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The Story of the River

Words and Tune by: Judy Barrows © 1/10/15, 11/18/24

Printable Version ~ PDF ~ MP3 - Rough Draft * ~ Notes

 

Photo from the Hancock Wildlife Foundation's eagle nest cameras in Harrison Mills, BC, showing a bald eagle looking out over the Chehalis-Harrison Flats, in the Fraser River Valley, a bit upstream from where the Harrison joins the Fraser. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.
The song was inspired by the views from the Hancock Wildlife Foundation's eagle nest cameras in Harrison Mills, BC, looking out over the Chehalis-Harrison Flats, in the Fraser River Valley, a bit upstream from where the Harrison joins the Fraser. This is a 2012 screenshot from one of the cams, used here under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License. Please see the notes at the bottom of the page for more info.

Hear us as we sing
The story of the river
Wide and clear and endless
Flowing to the sea.

Join us as we sing
The story of the river
Wide and clear and endless
Flowing to the sea.

Hear us as we sing
The story of the salmon
Swimming up the river
By the millions as they breed.

Join us as we sing
The story of the salmon
Swimming up the river
By the millions as they breed.

Hear us as we sing
The story of the eagle
Whose young rely on salmon
While they learn to fly free.

Join us as we sing
The story of the eagle
Whose young rely on salmon
While they learn to fly free.

Hear us as we sing
The story of the tall trees
That provide a home for eagles
And food for those beneath.

Join us as we sing
The story of the tall trees
That provide a home for eagles
And food for those beneath.

Hear us as we sing
The story of the squirrels
Eating nuts and berries
And scattering their seeds.

Join us as we sing
The story of the squirrels
Eating nuts and berries
And scattering their seeds.

Hear us as we sing
The story of the forest
Where seeds grow into tall trees
That shelter little streams.

Join us as we sing
The story of the forest
Where seeds grow into tall trees
That shelter little streams.

Hear us as we sing
The story of the small streams
That trickle down the mountain
To the river that they feed.

Join us as we sing
The story of the small streams
That trickle down the mountain
To the river that they feed.

Hear us as we sing
The story of the river
And of the million reasons
Why we should let it be.

Join us as we sing
The story of the river
And of the million reasons
Why we should let it be.

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Notes:

The core of this song came to me in a dream - and in the dream it was a video with children singing the song.

There's more information about Hancock Wildlife Foundation here - https://hancockwildlife.org/ - and links to watch the eagle cams here - https://hancockwildlife.org/project/live-cams/ The Harrison Mills pair appear to have moved to another nest nearer the river so we're not often getting closeups like the one I posted there, but there's a lot of eagle activity as of the fall of 2024 at our Surrey Reserve, White Rock, Boundary Bay, and Gleneagles nests. (Disclaimer - I am a long-time volunteer forum and website admin for HWF, and the first place I performed this song publicly was at a Hancock Wildlife gathering in Harrison Mills.)

* The MP3 sample is to provide an idea of the tune; I apologize for the flat notes and occasional unintentional key changes.

The update in 2024 was to change the fifth pair of verses from "black bear" to "squirrels" - both do the same sort of work in the forest, and I find squirrels easier so sing.

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