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about
I spent the spring of 2020 at a local restored prairie every single day. I watched spring unfold through the tall grasses, the conferences of the birds and animals, the budding leaves. I wondered why I had been a stranger to this process- this restored prairie is walking distance from my home. But here in Illinois, "The Prairie State," where only 3% of original prairie is left, it's not surprising that I'd been previously unrooted in this land. Many of us are. If it were not true, there would be more prairie left.
So I asked the land about it. And this idea breezed into my ears:
"the people of the prairie have deep roots
they understand and help the land soak up the water
they turn their faces toward the sun
ooh deep roots!
get down, get down, get down deep"
I'm imagining what it would be like to live among people of the prairie. People who root down deep into the earth, like the deep roots of prairie plants. I wanted to write a song that inspires connection with the land and her animals. That feels like an appropriate and joyful approach when facing the climate crisis. Teaching kids, as well as the inner child, to love the land and make decisions for the good of the "more than human world."
So I set out to write a song that teaches about the prairie. And, supported by a generous community of friends and family alongside a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, I set out to record this song. I loved collaborating with animator Kelsey Boncato. See the animated music video here: youtu.be/S83LhbBog8c
lyrics
Grass grows high
Green to the sky
They get down get down
Rooted in the deep
Like an anchor for the soil
Let her grow
She’s a lady she’s a child
Take care don’t comb her hair-
She’s calling us into the wild
“See who’s hiding in me”
CHORUS
Go gently
Go gently
VERSE 2
There’s a strong man
He protects the land
He says “you can try to pave
But I’m gonna save this paradise”
Then it storms
It rains it pours
There’s a place for the water to go
There’s a prairie safe to grow
The rain is lookin for some deep roots
CHORUS
Go gently
Get down, get down, get down deep
Go gently
See who’s hiding in me
BREAKDOWN
Morning cardinals are twittering
Afternoon: Goldenrods Simmering
*Asters Kimmerering
Butterflies flittering (See who’s hiding in me)
Night: Fireflies are glittering
Owls chase their prey (See who’s hiding in me)
Who pray to the queen of the prairie
She is homecoming to creatures great and small
(See who’s hiding in me)
She is motherland to those below the land as well
Who those root down deep
They get down, get down, get down deep
BRIDGE
The people of the prairie have deep roots
They understand and help the land soak up the water
They turn their faces toward sun
CHORUS
(and go gently)
ooooooh deep roots (go gently)
ooooooh deep roots (go gently)
Get down, get down, get down
*Asters “kimmerering” is a reference to Poet and Native American Botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer, who memorialized the beauty of Asters and Goldenrods growing together in the book “Braiding Sweetgrass.”
credits
released May 6, 2022
D E E P R O O T S
music and lyrics by Louise Kelly
produced by Daniel Oldham
P E R F O R M E R S
Louise Kelly, piano and vocals
Daniel Oldham, bass, drums, organ, guitar
Joel Henderson and Gregg Morris, background vocals
Timeless. Soulful. Emotional. Colorful. Mother Nature infuses the music of Louise Kelly with the songs of birds and prairie
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