In the summer of 2013 my friend, my sister and I were all preparing to start new chapters in life. I was moving away from home for the first time to go to school in Dallas, my friend Tressa was about to start at a new college in Tennessee, and my sister Melody was starting fresh in grad school in Boston after recently having gone through a divorce. We mapped out a route from California and practiced our three part harmony, planning to play some shows as we traveled.
It turned out to be quite the adventure. We stayed in a teepee at the Grand Canyon and witnessed the craziest double rainbow I've ever seen in my life. We danced in the hot rain and swung on a porch in New Orleans. We saw historical landmarks in Birmingham, and we ate Georgia peaches. We swam in teal Floridian waters. We had an epic house show in Tennessee. We rolled with the punches. We wore coon skin caps. We ate a lot of canned tuna.
We stayed with acquaintances that quickly became friends, constantly amazed at the generosity and kindness that was offered to us.
Thunderstorms were our companion the whole way. In almost every state, summer rain followed as a sign of symbolic washing in our time of transition. It rained. It rained hot, it rained hard, it rained soft, and it rained. I watched my sister in this rain and saw her journey to healing.
This song was inspired by these events.
lyrics
We packed our bags and headed east to find another life
We tied up every end and kissed our mama goodbye
I saw you were in pieces and wanted to make it right
But then I saw you as you danced and watched the rain renew your youth
The wooden floors of New Orleans bore witness to the truth
And on a dock in Georgia, I saw the weight of hope break through and I knew
It's alright
Cause on the other side of the dawn
There's a day that you've never known
On the other side of this storm
Is a song that will lead you... home
We heard the sound of raindrops falling on our teepee
Silly hats and scary bugs and wild donkeys I think
God was in the storm clouds
And Thundering all through the night
We sang our way across the hot and humid summer air
Southern hospitality saw to our every care
The color all around us reminded that we weren't alone
My friend I do believe that there's a song you've yet to sing
A broken heart can often make the sweetest melody
There's sunlight in the forest and summer on my mind
The sound of birds and grasses in the wind are keeping time
I can feel the distance ending and my heart returning home and it's alright
credits
from Summertime,
released August 2, 2016
Written by Maddy Hunt
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