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Elder's Land (Feat. Paula Nelson)

from Sumna Dyskoteka by Butch Ross

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about

Listening to the radio one night , I heard a song by the Grateful Dead, that started out interesting and then got boring as soon as the drums kicked in. I thought, "Maybe I don't like the Dead 'cuz I don't like the drums." So when I got home, I found the track I had heard on the radio and paired it with the "Amen Break" a drum break so prevalent that there's an entire genre of music based on it. The two worked well together, so I added a bass line from another song I knew. Now I had a beat, so I decided to maybe put some kind of vocal over it. So I went to the Digital Library of Appalachia and found this recording of Paul Nelson singing a ballad she wrote, based on conversations she had had with elderly Cherokee people, called "This Elder's Land"

Paula Nelson is a writer and poet and member of the eastern band of the Cherokee Nation

When I started the idea of putting together an EP for Ukrainian relief, I felt the words of this song really fit the overall theme. As did the piecemeal/sampled nature of the track.

At the end of the tune, as an aside joke, I put my buddy Vi Wickham playing the fiddle tune "Lost Indian" a version of which old-time and bluegrass folk know as "Cherokee Shuffle"

What's amazing is that while I pitch shifted the baseline to match the guitar lick, and slowed the drums down. The rest of this track is pretty much as-is. Paula's ballad, the guitar lick and Lost Indian are all in the key of G (G Mixolydian to be precise) and at pretty much the same tempo. It's something that has happened repeatedly throughout this project. Music is truly universal.

Fun fact: I didn't play a note on this song.

lyrics

First verse sung in Cherokee
second verse in English
it is the same text both times.

I will not leave this land
no, I will never go
the dirt is my heart
and the water is my soul
I am this land
and I want you to see
that I am a human
and you are just like me.

chorus
And my tears have run dry
and I cannot grieve
but I am still praying
that you will finally leave

credits

from Sumna Dyskoteka, released March 3, 2023

license

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Butch Ross Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga multi-instrumentalist and mountain dulcimer maestro Butch Ross has tackled everything from Radiohead to Bach and come away with a renewed appreciation for what the humble dulcimer is capable of. His music is born from his respect for its abilities, a respect born from the years he's spent prying apart its pieces and discovering new sounds where none existed before. ... more

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