I introduced a new song yesterday at Brightside’s Haverhill Goes Green fair at Winnekenni Castle, an enviromental and earth-themed festival where more than 2,000 attendees strolled through tents filled with exhibits on alternative forms of energy from solar to wind to geothermal, learned out to mix enviromentally safe cleaning and polishing agents, sample organically grown food, and got a look at hybrid vehicles from a sedan to a hybrid touring bus.
In addition to the exhibits, there were speakers on going green and panel discussions on the ecology and the environment that ranged from how to make a building green, invests and expand green industries, and the effects of environmental change.
Of course, the River, our local radio station, was there, and the Elle Gallol band–which was underwritten by a grant from the Haverhill Cultural Council (of which, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a member).
Normally, when I am invited to speak at an event, it’s to read one or more of my poems, and sometimes, I even write a commemorative poem dedicated to the event, but this year, I decided to do something a little different–sing. I’m not that great of a singer, although my shower is enlivened and my cats adore my stylings (mostly likely because I generally sing whilst I ladle out ther repasts), but I thought an appropriate tribute to Haverhill’s greening would be a song that celebrates the city’s unique history that began back in 1640. After all, the muse of the ancients was same for both music and poetry and there is a long tradition of poets singing their poems.
Apparently, it went well. The applause, the comments afterwards, the number of people asking for copies, and the misguided few who actually approached me to buy one of my books, although this was one of the rare occasions when I did not engage in shameless self-promotion. (Fair warning: If you invite me to speak, I usually travel with a stash of books, an autograph pen, and a change drawer.)
And, yes, I will be making a recording of the song and will post it here in the near future. Although I wrote both the words and the music, I am still working on the final arrangement. In the meantime, for those of you who would like to read the lyrics, here are the words to Haverhill:
There’s a place I want to be
Between the mountains and the sea
Where a mighty river flows.
Where the skies when blue are bright
And the stars have names at night
And every house has a friend
everybody knows.
Where the settlers took a stand
Built the farms upon the land
Made a city to which everyone agreed.
Where General Washington came
To the square that bears his name
And Lafayette still strides
upon his steed.
Where the people of the city made shoes
For all the world to choose
In the city’s many working mills.
Where Macy built his first store
And our young men marched off to war
To fight for freedom with pride
for Haverhill.
Where John G. Whittier wrote
In the words of a poet
A tribute to his hometown, Haverhill.
Where Archie went to high school
And Betty and Veronica were cool
And a castle stands guard
high on a hill.
[C] Where the Merrimack River plies
And the mighty eagle flies
O’er the Gold and Silver Hills of Haverhill.
And when I die, I want to lie
Beneath God’s own New England skies,
Near the Gold and Silver Hills
of Haverhill . . .
[C] Where the [mighty, mighty] Merrimack River plies
And the [mighty, mighty] mighty eagle flies
O’er the Gold and Silver Hills of Haverhill.
And when I die, I want to lie
Beneath God’s own New England skies,
Near the Gold and Silver Hills
of Haverhill . . .
Words and Music Copyright 2010 by Dan Speers
Citizen Poet 