where the West was all but one

[mirla]

Hi!
I can't get the meaning of the 3d line of the song 'You found me' by The Fray
I found God
on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but one
I wonder what West means here?

thank you in advance!

 

[stormwreath]

It's probably 'won', not 'one'.

The 'winning of the West' is a standard American phrase for the settlement of the Western parts of their country during the 19th century - cowboys and indians, gunfighters, train robbers, Pony Express, wagon trains, all that sort of stuff. There was a well-known film 'How the West Was Won' in the 1960s which is probably where the expression comes from.

 

[cycloneviv]

It's worth pointing out, I think, that various websites interpret the lyrics differently. Some say it is "Where the West was all but won" while others give "all but one". Did you find the lyrics on a lyric site, or are they the official lyrics issued by the band?

 

[mirla]

I found it on a lyrics´ website, I doubt that it's official

 

[Keith Bradford]

I pronounce the words won and one differently: won rhymes with sun, one rhymes with gone. However, I know that people in many parts of the world pronounce them identically - some people to rhyme with sun and others to rhyme with gone.

 

[natkretep]

Yes, there was a longish discussion here:
pronunciation of "want"="one" + "t" ?


Some lyrics websites are notorious for their errors. As stormwreath has indicated 'how the West was won' is a set phrase, and 'won' is probably correct. I understand '1st' and 'Amistad' refer to streets in Quemado in Texas, and Texas would be part of the American 'Old West' or 'Wild West'.

 

[mirla]

Thank you all very much!

 

[Cagey]

This thread should interest you:
Where the West was all but Won