Song Lyrics

Lyrics (and some lo-fi Real Audio recordings) for Songs on Goin Up North

Hi! For all of you who bemoaned the fact that we didn't put lyrics in the CD insert, we apologize, but that was how we had to do it. Here they are, along with streaming audio recordings of Goin' Up North and I Could Grow Old in Ely! I will work on more as time permits.

Goin’ Up North Click To Listen!

Drivin’ from the city on I-35,
Past the high rise skyline I’m leavin’ behind
The car’s gassed up, the boat’s packed full,
Cuz I gotta get out before I blow my cool
It’s been almost a year since I last got away,
And I’m headin’ for heaven today!

Chorus
I’m goin’ Up North, where the livin’ is grand
Up North, lakes there cover the land
All the water and trees, give my soul room to breathe
I can fly like a bird on the breeze, that blows Up North

I wish that one of these days I could give up this mess,
All the traffic and noise and all of the rest
Until then I’ll just wait for vacations to go,
Doing what I must do to get by cuz I know
There’s a cabin and a sauna, with a deck and a view,
And I’ve heard it said that God lives there too

Chorus

Instrumental break (like verse)

Repeat verse 1

Chorus... that blows Up North, da, n, da, da, da, Up North,
da, n, da, da, da Up North...

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Gather ‘Round The Fire

Gather around as the sun’s going down,
Ending this wilderness day.
Search for the kindling and firewood,
Before the last light slips away.
We will sing as the ancient ones sang long ago,
As out with our voices our spirits will flow.
Though darkness and silence surround us our faces will glow.
Gather ‘round the fire

Look into the flames as they flicker and die,
And it feels like you travel through time.
To ancestral meetings of primitive minds,
A union of all humankind.
Are we dancing for stars up above you so bright?
Are we speaking a language known only by light?
Are we fighting the battle eternal with darkness tonight?
Gather ‘round the fire
Gather ‘round the fire

No matter how distant your travels on earth,
A fire will welcome you home.
And there will always be a place for you here,
No matter how far you may roam.
History and mystery, and hope and despair.
Bringer of peace as into you we stare.
Smoldering ashes and smoke curling into the air.
Gather ‘round the fire
Gather ‘round, Gather ‘round, Gather ‘round the fire

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Northland - words and music by Bill Staines

There’s a warm wind in the Sitka, and it blows the mist around
It circles off the island and it settles on the town
There’s an eagle on the river waitin’ for the fish to run
And a big, old guardian mountain with it’s head up in the sun

There’s a raven far above me, and I’ve heard his call before
From the ghosts of ancient people who walked along the shore
From herring gull and the puffin, to the porpoise in the sea
They were calling me to listen and I was learning to be free

Chorus:
Land of the winter darkness, land of the summer light
You taught me how to soar when my young wings weren’t used to flight
Land of the winter darkness, land of the summer light
I came to you a stranger, and I left you feeling bright

From the bar-rooms where the whiskey, and the music take your mind
We sang until the morning and I left myself behind
In a cabin in the woodlands, where the feathered ferns grew high
We drank our morning coffee and we said our last goodbye

Like the salmon in the ocean, part of all, and yet alone
We are driven by a feeling; we are searching for a home
We are swimming up a river, in the shining light of day
Some are lost upon the journey, some are found along the way

Repeat Chorus

Repeat verse 1

Copyright Mineral River Music, BMI, by Bill Staines. Used by permission

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Canned Goods - words and music by Greg Brown

Let the wild winter wind bellow and blow, cuz I’m as warm as a July to-ma-to

Chorus:
There’s peaches on the shelf, potato’s in the bin, supper’s ready everybody come on in. Taste a little of the summer, Taste a little of the summer, Taste a little of the summer, Grandma put it all in jars

Well there’s a root cellar fruit cellar down below, watch your head now, down you go

Chorus

So you say you’re weary and you don’t give a damn, I bet you never tasted her blackberry jam

Chorus

Oh she’s got magic in her you know what I mean, she puts the sun and rain in with her green beans

Chorus

Well with the snow and the economy and everything, I think I’ll just stay down here and eat until spring

Chorus

When I go down to see grandma I gain a lot of weight, with her dear hands she feeds me plate after plate.
She cans the pickles sweet and dill, and the song of the whipoorwill, and the morning dew, and the evening moon, and I really got to go and see her soon, cuz the, canned goods that I buy in the store ain’t got the summer in ‘em any more, and you betcha grandma, as sure as you’re born, I’ll take some more potatoes in a thunder storm

Chorus

Copyright Hacklebarney Music, ASCAP, by Greg Brown. Used by permission.

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Opening Weekend

Teddy’s got a sunburn itchin’ like heck, Dad’s back at work with a tie ‘round his neck, dreamin’ bout the one that got away and those that didn’t
Weeks of gettin’ ready then it’s one quick weekend, think of Uncle Jim as he slips on the dock, and falls into the lake with all of his clothes on, Saturday morning, cuz it’s,

Chorus:
Opening weekend, you can almost hear the hum,
Opening weekend, look out fish here they come,
From Big Stone to Big Winnie, Minnetonka, Leech and Fall
A Minnesota tradition, let’s go fishin’, and have a ball

A resort, or a tent, or a cabin on a lake, more tackle in the box than 5 guys take, got the motor tuned up, shined up, don’t forget the boat plug!
If you forget your rain gear you can stop at Holiday, or you can be like George and use a garbage bag a day. Pack your long johns, sunscreen, down coat, and your, favorite old hat, cuz it’s:

Chorus
Opening weekend… etc.,
From Side Lake to Vermillion, Minnewaska, Green , and Gull
A Minnesota tradition, let’s go fishin’, and have a ball

Bridge:
You have your high-tech, redneck, side scan sonar graph, hundred horse, live well, not so well LCD, with down riggin’ planers, two trollin’ motors, and a CB radio, tape deck; Then there’s a 12 foot dingy, with Grampa’s old put-put, five and a half horse, runs great, needs work, big hat and scarf on Grandma, with their grandson Billy from Saint, Paul

For some fishin’ is the mission, or it’s just an excuse, to get out on the water, to get wild, and get loose. Have shore lunch if you’re lucky and a nap on the rocks, you deserve it!
Please take care while you’re runnin’ with your face in the breeze. Have respect for the water and the rocks and the trees. Put some that you catch back for another day and, take a kid with you, cuz it’s:

Opening weekend,..etc.
From Sandpoint to Mukooda, Kabetogama and Paw
A Minnesota tradition, let’s go fishin’, and have a ball
Let’s go fishin’, and have a ball

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A Day On Island Lake

Orion, and the northern lights, are traveling companions tonight, as we make our way, to Island Lake.
There, are no buildings there, no motorcars to foul the air. There’s only one stony path, to Island Lake.

And an hour before daybreak, we carry our canoe, a half a mile or so, till we reach her quiet shore.
Then the silence of the morning, is broken only by our paddles, and the lonely distant cry, of a loon.

Now we’re fishin’, and on my first cast, I catch a memory that will last, then I release it back, to Island Lake.
Then sunrise, just above the trees, accompanied by a gentle breeze, that drifts us across the bay, in Island Lake

As I think back on the friendships, I have made here on this water, I can almost hear their laughter, through the early morning fog.
But I cannot help but wonder, if the sound of distant thunder, fortells us of a future, and a land that’s changed forever.

Instrumental break

Well maybe, we can find a way, to save this ancient treasure, so someday, I can bring my kids, to Island Lake.
And then, they will drive with me, Orion on our shoulders, and dream, of the day we’ll spend, on Island Lake.

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Alaska Blessed

There’s a land, larger than life, in my dreams, and when I wake on sleepless nights
From the north, it whispers my name, feel the longing inside and be carried away

Chorus:
On the wings of a white swan as she flies home to nest
Heed the call of the wild, put yourself to the test
Like a tern make the journey never stopping for rest
Alaska my life has been blessed

Midnight sun, sits high in the sky, salmon run, swimming upstream spawn and die
Living gifts, spring from mother earth, taking care of her children with each new birth

Chorus:
See the flash of a rainbow rise up to the sky
Of forget-me-not blue for the nose and the eye
See the smile of a child close to mothers’ chest
Alaska my life has been blessed

Bridge:
Mighty rivers flow to the sea, uncut forest forever green
The last refuge of beast and man, North to the Future, in The Great Land

Repeat verse one

Repeat chorus one,..
Alaska my life has been blessed,
Alaska my life, has been blessed

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I Could Grow Old In Ely Click to Listen!

Want the Guitar and Piano Chords? Click Here!

There’s a little town up near the border
That you’ll find at the end of the road
Where the mining men came with their old country names,
In search of a dream long ago

It’s a place full of hard working people,
Who carved out a life from the earth
And the pioneer’s will lives on in them still
This land is a treasure, and they know what it’s worth

Chorus
I could grow old in Ely, let the winter wind weather my skin
Let the wilderness hone my muscles and bones, till I feel like a young man again
Let the summer sun redden my shoulders, as I paddle her waters so blue
I could grow old in Ely, so save me a porch with a view

Instrumental break

It’s a place where mukluks are high fashion,
And there’s room for the wolf and the deer
In a song old as time we search for the rhyme
In wind on the water, sweet music rings clear

Chorus

Yes I could grow old in Ely, so save me a porch, …
Just save me a porch with a view

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Top of Page

Once Upon A River

Once upon a river, in the hills not far from home
Meandering through my childhood, and the fields where I would roam
My friend and I would wander down its’ banks on summer days.
The gentle current through our toes, washed the hours away

Fishin’ poles and swimmin’ holes, heard the secrets that we told.
We fished until we got too hot, then swam till we got cold
At sundown we’d get hungry and trudge homeward tired and red.
Cook the days catch in the fire, then struggle off to bed

Now the years have passed on, since we last were on her shores.
My friend and I we’ve chosen, different paths through different doors.
I guess we’ve become strangers, I don’t recall the last time we spoke.
Now the only time I cross that stream, is on my way to work.

Instrumental break

Maybe I should call him, just to talk about old times.
Or maybe take a weekend, and go fishin’ one more time
And try to rediscover what we left there on that river
And try to rediscover what we left there on that river

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Northern Minnesota by Ted Fyder

I’d like to lean on your ear for a bit, for just a minute or two
To tell you of a place that I love dear, and maybe you do too
It’s in the northern climes of my fair state, and one thing I’m sure is true
It’s the greatest place in this whole darn world, and I’d like to show it to you
Picture a place where the pine trees grow, reachin’ towards the moon
Where the eagle flies through sunlit skies, clear as a rain in June
The aurora shines like a little girls’ smile, across the waters blue
On voyageur trails and Superiors’ tales of sailors tried and true

Chorus:
And we got afternoons and midnights, workin’ in the hole
Stars and bars and railroad cars, and livin’ till you’re old
We got lumberjacks and huntin’ shacks, and, running water too
Northern Minnesota, God how I love you!

Instrumental break (like verse)

Travelin’ across this land of ours, I find it kinda strange
The people think you must be nuts to live up on the Range
They ask things like how do you move, when it is frozen so
Well I get up and say it’s a beautiful day, no matter how the temperatures go
So you can keep your city if you please, that scene ain’t for me
Though I may come in every now and then, it’s just a necessity
When it comes time for me to settle down there’s no question where I’ll roam
Back to the lakes and my friends, hope this life never ends, back to the waters of my home

Chorus:... Northern Minnesota, God how I love you!

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The Finn Who Would Not Take A Sauna - by Garrison Keillor

In Northeast Minnesota, what they call the Iron Range
Where men are men and that is that and some things never change
Where winter stays nine months a year, there is no spring or fall
And it's so cold the mercury cannot be seen at all

Where you and I we normal folks would shiver, shake and chatter
And if we used and outhouse we would grow an extra bladder
And even when it's coldest, when our feet would have no feeling
Those Iron Rangers get dressed up and go out snowmobiling
Out across the frozen land and make a couple stops,
At Geno's Lounge and Rudy's Bar for whiskey, beer and schnapps

But there was one a shy young man, and although he was Finnish
The joys of winter had for him long started to diminish
He was a Finn, the only Finn, who would not take a sauna
"It isn't that I can't", he said, "I simply do not wauna."

And so he stayed close by the stove for nine months of the year
Because he was so sensitive to change of temperature
His friends said, "Come on Toivo, let's go out to Sunfish Lake.
Why a Finn who don't take sauna's, why there must be some mistake!"

But Toivo said, "There's no mistake, I know that I would freeze,
in water colder than myself 98.6 degrees.
To jump into a frozen lake is not my fondest wish,
For just because I am a Finn, don't mean that I'm a fish!"

One night he went to Eveleth, to attend the Miners Ball
If you have not danced in Eveleth, you have never danced atall
And he met a Finish beauty there, who turned his head around
She was broad of beam, and when she danced she shook the frozen ground

She took that shy young man in hand and swept him off his feet,
And bounced him up and down until he learned that polka beat
She was as strong as any man, she was as fair as she was wide
And when the dance was over, he asked her to be his bride

She looked him over carefully, she said, "You're kinda thin,
But you must have some courage if it's true you are a Finn.
Now I'm not particular about men, and I am no prima donna,
But I would never marry one who would not take a sauna!"

They jumped into her pickup, and down the road they drove
And 15 minutes later they were stokin' up the stove
She had a flask of whiskey, they had a couple toots
And went into the shack and got into their birthday suits

She steamed him and she boiled him until his skin turned red
She poured it on until his brains were boiling in his head
To increase his circulation, and to soften up his hide
She cut a couple birch boughs, and she beat him till he cried,

"Oh couldn't you just love me now, oh don't you think you can?"
She said, "It's time to go outside and show you are a man!"
Straight way because he loved her so, he thought his heart would break
Out the door and down the path and he ran down to the lake

And though he paused a moment when he saw the lake was frozen
And tried to think just which snow bank his love had put his clothes in
When he thought of his true love he didn't have to think twice
He just picked up his frozen feet and raced across the ice

And coming to the hole that they had chopped there with an ax
Throwing common sense aside, ignoring all the facts
He leaped, (oh what a leap), and as he dove below the surface
It chilled him to his very soul, and also made him nerfous.

And it wasn't just the tingling cold that thrilled his every limb
He cried, "My love I'm finished! I forgot, I cannot swim!"
She fished him out, and stood him up, and gave him an embrace
That warmed his very heart and made the blood rush to his face

"I love you darling dear!" she cried. "I love you with all my might."
And she drove him to Biwabik, and he married her that night
And there they live to this day, and though they sometimes quarrel
I guess that's where the story ends, except for this the moral

Marriage friends is no banquet, love is no free lunch
You cannot dabble 'round the edge, but each must take the plunch
Though marriage like that frozen lake may sometimes make us colder
It has it's pleasures too, as you'll find out as you grow older

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