1. |
Burning Daylight
03:36
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In the middle of the night I will take my leave the way I come, in a gunnysack drug over Chilkoot Pass. I stayed for the wild blue iris, hemlock and the devil’s club, for the glowing coals of burning daylight.
The Yukon thirsts under a coat of ice near three feet thick. She’s unquenchable in spring and early fall. Damned if I could beat the ice run, out of spite she took my dogs. One by one they slipped into her waters.
I howled in vain, January through Victoria Day, nursed my mother while the river seethed and raged. She shouted, “Pack the sled! I’m goin’!” May her dogs keep their legs, may her matches always draw a fire.
You frostbitten warriors, bounding for glory, I howl for thee
You frostbitten warriors, bounding for glory, I howl for thee
You frostbitten warriors, bounding for glory, howl for me
In the middle of the night we must take our leave the way we come, tether harness to the burning daylight.
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2. |
On Trail
02:17
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Two bags of oats, one sugar, one flour
Hardtack must be gift-wrapped,
string goes once around,
twice around
In summer, I travel light
pinch of salt, rifle, whipsaw and a coffee can
but winter, she’s a cruel master
50 below, 60 below, colder at night
(more than you know, more than you know)
One winter we nearly starved
Six dogs, just skin and bones
Buck went mad, burst in the cabin, ate a candle whole
flame and all
In winter it is not wise to set on trail all on one’s own
I’m going out there anyhow, gonna take her home
San Francisco here we come
me and Mum
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3. |
Call of the Wild
03:27
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a soft growl, a whisper
quick from the slumber
from hollows and burrows we leap out
kick the frost from our ragged paws
we live to run
we run for the wander (we run further yonder)
tethered to shadows long (tethered to shadows)
we run with our whole hearts’ abandon
our shadows run tall as the mountains
we live to run
we watch and we wait here
we watch her through half-closed eyes
ears tuned to howls in the distance
she lights the fire
we cry
we live to run
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4. |
Circling Darkness
01:22
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Grey wolf circling the darkness, a crooked light in her eyes
Grey fur bristling with frost, she leans into the night
remembering, remembering, remembering
(hear me, hear me call)
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5. |
The Sounding of the Call
02:05
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Panic red rises up from its shallow breath
Rears its head, slams its weight into hollow chest
I give! I give!
Arms thrash, blind, a wild, jagged run along the trail
Snow screams, angered by the wind, and the trees shiver and wail
I live! I live!
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6. |
To Build a Fire
02:30
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On this winter morning
wake up, up above the tree-line, in the dark
shivering
On this winter night you will sleep
dreamless underneath a canopy of stars
wherever you are, wherever you are
Oh, to build a fire
On this lonely mountain
turn to watch the snow creep down into the valley,
you stumble and fall
On this lonely mountain you will lie
face up, waiting for the fire to subside
shivering
Oh, to build a fire
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7. |
Credo, White Silence
03:01
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I would rather be ashes than dust
I would rather my spark burn out in a brilliant blaze
I would rather be a meteor, every atom
in magnificent glow
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8. |
The Gold-Seekers
01:34
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I saw these dreamers of dreams go by,
I trod in their footsteps a space;
Each marched with her eyes on the sky,
Each passed with a light on her face.
They came from the hopeless and sad,
They faced the future and gold;
Some the tooth of want’s wolf had made mad,
And some at the forge had grown old.
The light will fade from each eye,
The smile from each face;
They will curse the impassable sky,
And the earth when the snow torrents race.
Some will sink by the way and be laid
In the frost of the desolate earth;
And some will return to a maid,
Empty of hand as at birth.
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9. |
Feu de joie
03:06
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You were born May 24th in early morning
on the banks of the great river, muddy and wide
I heard from a distance the feu de joie and bagpipes
felt the pull of the gold rush for the very first time
Oh Emmylou, you were my prize
Oh Emmylou, you were mine
You were born to embrace the great white silence
On the frozen river she waits by your side
She sees from a distance those dogs flat out runnin’
“Man might win the battle, but woman hold the field”
Oh Emmylou, you were my prize
Oh Emmylou, you were mine
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10. |
In a Far Country
02:54
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At last the dawn
bids rasp and bray
all gold
Its broken strains
pierce shadows cast
all gold
GLORIOUS!
A faint voice pleads
Her yellow light
burns cold
Her broken strains
cast frozen earth
in gold
GLORIOUS!
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11. |
The Last Stampede
02:50
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A thousand miles from nowhere
wind will rankle ravens’ wings
I did not see you go there
No one saw you go
In that snow-choked valley
creeks run black in ragged lines
A thousand miles from nowhere
No one saw you go
Down from the mountains
the little streams will tumble
The sun will flood the valley
rousing crocus, blooming willow
The wild dogs and wolves
will raise their muzzles to the sky
run circles in the melting snow
where no one saw you go
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12. |
Grit of Women
03:31
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Winter was hard
on everyone
Winter was hard
on everyone
Trail-sore and tired
Cold ashes of dead fires
The darkness and pain
drew down on everyone
Spring is a fearful, raging river
You think winter was hard
Think again
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13. |
Eldorado
01:39
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You could never leave but you could never stay
The perfect equilibrium to keep your heart at bay
Speck up on the mountain, shadow on the hill, so far away still
Swimming out to sea, skimming ‘round the bay
They’ll gladly let you dock here but you get for what you pay
Waving from the pier, shoring up the bank. What are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for?
You could always leave. You could always stay,
stumble on the icy path, roll backward down that mountain
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14. |
Arcadia!
03:08
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speak in chirps, winnow those skinny featherless claws
you can’t unlearn what lives within you can’t unlearn what lives within
eyes shine bright in the dark, that curious blue glare
happiest among the dogs, skim along on calloused palms
dive headlong hit the dirt shadows huddle, clouds scream past
tongue escapes the lips to taste the salt and muck and melting plastic
silence cracks in a word deliver me arms stretched out in air
sprint across the spring-green lawn
disappear—
Arcadia!
no mother, no father
beating wings to carry me across the foothills to the sea
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Christine Fellows Winnipeg, Manitoba
Christine Fellows finds music in sounds we tend to take for granted: the voices of the people we love, the sounds of the spaces we move through as part of our daily lives. Fellows is based in Winnipeg, Canada, where she collaborates with artists from all disciplines to create and produce performance works and recordings. ... more
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