Sing High
The song "High Sierra" is dedicated to my old friend Jeff Miller. I made the photograph on the front cover of this CD in 1972. It's a photo of Jeff bravely peering over a high cliff near Upper Yosemite Falls. Between 1970 and 1973 we took several backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At the time I was reading the book, The Mountains of California, written by John Muir. There was a line in the book where he says something like, “Come and climb the mountains to get their good tidings!” Whenever Jeff and I came upon a spectacular view of a mountain, lake, chasm or cliff, we would say, “Good tidings! Good tidings!”
John Muir often referred to the Sierra Nevada as the "Range of Light." This is because he saw the snowy mountain-chain, " bathing in its glorious floods of light." Jeff and I saw this sight too and when I sing the line, "Sierra Nevada is the Range of Light," I remember how heart warming it was to share these moments with Jeff.
On one of our trips we camped by a lake above the timberline. The wind was absolutely still. The lake's mirror like surface reflected the stars perfectly. The shiny ribbon of the Milky Way glowed on the still water. We picked up flat circular stones and skipped them on the lake. We said, “Hey check it out, we’re skipping stones on the Milky Way.” I was keeping a journal and before going to sleep that night I wrote the line, "Skipping stones on the Milky Way," I also pressed a few wildflowers that I had collected that day between the pages of my journal.
A few months after our trip I moved to Georgia. Then in 1975, living in Marietta at the time, I got a letter from my dad telling me that Jeff had died in a hang gliding accident. I went to my travel trunk where I kept my important stuff and dug out the old journal. I leafed thru it. The wildflowers that were pressed between the pages still held their color. This surprised me. I turned to the page with the song I began back in 1973 and read the line, “Skipping stones on the Milky Way.” I thought about how brief Jeff’s life was and completed the line with, “they're up in a splash then they sink away.” I sat down with my guitar and finished the song as a tribute to the moments Jeff and I shared backpacking in the High Sierra.
-----------------------------------------------------
Fiji Time ... Fiji is a great place to slow down, which is what Fiji Time is all about.
FIJI TIME (Lyrics (c) 2007 by Palmer Utterback)
I do my work, they give me more.
I bring it home, it’s such a bore.
They’re stealing my time, and it’s a crime.
It’s gonna to be nice, I’m changing my life,
I’m on Fiji time.
Life is fast, I’m moving slow.
I linger where the Trade Winds blow.
And the coconut trees, whisper in the breeze.
It’s gonna be nice, I’m changing my life,
I’m on Fiji Time.
CHORUS:
Fiji time, (Fiji time)
Easy time, (easy time)
It’s gonna be nice,
I’m changing my life,
I’m on Fiji time.
Went to the islands, all was well.
Drinking kava from a coconut shell.
In Nade town (spoken: Nade town)
They say bula, bula all around (spoken: bula)
It’s gonna be nice, I’m changing my life.
I’m on Fiji Time.
CHORUS
It’s gonna be nice,
In Paradise
I’m on Fiji time
------------------------------------------
Musicians:
Grace Keller, Gail Keller, Gordon Keller, Hannah Oberle, Jeff Ray, Mark Ross, Marty Chilla, Megan Bassett, Matt Keenan, David Burham, Beau Eastlund, Tom Lattamer, Brad Lewis, Sadie Palatnick, Melody Nolan, Miranda Thiesmeyer, Danny Kunches, Tony Farque, Washboard Willis, Johnny Walker, Bill MacDonald, Annie Hubbird, Debbie Arnst, Jimmy Utterback, Brad Lewis:
Artwork (Sketch on CD) by Rosana Costello
All songs words and music
© 2007 by Palmer (Otterbach) Utterback
Except Beautiful Brown Eyes (traditional)
Mastered by Don Ross at Don Ross Productions in Eugene, OR
Sing High (songs from a spring garden Vol. II)
1. Fiji Time: Gail, lead vocal; Marty, ukulele; Tom, pedal steel guitar; Megan, harmony vocal; Matt, bass; Beau, coconut shells; Palmer, guitar, harmony vocal
2. Joker: Hanna, lead vocal; Miranda, Melody, Sadie, background vocals; Tom, pedal steel guitar; Marty, lead & rythm guitar; Beau, drums; Jeff, bass; Brad, mandolin; Palmer, guitar: Hanna's vocal, Tom's steel guitar recorded by Brad Lewis in Anaheim, CA (Tom's steel guitar for Fiji Time, also recorded by Brad)
3. High Sierra (In Memory of Jeff Miller): Marty, 12-string guitar, keyboards; Palmer, guitar, vocal
4. Why: Marty, 12 string guitar; David, violin; Palmer, lead vocal, guitar thru vintage fender TV front princeton amp; Megan, harmony vocal
5.Alaska Lullaby: Marty, 12-string guitar; David, violin; Jeff, bass; Palmer, guitar, vocal; Megan, harmony; Gail, Danny, background vocals; (Dedicated to Dan Gagnon of Cordova Alaska: thanks for showing us your great state and taking us to Kodiak to visit our cousin George Kirk and his boat, Arctic Wave.)
6. Wake-up, Wake-up: Marty, 12-string guitars; Jeff, bass; Danny, Gail, harmony vocal; Beau, drums; Palmer, lead vocal (thanks to Kim Johansen for 12-string guitar loan)
7. Take Me in the Morning: Marty, guitar; Beau, drums; Jeff, bass; Gail, vocal; Palmer, guitar, harmonica, vocal
8. Bring Your Tear to Me: Mark Ross, guitars; Gail, harmony vocal; Palmer, lead vocal, guitar
9. Mother Lode: Mark Ross, dobro, fiddle, mandolin, jaw harp, banjo; Marty, guitar; Jeff, bass; Willis, washboard; Tony, jug; Beau, percussion; Jimmy, pots & pans; Palmer, lead vocal: Gail, Grace, Danny, Debbie, Annie, Bill, Jeff, Jimmy background vocals.
10. Beautiful Brown Eyes: Grace, lead vocal, autoharp; Johnny, harmonica; Gordon & Palmer, guitar, background vocal with; Morning Thunder audience sing-a-long vocal on chorus; Recorded at Morning Thunder “Words & Music,” May 2006, Quincy, CA by Palmer
11. Sing High, Sing Low: Gordon, lead vocal; Marty, 12-string guitars; Matt, bass; Grace, Gail, Marty, Matt, Palmer background vocals; Palmer, guitar, harmonica; Gordon, Grace & Gail vocal track recorded by Hank Alrich at Taylorsville, CA. (Thanks to Kelly Eastlund!)
Palmer Utterback
Read more...