Wallowasong.com - Songs from the End of the Road

In Wallowa

Rivers and range land, rigs and four-wheelers
Redtails and cottonwoods, hounds and blue heelers
Glacial erratics, Terminal ale
Rodeos, sled dogs, magpies and quail

Red barns and grange halls, Tamkaliks powwow
Elk with new antlers thinks he’s a cow now
Roads off to nowhere, nowhere to go
Out in the county it’s blowing with snow

It’s hard but it’s worth it to live on this land
There’re no guarantees of a bird in the hand
We carve and we chisel, we plant and we plow
We’re sticking it out in Wallowa

Cowboys and Indians, Maxville and Promise
Hayfields and timber, Clydesdales and llamas
Trailheads and prayer flags up Hurricane Creek
Bowlby stone, trophy homes, century-old brick

Cattle and horses, canyons and prairie
Camas and bitterroot, wild huckleberry
Memories of Joseph, miners and gold
Ranch wives and woodstoves and winters so cold

It’s hard but it’s worth it to live on this land
There’re no guarantees of a bird in the hand
We carve and we chisel, we plant and we plow
We’re sticking it out in Wallowa

No Starbucks, no WalMart, no traffic, no stoplights
No money, no worries, just stay out of bar fights
Neon and nightlife and finely-lit fountains
Can’t hold a candle to the moon on the mountains

There’s beauty in silence deep as the sky
Spirit and salmon and dreams you can’t buy
Friendship and fellowship, all here together
Through fire and drought, wind and fair weather

It’s hard but it’s worth it to live on this land
There’re no guarantees of a bird in the hand
We carve and we chisel, we plant and we plow
We’re sticking it out in Wallowa

Traveler

Come weary traveler to the end of the road
Lay down your burden, lighten your load
Winds at your back have tired of the chase
Left you to pray at the stations of grace

Glint on the water, hawk in the air
Lift up your eyes to see what is there
Crags of greenstone rise from the sand
Moon and moraine at the edge of the land

The shoulders of Joseph carry the sky
He is no stranger to pain
Calling for justice, forever his cry
Rolls through the thunder and rain

Rest in the twilight in safety and peace
Open your hand and feel the release
Mountains of mercy are bringing you ‘round
Take back your dreams with your feet on the ground

Keep an Eye on the Moon

Tonight when the sun dropped down in the sky, it backlit the fields and farms
Venus and Mars sang a dark lullabye and gathered them up in their arms
It’s a good time to walk your worries away and sing to yourself a new tune
If the answer you needed didn’t come through the day
Stand by, keep an eye on the moon

Keep an eye on the moon, she’ll light up your way
She’ll lean down and listen to what you have to say
If your heart’s feeling empty, like a mother she’ll croon,
“Shine on through the night, you’ll be alright”
Keep an eye on the moon

The world keeps on spinning around and around, and time only turns a deaf ear
All that you’ve lost and all that you’ve found are fragile, and fleeting, and dear
It’s a time to remember the ones that you love and leave behind your cocoon
Bring what you have and come into the sun,
And tonight, keep an eye on the moon

Keep an eye on the moon, she’ll light up your way
She’ll lean down and listen to what you have to say
If you’re dancing with shadows in the late afternoon
Just give it awhile, you’ll feel her smile
Keep an eye on the moon

Waxing, waning, hidden or full
Her mystery, silent and white
Eclipses and changes, pushes and pulls
Hearts… tides… owls in flight

Somewhere away in a far-off land, a child stares into the fire
A tambourine jingles on an aged hand, bracelets and jewels to admire
It’s the oldest of melodies lingering low over the desert and dune
It sings to the stars what the grandmothers know
It’s wise, to keep an eye on the moon

Keep an eye on the moon, she’ll light up your way
She’ll lean down and listen to what you have to say
If you’re wired and restless , she’ll tell you that soon
It’ll fade in her gaze, it’s only a phase
Keep an eye on the moon
Keep an eye on the moon

To listen to Songs From the End of the Road online and order a CD
go to www.cdbaby.com

Carolyn Lochert | Heidi Muller | Janis Carper | Rodd Ambroson

Feel free to contact us at songs [at] wallowasong [dot] com.