Live performance for a virtual recital at Artichoke Music. Watch the full recital here ("Columbia, Stay" comes in at 23:32):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDo81TpFV78
(Backing vocals added in post, since I was not able to clone myself.)
Artichoke Music is a music school and venue that has served the creative community in Portland for almost five decades. Check out their online classes and events here: www.artichokemusic.org/index.php
lyrics
I will sit by you, Columbia,
As long as you don’t mind me
It’s getting cold and I don’t have a coat
But there’s a deeper cold inside of me
There’s a sign that says ‘for sale’ now
On the field of flowers across my street
So I’ve come to sit in silence
And watch your waters raging
I’ve walked some woods that since have burned
I’ve crossed some creeks that since have dried
And loved ones come and go, I’ve learned
But oh, Columbia, stay, stay clear and wild
When I look at you, Columbia,
You show me what I long to see
See the porches hanging over
The water’s edge at evening
See the fishers reel their tugging lines
As their dogs all wet run down the beach
We depend on you, Columbia,
To commit ourselves to memory
[chorus] [countermelody: Roll on, Columbia]
I am terrified, Columbia,
To see my own face changing
I am sick inside, Columbia,
With the need to leave a legacy
Butt when my pen runs out of ink
Still you'll be flowing mightily
My head is full of things unsaid
And you leave them unsaid for me
[chorus and countermelody]
credits
from Columbia, Stay,
track released October 19, 2020
Composed, performed, and produced by Siena Christie.
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