Inspired by the hope, opportunity, freedom, and adventure of the formative years of the United States, The Trail West includes excerpts from selections as diverse as "Promised Land," "The Girl I Left Behind," "The Riddle Song," and a hauntingly beautiful Dakota Sioux melody. Two fiddle tunes, "The Arkansas Traveler" and "Old Dan Tucker," remind us of the important role music played in lifting the pioneer spirits. Finally, the African-American spiritual "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" represents those for whom the concepts of freedom and opportunity meant the most.