Wild Wind Music

This recording was released in the Spring of 1990.
From the liner notes on the CD:

This is a recording project I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time, but never found the time to write the songs. In the winter of ‘89 I was approached by a company interested in hiring me to write some critter songs for children. I wrote several, including "Manfred the Mopey Moose" and "It Ain’t Easy Bein’ An Ol’ Grizzly Bear". I liked the songs a lot, loved to sing them, and decided to keep the songs to myself.

Since I’ve been doing more and more shows for elementary age kids, I thought it was high time for me to sit down and write some good singable songs aimed at that age group; songs that were fun, but also had a good ecological message to them. I think that most of these songs fit that bill.

Besides the two songs mentioned, I also wrote "Come Walk With Me" last winter before my Spring Tour. Leslie and I walked all summer along the Continental Divide and as we saw many, many a pika along the way, that song started to come together. In the fall I went up into the High Uintas by myself for several weeks and really started working on new songs. I wrote ten of them, three for this album: "A Kid For The Wild", "Slugs and Bugs" (for Jasper Carlton), and "If I Were A Tree". The rest of these songs were written in December of ‘89 here in Montana.

This Earth we share faces a mountain of trouble due to us humans. The future does not rest with just our children, but with each and every one of us. The choices and decisions we make today must make ecological sense tomorrow. Let us leave behind a cleaner, healthier environment. It all starts with developing respect and love for the planet and all its varied life forms; and developing that respect and love, not just in our children, but in ourselves.

These songs are directed toward kids, but we can all learn from them. Listen to them with your children. Sing along. Learn that "Whole Earth Harmony" and live it!

--For The Wild
Walkin’ Jim Stoltz
March 1, 1990

You can see him down in the meadow, he's long and he's tall,
And the way he eats and eats and eats, well he's going to get it all!
Manfred the mopey moose, he's movin' oh so slow,
Feedin' down by the riverside, where them tasty willows grow.

He's got a nose as big as a suitcase, you know it helps him find his dinner,
His eyesights bad as it can be, it's a wonder he ain't thinner!

Manfred the mopey moose, he's movin' oh so slow,
Feedin' down by the riverside, where them tasty willows grow.

from "Manfred The Mopey Moose"

Let the waters flow clean, Every river, lake, and stream.
Let 'em be, flowin' free , Golden, blue, and green.
     River, river, river run.
     Shining free and in the sun.
     Flowing clean for everyone.
     River, river, river run.

The beaver and the otter, They splash all in your foam,
While the fish tilts a flipper to the bird called a dipper,
     And they all call you home!

from "River, River, River Run"

If I were a tree, I'd have lots of friends,
The wind would take me dancin' when she came 'round again,
I'd have ants and owls and bears and bees,
Everybody likes to live in a tree.
If I were a tree I'd grow all gnarly
My roots would be knobby and my limbs all snarly,
I'd have moss on my back and squirrels on my knees,
I'd grow old and wise, If I were a tree.

from "If I Were A Tree"

There's a place that I know, where I like to go,
The rivers all run so crystal clear,
And the trees are growing tall, and the critters have it all,
And wild birds are all that you hear!
Come walk with me (kid's echo: Come walk with me)
Through the big pine trees (echo)
From the mountain tops (echo)
To the shining seas (echo)
Where the critters roam (echo)
Free and on their own (echo)
In the wilderness (echo)
We'll be right at home. (echo)

from "Come Walk With Me"

Now, when I was a babe just about knee high
How I loved all them worms and the butterflies
And I felt the need just to crawl thru the weeds
Talkin' to the critters, all the bugs and the bees
And Mom says to Dad, "whats with this kid?"
And Dad says, "Mom, don't flip your lid,
It's just his style, he's a kid.... for the wild.
Yes, as I grew well I hit the woods
'Cause walkin' out there made me feel so good
Just to be me , You know it felt so free,
I could wander here or there or go climb a tree,
And I watched the deer and I chased the rabbits
And the chipmunks too and I learned their habits,
Mom says to Dad, "I'm afraid he's weird"
Dad says to Mom, "Oh I think it's clear"
It's just his style, he's a kid.... for the wild.

from "A Kid For The Wild"

Oh, you don't need ears to listen, if your mind is open too,
There's all this life and livin', and its all a part of you,
You can listen with your eyes, you can listen with your toes,
You can even listen with your big nose!
I once knew a man, he could listen to the rocks,
He could hear the grass a-growin', and hear the sleeping fox,
He could hear the clouds a-passing,& the song of the morning dew,
And if you start to listen, yes, you can hear them, too!

from "You Don't Need Ears To Listen"

You wouldn't put a grizzly bear in a rockin' chair,
You wouldn't take him to the Mall, cause he wouldn't like it there.
Because .... Wild lives need wild lands, and
Wild lands need wild lives, and
Wild things need wild places to live!

Wild lives need wild lands, and
Wild lands need wild lives, and
Wild things need wild places to live!

You wouldn't take a porcupine to a bowling alley,
She'd rather be out in the trees, roaming through the valley.

Wild lives need wild lands, and
Wild lands need wild lives, and
Wild things need wild places to live!

Wild lives need wild lands, and
Wild lands need wild lives, and
Wild things need wild places to live!

from "Wild Things Need Wild Places"

Up in the rocks, where nobody goes,
Half the year, all covered with snow.
You don't eat much so you get by,
Snug in your den eating your alpine pie!
          Pika, pika, show me your face,
          I know you're out there but I can't see no trace,
          Stick out your nose and come on out,
          'Cause when I hear your little....eeek, eeek, eeek,
          I know you're about!

The first time I saw you I was up on the peak,
Imagine my surprise when I heard that squeak,
At first I thought it had to be a toy,
But then I saw you, and I jumped for joy.

          Pika, pika, show me your face,
          I know you're out there but I can't see no trace,
          Stick out your nose and come on out,
          'Cause when I hear your little....eeek, eeek, eeek,
          I know you're about

I'd like to live, as you do,
Watchin' the clouds as they blow right on through,
Livin' in the rocks, just like the Flintstones,
High and happy in your mountain home.

from "Pika, Pika"