Mountain Mover
May 2021
Schooner J&E Riggin
Penobscot Bay
Chorus
The one who moves the mountain begins
By carrying small stones
The one who makes the soup begins by boiling up the bones
The one who builds the ship begins by walking the woods alone
The one who moves the mountain begins
By carrying small stones
First one step and then the next
Is what they always say
Step back and behold your pebble pile
At the closing of the day
But who can leave a stone unturned
And who won't gnaw a bone
I know I should, I wish I could
Just find my old backbone
Chorus
Well some folks find an easy sleep
and freedom by the mile
But when I die you find me deep
Beneath my old rock pile
So move your mountains piece by piece
And suck the marrow from the bones
Find your path in the forest deep
And start carrying small stones
Chorus
Back in 2021 we were out on the Schooner J&E Riggin out of Rockland, Maine, for a 5 day sail around Penobscot Bay. It was a music tour with the Gawler Family, and on account of the pandemic, one of the first times I had been able to play music or hang out in close proximity with folks in over a year. It was an amazing thing but also exhausting to get back into being social.
Somewhere off of the north shore of North Haven one afternoon I went below and took a nap. When I woke up I was thinking about how it would be even more of a challenge on shore, where the dreaded virus was looking like it was about to rage into another peak. So many gigs had been canceled, and so much had changed, how would I ever make it through?
Somewhere from deep in my consciousness came the old saying often attributed to Confucius: "The man who moves the mountain begins by carrying away small stones." I thought, "That sounds like a song." I started singing a little line in my head, editing it down to make it simpler and simpler. The melody tumbled out as the boat creaked and the water slapped the side.
As sometimes happens when I wake up with a song inside my head, this one emerged almost completely cooked. A few edits and it was ready. I took it up on deck and sang it for folks. It was a hit! Luc, one of the deckhands, texted me a few weeks later asking for a recording. So here you go Luc, here you go world. Enjoy Mountain Mover, and thanks for encouraging me to record it!