Song picture
Tamarack Tree
Like
Playlist
Comment Share
story of getting caught in a blizzard in the Rockies
country americana autobiographical
Folk singer, social commentary, satire, people's stories, children's music
Hi Folks, The Bard Insurgent here. My comrade D.O. (the Poet Roofer) and I got that handle (The Bard Insurgents) from traveling town to town performing songs and poetry about people's lives. I've been performing since I was 3 years old, cutting my vocal chords on liturgical and classical music. I was a concert soloist as a child, when I wasn't herding cows, throwing hay and shoveling manure. During the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam war, I began writing songs about social change. I left the country in 1970 and my dozen years in other countries, mostly in Africa & South America, have provided a global perspective to my music. My travels helped me realize that people all around the world are essentially the same in their basic life needs and their desires to live peacefully in their communities. These experiences have informed my commitment to working for international understanding as I organize at home. A powerful way to educate and inspire is with music. I tell people's stories, do social commentary with a touch of satire that I hope you enjoy and share with your friends, as well as sing together in the streets and in your living rooms. I also have children's music written for the children in my life with Jacob and Kayla as primary muses. Looking forward to seeing you on the road, Tom
Song Info
Genre
Country • Americana
Charts
Peak #30
Peak in subgenre #3
Author
Tom Neilson
Rights
Tom Neilson
Uploaded
June 08, 2013
Track Files
MP3
MP3 4.1 MB • 128 kbps • 4:28
Story behind the song
We were hiking in the Montana Rockies and got caught in a blizzard. We found shelter under an outcropping of rock and a Tamarack tree.
Lyrics
We’d been climbin 6 or 7 hours, maybe more, Up above the tree line, less than an hour before We’d reach the summit & 360 look around the world Was then I felt the wind turn and clouds begin to swirl. I looked off to the west where the weather’s comin in; Knew we had to get to shelter ‘for that storm begins Careful not to trip, but we got no time to waste; Drops of rain were fallin, cold wind slappin in my face. (Chorus) No place to pitch the tent with the rock piles and the wind, Comin down that mountain thinkin of my next of kin Ran beneath a Tamarack, boughs bendin to the ground; Gave us shelter from the storm as the rain (snow) was comin down. My body gave a shiver, soakin to the skin; We gathered every piece of firewood & brought it in Linda joked that dinner & a movie’d be a treat As we kicked the snow off our boots, clinging to our feet. We got that fire goin pretty good & throwin heat; Linda laughed, “better than a movie or a treat.” I put my back against the tree, she pressed hers into me & we cocooned in sleeping bags fallin off to sleep. No place to pitch the tent with the rock piles and the wind, Comin down that mountain thinkin of my next of kin Ran beneath a Tamarack, boughs bendin to the ground; Gave us shelter from the storm as the rain (snow) was comin down. That 2nd day I got to know my partner really well, Tellin every joke, & rhyme, & story we could tell. Lookin through the branches, that snow was fallin fast. Linda said she’d bag a moose for the evenin’s repas By day the 3rd the sun was peakin out on our abode. Moose was all devoured & was time to hit the road & if I ever want for creature comfort that I lack, Just give me one more night within that Tamarack. 5’ll get ya 10 if I’m back that way again, I’d climb that mountain just to spend the night With a memory that is underneath that tree The warmth of our bodies holdin tight Repeat 5’ll get ya 10 if I’m back that way again, I’d climb that mountain just to spend the night With a memory that is underneath that tree The warmth of our bodies holdin tight
Comments
Please sign up or log in to post a comment.