Olana

Album: Burning the Daze (1998)
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  • They say my final masterpiece
    Was this house upon the hill
    High above the great and mighty river
    My hand could not hold the brushes
    Yes I guess I lost my will
    And you can't keep painting paradise forever
    Oh forever

    From the Andes to Niagara
    To where we stand today
    I drew the great creations of my master
    'Til the oil and the canvas
    Lord I threw them all away
    And traded them for stone and brick and plaster
    I traded them all for you

    (Winter wind blows and the river lies frozen at my feet)
    I traded them all for you
    (Springtime come and the river want to run above the street)

    [Chorus]
    She came to me one night
    While I was tossing in my dreams
    She said she'd give my family protection
    I recall the night I died
    Beneath her arches and her beams
    I thanked her for the shelter and direction
    I was lost until Olana

    (Sun beat down on a summertime town -- he left me there)
    I was lost until Olana
    (Watching these hills turning gold for one more year)

    Oh I've been from Jerusalem to Rome
    Now I'm floating through these rooms tonight alone
    And looking back on everything
    All I ever wanted was a home

    I was lost until Olana
    How sweet the sound
    How sweet the sound

    They say my final masterpiece
    Was this house upon the hill

    [Chorus] Writer/s: COHN
    Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Volker from HamburgMarc Cohn explained the meaning of the name "Olana" as follows: Frederic Church "called this house Olana, which means treasure house, house filled with the things that are important to you."
    Wikipedia (Olana State Historic Site): "Church and his wife Isabel (1836–1899) named their estate after a fortress-treasure house in ancient Greater Persia (modern-day Armenia), which also overlooked a river valley."
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