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Walkin' river

from Debut by The Littlest Birds

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about

Dave: In the summer I live not far from a river that runs out into the Great Basin - The Walker River. At the time I wrote this song, I was working as a landscaper to pay the bills through the summer months, and one week we were up in the town of Coleville, Nevada, and camping along the Walker River to save time commuting. I'd been listening to one of my favorite folk music albums, a CD loaded with slow, straightforward folk songs, and felt a strong desire to write one of my own. So I wandered up away from my fellow camp-mates and sat along the bank of the Walker River and wrote this song in one nearly unedited stroke, all in about a half hour. The river really does trickle down to nearly boulders in the Fall, and the flood of '96/'97 was truly remarkable, destroying the canyon.

The Walker River also has an interesting ecological story as it's water is being used up by agriculture before it can even reach Walker Lake, it's terminus in Nevada. The lake used to support an incredible Lahontan Cutthroat Trout fishery but due to the dramatically dropping lake level, they have all died because of the increased salinity. Congress approved a bill appropriating 200 million dollars to restore the Walker Basin and other desert lakes in Nevada, and hopefully someday there will once again be the native Lahontan in Walker Lake.

lyrics

Well this old walkin' river only rolls in the spring
yeah this old walkin' river only rolls in the spring
Nothin' but boulders to catch the falling leaves
This old walkin' river only rolls in the spring.

The cottonwoods lean on the willow and the birch sometimes
Yeah the cottonwoods lean on the willow and the birch sometimes
Hear their morning wind song as the sun warms up the sky
The cottonwoods lean on the willow and the birch sometimes.

Well a flood swept the canyon not too many years ago
Yeah a flood swept the canyon not too many years ago
It moved the mountains, tore out the road
A flood swept the canyon not too many years ago.

But the men and machines they worked all night and day
The men and machines they worked all night and day
They put back the mountains, rebuilt the road just the same
The men and machines they worked all night and day.

But the way this river talks you know it won't be long
The way this river talks you know it won't be long
Before she roars again, sings her swollen song
The way this river talks you know it won't be long.

So I'm just gonna sit and watch this river roll
I'm just gonna sit and watch this river roll
Let it float my mind, see what settles out below
I'm just gonna sit and watch this river roll.

Cause this old walkin' river only rolls in the spring
This old walkin' river only rolls in the spring
Nothin' but boulders to catch the falling leaves
This old walkin' river only rolls in the spring.

credits

from Debut, released October 1, 2010
David Huebner Arr. The Littlest Birds

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The Littlest Birds Laramie, Wyoming

The Littlest Birds is the banjo-driven music of and Sharon Martinson, performing both solo concerts and currently with several duo and trio configurations. "Think instrumental virtuosity balanced by a breezy, backwoods soul, music that is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally soothing."
- Dan Bolles, Seven Days Weekly, Burlington VT, 2011 ... more

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