a bittersweet longing for what is gone.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker who longs for the prairies and feels the call of freedom.

## Key lines

> Ho! wind of the far, far prairies! Free as the waves of the sea!

The wind from the distant prairies is as free as ocean waves.

_Opens with a call to the wind, emphasizing freedom._

> The call of the Spirit of Freedom To the spirit of freedom in me; My heart leaps high with a jubilant cry And I answer in ecstasy!

The spirit of freedom calls to my own spirit, and I respond with joy.

_Closes with a powerful affirmation of inner freedom._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/songs_of_the_cattle_trail_and_cow_camp_se/chapters/the-call-of-the-plains
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/songs_of_the_cattle_trail_and_cow_camp_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/songs_of_the_cattle_trail_and_cow_camp_se/chapters