The lyric “Where seldom is heard a discouraging...” is completed by “word” in “Home on the Range.”
The song began as “My Western Home,” a poem written by Brewster M. Higley after he moved to Smith County, Kansas. Higley wrote it in the early 1870s, and it was published in the Smith County Pioneer in 1873 or 1874. Musician Daniel E. Kelley later supplied the melody.
The familiar verse celebrates open prairie, wildlife, clear air, and a life free from urban noise. Different early versions used titles such as “Western Home” and varied in wording, which is why singers may encounter “sky” or “skies” in the final line and other small changes.
The song’s authorship and history were disputed for decades, especially after similar western songs appeared and a copyright lawsuit was filed in 1934. Later investigation supported Higley as the lyricist. Kansas officially adopted it as its state song on June 30, 1947.