- 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
7. Stuck in the Mud
lyrics and music by Sally Vee ©️ 2022
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