‘God Bless The West’ by Ian Munsick & Cleto Cordero - Lyrics & Meaning

Since emerging with his signature fiddle-focused sound and eery coyote cry with his 2017 self-titled EP, Ian Munsick has been bringing the sounds of the west to the rest of the world, one song at a time.

From his 2021 debut record, Coyote Cry, to 2023 standout, White Buffalo, the Wyoming native has been steadily building a catalogue different from any other mainstream country artist, steeped in organic instrumentation and an atmospheric vastness as big and open as the region he calls home.

At the start of 2025, Munsick announced that his long-awaited third record, Eagle Feather, would be dropping on April 18. Already boasting releases like 'Horses Not Hearts,' 'Caroline' and 'Cheyenne,' the 20-song project features a sprawling tracklist, fit with a pair of collaborations with Lainey Wilson and Flatland Cavalry's Cleto Cordero.

Called 'God Bless The West,' the Cordero-graced offering showcases the breadth of the western U.S., spanning from Washington state all the way to West Texas. Reading and sounding like a love letter to all those wide open spaces, the Latin-infused track proves to be a notable inclusion to the long-haired entertainer's growing discography.

Among Eagle Feather's 20 tracks, 'God Bless The West' definitely feels like an outlier, but in the best way possible.

Where other songs feature Munsick's familiar acoustic-driven, fiddle-centered country concoction, 'God Bless The West' is smothered in Spanish guitars and big, sweeping production, helmed by Munsick, Jerry Spillman and Jared Conrad.

Written over two years ago alongside Spillman and Casey Beathard, the tune finds the perfect pairing in Cordero, whose silk smooth vocals gallop alongside Munsick's tantalizing falsetto in the choruses.

“I wish I could take her with me
Chasin' the sunrise down the road
I hate the way I make her miss me
Almost as much as I miss her when I'm gone"

'God Bless The West' opens with Munsick crooning into the abyss, singing of someone who he misses dearly and wishes he never has to leave, though his job keeps him away from home.

Underlining the negative relationship he has with always being on the go and making his beloved miss him so much and so often, we can feel the rub that this couple notably feels.

“Now I drive me down the road
Lord be with me as I go
Keep your angels close to where both our suns set
As she lays her down to sleep
Give her peace like mountain streams
Till I get back to where she's dreaming on my chest
God bless the west
Bless the west”

As he packs up once again to head off to somewhere far away, the narrator sends up a quick prayer asking for safety and protection as he's on his travels, but also that the lord would send a few of his angels to watch over his love while he's gone.

Asking for peace and for the time to pass by quickly, the singer dreams of when he's back in her arms and thanks God for endowing the western part of the United States with all of the beauty he has, including the love of his life waiting for him at home.

“Lord I pray you never change her
And keep her heart wide open wild
Make her blue sky smile my anchor
And keep this cowboy turnin' round and rolling down those back home miles”

While at times its hard to discern whether Munsick and Cordero are singing about a person or about the West as if it's a person itself, the meaning remains powerful as they paint a gorgeous portrait of love out under the western skies.

As the second verse goes on, Cordero continues the prayer started in verse one, this time asking God that his beloved would forever stay how she is, with an open heart and a smile that keeps him grounded in all that's good.

After all, as long as she's back home waiting for him, he'll always know how to find his way back.

"Somewhere north of Devil's Tower
Somewhere south of heaven
As long as she's out there, that's where I'm headin'"

In an exclusive interview with Holler ahead of Eagle Feather's release, Munsick dished on everything that went into creating the project, as well as how his pair of head-turning duets came to be.

"I wrote ['God Bless The West'] probably two years ago and I had always loved it," Munsick shared. "When I played it for my wife, she said, 'We gotta get a feature on this.' It feels like you could draw from the Latin world or something just a little bit outside the box.

"We pitched to a couple of Latin artists but I always want it to feel like whoever is on there wrote it and was a part of the process, even if they didn't. None of those artists really stood out as being for a purpose higher than reaching a new audience," he explained.

Racking his brain for a duet partner that made sense and was true to the song's message, Munsick finally landed on the Flatland Cavalry frontman.

"For Cleto, I had that idea and thought, 'Cleto is from West Texas,' which is still the west. Very much not the same as Wyoming but I think it really helps showcase the vastness of the west," he added. "For him to have his own perspective on what the west is from mine, he was just a natural pairing for that song."

I wish I could take her with me
Chasin' the sunrise down the road
I hate the way I make her miss me
Almost as much as I miss her when I'm gone

Now I drive me down the road
Lord be with me as I go
Keep your angels close to where both our suns set
As she lays her down to sleep
Give her peace like mountain streams
Till I get back to where she's dreaming on my chest
God bless the west
Bless the west

Lord I pray you never change her
And keep her heart wide open wild
Make her blue sky smile my anchor
And keep this cowboy turnin' round and rolling down those back home miles

Now I drive me down the road
Lord be with me as I go
Keep your angels close to where both our suns set
As she lays her down to sleep
Give her peace like mountain streams
Till I get back to where she's dreaming on my chest
God bless the west
Bless the west

Somewhere north of Devil's Tower
Somewhere south of heaven
As long as she's out there, that's where I'm headin'

Now I drive me down the road
Lord be with me as I go
Keep your angels close to where both our suns set
As she lays her down to sleep
Give her peace like mountain streams
Till I get back to where she's dreaming on my chest
God bless the west
Bless the west

God bless the west
God bless the west
God bless the west

Lord, I'd die a little slower in Wyoming

––

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