About a month ago, my lovely friend Brian Dolphin hosted a get-together of musical friends in Asheville, NC. The participants took turns teaching original tunes and songs to the group, and Brian engineered recordings of each resulting piece. Since then, Brian has been mixing these recordings, amongst which is my song “I Want to be Down in the Valley.”
You can listen to the full piece here on Brian’s Patreon.
I wrote this song about a valley in East Tennessee that I would visit in the summer as a child. I took a hike there again in the early fall of 2019 and was mesmerized by the many blooming plants that trailed along the edges of the forest and the fields, and was compelled to write this song. Even though we are on the other side of the year now, so many beautiful flowers are coming up, and the unapolagetic ecstasy of spring is a wonderful counterpoint to the anxiety many of us are feeling in these hard times.
You can support my work and buy the song as a single here: Buy it for $1 or more if you feel inspired!
Brian’s Patreon, “Dolphin and You,”is all about creating collaborative music with musicians and sharing that music with the public. From his Patreon: “Dolphin and You is making collaborative music from an awesome and ever-expanding network of musicians and singers (including YOU!) to sustainably bring beautiful original music FROM the masses TO the masses.” An entry level subscription to Brian’s Patreon gets you two songs per month- one by Brian and one by a collaborative musician. Like many musicians, Brian is feeling the hard times of losing gigs due to the corona virus, and subscribing to his Patreon is a great way to get some amazing music every month and support art creation during uncertain times. Sign up today!
Here are the credits and lyrics to the song:
Saro Lynch-Thomason: composition, lead vocals, Brian Dolphin: production, mixing, voice, Elizabeth LaPrelle: voice, Eva Leach: voice, Jesse Maw: fiddle, Sheila Markazi: fiddle, voice, Maddy Mullany: voice, Trevor Wilson: voice
I Want to be Down in the Valley
I want to be down in that valley
By that stream all framed in jewelweed
And the cottonwood, proudmasted
Swaying gently overhead
Oh, the lilies and the asters
And the goldenrod in glory
It’s the holiest of places that I have ever tread
CHORUS
Let me lay down in the valley
In the early days of autumn
Let me lay down in th valley
With its furrows and its farms
If I whispered thanks one thousand times
I could not make you more holy
I berth of so much beauty
Woven with ten-thousand charms
Oh I want to feel the textures
Of these neighbors and companions
To be curling in their petals
To be twining in their strands
I want to dive like some kingfisher
Through the dappled light around me
Bathe in its warmth and sweetness
Feel its coolness in my hands.
CHORUS
I have often heard it spoken
That this world is just a foil
For a greater glory elsewhere
For a glory yet unseen
I don’t think I need that glory
I don’t need its power to blind me
When the beauty of the valley
Can bring me endless ease
CHORUS
If I whispered thanks one thousand times
I could not make you more holy
I can only ask the blessing
To be nested in your arms