Only a River

Listen while you read:  Bob Weir solo

Well, I was born up in the  mountains
Raised up in a desert town
And I never saw the ocean
Till I was close to your age now

Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you
Hey, hey, hey, your rolling river
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you
Hey, hey, hey, only a river gonna make things right
Only a river gonna make things right
Only a river gonna make things right

I'm going back to San Angelo
The ground is hard and the count is dry
But I'm gonna get my fill somehow
Rivers of corn and wheat and rye

Oh, Shenandoah . . . 

Red, red, river bowing
Will she remember all the things we said?
And what's the chance that she'll remember
All those nights in the riverbed?

Oh, Shenandoah . . . 

~  Bob Weir & Josh Ritter

Last month, Bob Weir released his third solo album, the first in ten years, Blue Mountain. The first track, "Only a River," is a revision of the 19th century American folk song, "Shenandoah." Rolling Stone describes it as "a melancholy meditation on past and present that nevertheless finds hope in its chorus, Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you . . . only a river gonna make things right." Weir says the album was inspired by his wish to be a cowboy when he was a young teenager. I am grateful that Weir chose a career in music instead of herding cattle.

Today's drive takes us through Shenandoah National Park on the Skyline Drive in Virginia, one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the country. The road follows the Shenandoah River along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains for about a hundred miles. The speed limit is 35 mph, slow enough to allow one to easily pull over at any of the 75 overlooks. And when one reaches the end of the Skyline Drive, the beauty continues on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We will drive a portion of that tomorrow when we leave Chapel Hill, our destination this evening, and head to Asheville.

The weather continues to be beautiful, and the fall foliage muted with just enough reds and oranges to  keep us interested. A drive like this allows one to focus on America's natural landscape as opposed to its current political landscape. Only a river gonna make things right.