In 2010, I was hiking near the San Pedro River when I was inspired to write a song about the planets.
You may be wondering (as I was at first) how a walk in the woods could turn into a song about outer space. Well, I can explain. Meet my muse, the vermilion flycatcher.
There I was, minding my own business, walking through the woods on a bright autumn day, thinking about trees and sky and birds. I was hoping to see a vermilion flycatcher. I didn’t see one that day, but I think one must have been up in the trees looking down at me.
As I walked along, I was filled with a beautiful feeling. Maybe it was the fresh air, the blue sky, or the bright sunshine, but I felt a song coming on. I thought it was going to be about that bird.
But when I got home, the words that came out were about two planets instead. Earth and Mars. I think I wanted to write about Earth, and thoughts of the vermilion flycatcher made me think of the color red. Somehow the two came together into this song about two best friends in space, Eartha Tierra (Earth) and Marty Vermilion (Mars).
Since NASA landed a probe on Mars today, I thought it would be a good day to post the lyrics to the song. You can listen to it for free by clicking on the song title, which is:
Eartha Tierra was a beauty Marty Vermilion was her friend It had been that way since forever It looked like it never would end Eartha Tierra turned to Marty My friends call me Mama, she said Marty rearranged his auburn hair And he answered, You can call me Red Eartha and Marty were neighbors Grew up on the same side of the tracks In daytime they traveled in circles At night they watched each other’s backs The days soon turned into seasons The seasons turned into years Some years were better than others And some just brought Eartha to tears Some folks believe in miracles, she cried They pray for salvation and such Others just tryin’ to survive They don’t really ask for much But I’m lookin’ for a vertical horizon A total eclipse of this scene Somewhere a settin’ sun is risin’ That’s where I wanna be One day Eartha said to Marty There’s problems from pole to pole The gravity of this situation Is beginning to take its toll No sooner had Eartha spoken Than Marty was quick to agree I’m tired of this constant revolution, he said I need some peace and tranquility Why can’t people be friends like us And walk in each other’s shoes They could be tasting heaven on earth Instead of these heart-heavy blues So I’m lookin’ for a vertical horizon A total eclipse of this scene Somewhere a settin’ sun is risin’ That’s where I wanna be Yeah, I’m lookin’ for a vertical horizon A total eclipse of this scene Somewhere a settin’ sun is risin’ That’s where I wanna, that’s where I wanna be.
loristory 