Selected Lyrics
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Selected Lyrics |
| This recording was released in December of 1996 From the liner notes on the CD: Here it is the Fall of 1996. I've just finished another backcountry walk from Mexico to Canada, my 23rd year of doing long wilderness walks. It adds up to over 23,000 miles of beautiful country, countless adventures, and dozens of songs. The songs in this collection come from the wild country. Some were written at home in my living room, but the influence of the natural world is still here in each and every note. The Web of Life was written while walking from eastern Oregon, across Idaho, back to the western border of Montana in 1993. Howl for the Wolf came on a trek across the Beartooth Plateau in Montana in 1991. Buffalo Love was originally written in '89 but rewritten in its present form last winter. Climb A Mountain was originally called "Way Up Above Timberline" written in the Bitterroot Range in '94, but went through major changes last summer. I should give special credit and thanks to Bill Oliver for letting me record his wonderful song, "Habitat". This is the first time I've recorded someone else's song, but the song is one which everyone, young and old, loves to sing. I couldn't resist including it here. "Fly By The Light Of The Moon" also deserves a credit. Some folks may recognize the tune as that of the traditional folk song, "Buffalo Gals". I led a workshop for some teachers several years ago, writing songs with children. We divided into groups and each group wrote a song using a recognizable tune. One of the groups used "Buffalo Gals" and had verses about bats, skunks, and other night creatures. "The Bat Song" was directly inspired by their idea and written in '96. Wherever those teachers are, I thank them! The remaining songs were all penned over the winter, describing some of my favorite Earthlings: the mountain goat, prairie dog, bull trout, and owl. My hope is that the more we sing about wild creatures and wild places, the more we will learn to appreciate and respect those things. As Bill says, "You have to have a habitat to carry on". Such a simple truth. If we "climb that mountain" and "howl for the wolf" long enough, someday we surely will become a partner within the intricate strands of the Web of Life rather than ones who continuously break those strands. We are a part of the Web of Life; let's celebrate that fact. There is hope in music. There is strength in song. Listen to these tunes with the younger ones. Learn them. Dance them. Most of all, sing them! Keep it Wild - |
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| Climb A Mountain Big Fat Fish Fly By The Light Of The Moon Buffalo Love Habitat How An Owl Says Howdidoo! Mountain Goat Promenade Prairie Dog Howl For The Wolf The Web Of Life |
| Come on lets go hiking, we'll follow the mountain track, Bring along some water, and don't forget your pack. We're gonna climb a mountain, to see what we can see, from "Climb A Mountain" |
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| A big bull trout is one of a kind, Search high and low, but you'll never find, A mighty fish like him, sakes alive, Keep it wild and he will survive. He's a big fat fish, big and bold, from "Big Fat Fish" |
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| I'm going to fly in the cave where the bats hang
out, With millions of their friends, it's a crowded house, Upside down they dangle about, Before they fly by the light of the moon. from "Fly By The Light Of The Moon" |
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Buffalo Love (Baxter and Beatrice)
| Now she's had her bath, and she's quite content, There's a bird on her shoulder, it ain't paying no rent, Baxter is rolling and singing his song, And lovely Beatrice just bellows along. from "Buffalo Love" |
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Habitat
(by Bill Oliver)
©1980 by Bill Oliver, Texas Deck Music,BMI
| The ocean is a habitat, a very special habitat, It's where the deepest waters at, & where the biggest mammals at, It's where our future food is at, it keeps the atmosphere intact, The ocean is a habitat that we depend on. Habitat, habitat, have to have a habitat, from "Habitat" |
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| You won't hear her wings, as through the dark she
flies, To hunt she needs it quiet, and on silence she relies. Who, who, who, who are you, from "How An Owl Says Howdidoo!" |
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| A mountain goats a proud one, living up away so
high, The way he leaps from rocks so steep you'd think that he could fly. He's jumping here, (Jumping here!) To a goat a patch of mountain grass, from "Mountain Goat Promenade" |
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| Prairie Dog, Prairie Dog, Barkin' louder than a big bull frog, You're the king of the grassland, you're one top dog, You're a dusty dandy, you're a prairie dog. Your town is where Life abounds from "From Prairie Dog" |
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| The wolf is a creature of beauty and grace, But people have killed most her pack. It's time to keep the wild in wilderness, It's time to bring the wolf right back! Howl for the wolf a-runnin' free, from "Howl For The Wolf" |
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| All the Life on the land and the Life on the seas, All the Life on this Earth, you and me, We're all tied to each other and the Earth is our Mother. We're part of this Web of Life. We are a part of the web of life, from "The Web Of Life" |
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