- Chakchiuma Swamp -

Song Lyrics

1. Chakchiuma Swamp "Mesmerizingly beautiful... a work of art." -Scott Stanton KKFI 90.1 River Trade Radio
lyrics and music by Sally Vee © 2020 Listen here.
Float the Yalobusha River
you’ll find yourself at Chakchiuma Swamp
Take your time and breathe the air
because a place like this you ain’t gonna find nowhere else
Find your peace and quiet in Chakchiuma Swamp

Look for the iris and muscadine vine
turk’s cap lily with petals opened wide
Search for the crossvine and eastern blue star
supplejack twisted ‘round anything wherever you are
Find your peace on a walk through Chakchiuma Swamp

Where the water line hugs trees in the summertime
tadpoles swim together in a crooked line
Salamanders crawl and catch your eye
sunfish dance through ripples while you paddle by

Warblers and yellow-billed cuckoos sing
great blue heron stretches out his wings
Hear the tanager’s sweet reply
woodpeckers keep the beat on branches high
Find your peace in the songs of Chakchiuma Swamp

Bring your heart here; find your way back home

Cypress knees rise up to the sky
paw paw turns caterpillars into butterflies
Paint a picture of tupelos tall
and all the colors of dogwood leaves in fall
Find your peace in the trees of Chakchiuma Swamp
Float the Yalobusha River
you’ll find yourself at Chakchiuma Swamp

2. Tupelo Song

lyrics and music by Sally Vee © 2020
Tupelos they pull me in where I can hear the breeze
and I feel free in a place where I'm left breathless
My heart and mind are both aligned when I am caught off guard
and I can see I am part of everything
These tall trees make me feel alive

The petrichor is sweet and I am humbled by the ground beneath my feet
where life springs up in shadows
Standing small among the giants towering to skies
where I can see I am part of everything
These tall trees make me feel alive

When I am lost inside my head
and I feel I've got nowhere else to go
When far away ain't far enough
I know that I can ease my troubled soul
Casting my eyes on tupelos

Rays of light burst wildly through
the branches of a quilt of changing leaves; they keep my spirit warm
Waltzing in the water rising higher than I've ever dared to dream
but I am part of everything
These tall trees make me feel alive

3. Out Here

lyrics and music by Sally Vee ©️ 2020

I can get lost out here with a healthy dose of fear

it’s a balm for my very troubled soul

I don’t need a compass at night; the stars will steer me right

when I’m skeptical of the skills I thought I had

I can get lost; I can get lost way out here

I can sing soft out here with all the creatures near

I don’t think they give a care if I’m out of tune

I know that they’ll sing along and drown out my warbling song

while they flit through the limbs of fallen trees

I can sing soft; I can sing soft way out here

I can live still out here with myself and disappear
in a world where I don’t have to answer to my name

I can always sit calm while the skeeters bite my arms

it’s my fault because I chose not to wear long sleeves

I can live still; I can live still way out here

I can sleep sound out here with cicadas in my ear and

the chirping of the tree frogs right at dusk

I can wake up at dawn and feel like I belong
where my heart is as warm as the rising sun

I can sleep sound; I can sleep sound way out here

4. The Empty Nest (The Prothonotary Warbler Song)

lyrics and music by Sally Vee ©️ 2020

Oh there you are; I heard you from afar
singing songs to the one you truly love

Finding a home for the babies you will know
if your love chooses you in the springtime

Bright yellow flight fellow sing
You’re worried; in a hurry; but you’ll do just fine

Here she comes again flying around the bend

bringing moss above the water to the tree

Placing it just so then off again she goes

and you’re happy she chose you to call her own

Bright yellow flight fellow sing

You’re worried; in a hurry; but you’ll do just fine

Two weeks go by fast; your little ones have hatched
and you both do your best to keep them fed

Ten thousand butterflies will never soar the skies
you snatched them way before they grew their wings

Bright yellow flight fellow sing

You’re worried; in a hurry; but you’re doing fine

It’s quiet in your home; your babies all have grown
and I know you’re both feeling kind of blue

Take care to carry on; you know it won’t be long
til summer turns to fall and winter’s through

Bright yellow flight fellow sing

You’re worried; in a hurry; but you’ve done just fine

5. Fall Dance (The Cypress Leaf Song)
lyrics and music by Sally Vee ©️ 2020

I was born in the springtime about the same time as the ones before
with my brother and sister fallen in November just a year ago
I started off like any other; purple blossoms; I would hover
high above the duckweed on the water
swaying in the breeze amongst a million living things
I know there will come a day when I am still
I will dance down to the floor

I've been spending my days being sweet as a morning haze
Giving life to the cypress tree that in turn gives life to me
I've been up high but never traveled; green as others like me
and I never plan to whistle down the wind
Drawing on the world below me; watching as the colors slowly
shift their disposition to the fore
I will dance down to the floor

I will fall in the fall when winter calls me home
My days of being sweet are almost through but I am truly alive

I am free on a breeze; copper as I can be
I twirl and I glide; I spin through an autumn sky
The sun is up, my day is done but I am not the only one
we'll trip the light fantastic to the ground
a breath of air renews my life one last time lifting me high
so I can see the duckweed on the water
I will dance down to the floor
I will dance down to the floor

6. Seasons of Color
lyrics and music by Sally Vee ©️ 2022

Walk through the woods real slow

look at the world below

and high above

and all around you too

Out where the old grows new

where life is never through

in sunshine or rain all things remain

when colors change as they do

Morning stars blaze milk glass white

like the woodland spider lily

in summertime

Silence sounds golden

like the only beech in the fall

when all the colors answer the call

Take in the sweet, sweet air

listen for something there

you can not see

but they can hear you too

Out where your soul wakes wild

where you can breathe a while

in sunshine or rain all things remain

when colors change as they do

Bird songs whisper evergreen

like the sweetleaf in gentle wintertime

sunset burns crimson

like the joyful buckeye in spring

when all the colors come out to sing

Seasons come and then they go

but one thing will always be true

in winter or spring, in summer or fall

all the colors will answer the call

all the colors will come out to sing

I got my brand new boots on

it’s a cool Grenada morning

and I can’t wait to go outside

I hop into my kayak

I ain’t got no plans to come back

til the sun drops from the sky

paddling is easy when the scenery is dreamy
and I jump out whenever I please

I should be slippin like an otter through this
Mississippi water but I’m
stuck in the mud up to my knees

I look at my surroundings hoping for

a friend to help me but

there ain’t a soul in sight

I reach out for a tree branch but

they’re all attached to trees and

I’m just wasting good daylight

I’m really stuck up in it like sorghum in a biscuit
and I can’t wiggle myself free

I should be slippin like an otter through this
Mississippi water but I’m
stuck in the mud up to my knees

I can’t wait here all day

with the sunset on its way

so I just slide up out of my boots

I crawl up on the land with

squishy socks and muddy hands

it’s no surprise, ain't nothing new

every time I paddle and explore this big old world
I find myself in times like these

I should be slippin like an otter through this
Mississippi water but I’m
stuck in the mud up to my knees