Soil, Water, Wind, and Sand

John and I were talking on the phone tonight. Oh, about the weather, his garden, Terri’s garden. my new stash of banana peppers and tomatoes. I had had a conversation with a student, who works at a grain storage and farms with his father. The student said don’t eat wheat this year. Apparently for the past decade American farmers have used heavy doses of Round-up to dry wheat just prior to harvesting. We’ve had a lot of rain, and he speculated the farmers would have the Round-up out.  He had warned me about buying chicken weeks before…too much antibiotics in store-bought chicken he said….he raises his own chickens after witnessing what antibiotics do to chickens he’d seen from heavily producing farms. .

Anyway, I told John I wanted to record a song tonight. He asked about what…Nature. I thought about Nat King Cole’s Nature Boy and asked if he had ever known a nature girl, a woman connected to the land. John said he had an idea for a song, give him a half hour. He sent a message: “Here we go again”.

Johnny…the lyrics are beautiful. You asked if I like them. Yes.

The lead vocal and acoustic guitar were played live on one track. There is one recorded dobro track, copied then doubled with a harmonizer and panned right and left. The harmony vocal is panned slightly left.

I added the drums and bass later as John suggested some guidance for foot-tapping would be helpful for listeners.

click for larger pic

“Our Mother” Alternate mix than the SoundCloud posting:

The summer wind comes across the meadow
Your matron scent is in the air
I can hear you on the wind oh mother
I can see you wave so fare…wave so fare (pretty sure John wanted this spelled this way…)

The fall leaves scatter ‘cross the sidewalk
There’s crispness in your wind
If I could drink a cup of your love
I could not sin…I could not sin

Chorus
I can feel you in my heart
You’re the keeper of the land
You’re the mother earth…our mother
Soil, water, wind and sand

The winter chill cuts all the way home
The snow tangles in your hair
The snow is heavy on my heart
But I still see your stare…still see your stare

The spring breeze is light upon my shoulder
The flower’s scent wafts on high
Just give me the nectar of your garden
As you pass by, as you pass by

Chorus
I can feel you in my heart
You’re the keeper of the land
You’re the mother earth…our mother
Soil, water, wind and sand