An original hymn about pioneer women. See the text by Kathryn Hales below. 

Watch on YouTube: Tribute to Pioneer Women

The women walked alongside the wagons,

The burden on oxen to spare,

Wrapped in a shawl or a blanket,

The burden on oxen to spare,

They met at the quarter-master’s wagon,

Their own scant rations to receive,

Then with culinary skills prepared

A meal, a family’s hunger to relieve.

Their prayers arose like incense

From the campfires’ spark-filled glow,

That the God they believed in from Heaven

Would bless their loved ones below.

Left alone to drive the wagons

When military duty was the demand,

Courageous pioneer women

Obeyed the prophet’s commands.

Some lived to complete their journey;

Some died by the trail on the way,

Yet the trials or hardships encountered,

Their faith in God did not sway.

Whether over the rivers or mountains

They trudged onward each day,

Till they arrived in The Valley,

And prayed for more courage to stay.

Praise be to such pioneer women,

Who with courage did their part,

For the building up of a holy people,

With Zion a goal of their hearts.

Valiant men have always needed

Virtuous women by their sides,

So both can progress together

And in God’s eternal home abide.