Name: North Side of the Mountain
Duration: P00H07M04S
Description: I wrote this song right after I returned to Missoula after years of being away. At the time I had just left Portland, OR, and was so happy to be away from the big city. My sister and I thought we knew where to find the trail up the north side of Mt. Sentinel but we were wrong and ended up bushwhacking our way all the way up to the top instead. It was quite an adventure, and this song was born!

Rebecca Kelley - North Side of the Mountain

from Talents for Grieving by Strummingbird Vegabond

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about

I wrote this song right after I returned to Missoula after years of being away. At the time I had just left Portland, OR, and was so happy to be away from the big city. My sister and I thought we knew where to find the trail up the north side of Mt. Sentinel but we were wrong and ended up bushwhacking our way all the way up to the top instead. It was quite an adventure, and this song was born!

lyrics

Climbing up the north side of the mountain
see everything just as far as the eye can see
you know we made our way up
without a trail ahead
and now there's no way but up
don't wanna go down

see the rain in the city brought the sky down on our heads
couldn't stay asleep, couldn't stay in bed
I wish I would laugh out loud like you do in your sleep
the most beautiful days end in darkest dreams

look at the world upside down, heaven is earth
and freedom is this scramble on hands and feet
from the bottom we never thought to get this far
needing seeing, being, doing more than done

smothered in a modern reality of schedules and cars
troubled with a life that's going perfectly fine
in a city of everything my heart craves nothing
nothing but the silence of the open endless sky

Now the river below is a ribbon of life in the sun
dive into space, fly down to its shore
the only other way is feet on solid ground
take a dog's eye view
a new route is found

We are creatures of ages past
free to roam like the beasts at last
up the mountain on all four limbs
open to the breezes of passing whims

No fences new frontiers
we are pioneers
break up the grids that bind the earth
that tie us to our fears
the world is not the city yet
clocks do not keep time
we reach the top at an unknown hour
and the town below
is the remains of a very different future

credits

from Talents for Grieving, track released May 20, 2021
Many, many thanks to Matt Olson of Attack and Release Sound for your fantastic work in helping Strummingbird Vegabond create our first EP!

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about

Strummingbird Vegabond Missoula, montana

We are a folk rock trio coming together around the original songs and set list of Rebecca Kelley. Becca sings and plays acoustic guitar, currently and hopefully long term with two musicians whose lifetimes spent honing their skills always humbles and amazes her:

Local female and fellow musician Britt Arnesen on bass and talented and fun Damien Margo on drums! ... more

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