High on the Mountain

Album: Like the River Loves the Sea (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • I am high on the mountain
    Looking over the fields
    At the vines and the flowers
    So entwines, just as you and I used to be


    Joan Shelley's deep attachment to all things ecological shines through on Like the River Loves the Sea. Shady trees, flowers and fields all feature in the string-laden "High On the Mountain. "You can go into the woods and be relieved of some of your awful humanness," explained Shelley to Q Magazine. "That's kind of what I'm trying to do with music. Remind us that we like to be in green."
  • Joan Shelley recorded Like the River Loves the Sea in Iceland's Greenhouse Studios. For an album that is so deeply attached to the fields, farms and flowing water of Kentucky, it seems counterintuitive to run away from the very place that inspired her to make it, but Shelley disagrees. "I think most people experience this thing, when you leave and see what you've taken for granted," she explained to Q magazine. "You see the shape of your life and your home by not having that thing around."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

The Real Nick Drake

The Real Nick DrakeSong Writing

The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.