Mountain Songs

"Mountain Songs" brings three traditional bluegrass tunes into conversation with the voices of the choir, the soaring colors of the strings, and the fire of a bluegrass band. The arrangement begins with "Boll Weevil," a lively tale of resilience against the destructive beetle that plagued Southern crops. It turns tender and haunting in "He’s Gone Away," a song of farewell and longing. The journey concludes with "Cumberland Gap," a raucous and virtuosic romp that bursts with fragments of beloved bluegrass standards—Shady Grove, Ain’t Nobody Gonna Miss Me, The Cuckoo, I’ll Fly Away—woven together in playful counterpoint, including a “bluegrass fugue.”

At once honoring tradition and exploring new textures, "Mountain Songs" celebrates the vitality, grit, and joy of the Appalachian spirit.

Boll weevil told the farmer:
"You better treat me right.
I'll eat up all of your cotton,
sleep in your grain rail tonight.”

Boll weevil told the farmer:
"You don't need no Ford machine.
I'll eat up all your cotton,
can't buy no gasoline.”

Yonder comes the spider,
crawled up and down the wall,
he must've been goin’
to get his hash's haul.

I don't see no water,
but I'm about to drown.
I don't see no fire,
but I'm burning down.

II. He’s Gone Away

He’s gone away for to stay a little while,
But he’s comin’ back if he goes ten thousand miles.
Oh, who will tie my shoe?
And who will glove my hand?
And who will kiss my ruby lips when he is gone?

Look away, look away over yondro.

He’s gone away for to stay a little while,
but he’s comin’ back if he goes ten thousand miles.
Oh, Papa will tie my shoe
and Mama will glove my hand.
But who will kiss my ruby lips when he is gone?

Look away, look away over yondro.


III. Cumberland Gap

Lay down boys and take a little nap,
fourteen miles to Cumberland Gap.
Cumberland Gap, Cumberland Gap,
we’re all goin’ down through the Cumberland Gap.

Now we’re headin’ West
to find a new home nest.
No more time for rest.

Me and my wife and my wife's pap,
we're all going down through the Cumberland Gap.
Cumberland Gap, Cumberland Gap,
way down yonder in the Cumberland Gap.

Cumberland Gap with its cliffs and rocks,
home of the panther, bear, and fox.
Cumberland Gap, Cumberland Gap,
we’re all goin’ down through the Cumberland Gap.

Cumberland Gap is a mighty fine place,
three kinds of water to wash your face.
Cumberland Gap, Cumberland Gap,
way down yonder in the Cumberland Gap.

All packed up and ready to go,
we’re makin’ our way on the Wilderness Road.