#3: Salt

The piano on this song was recorded at a studio in Toronto with Small Town Treason. This piano bit has lasted even though many different melodies and ideas have come and gone and the song has taken many forms. This is actually pretty much the original form of the song. It's been on a long circular journey and now here it is.  Words by Bert and James Wright. James is rapping. 

It's been a long time, a long time coming,

You can feel the tractor engine humming,

I'm watering my crops so they grow to the top,

And the sunshine it will never stop.

Beside my land a river gives a helping hand,

Feeds water to my fam so they can stand,

I walked a little closer to find what I could see,

and the river it was talking back to me.

Can you tell his fine breed by the markings on his steed,

Tell a young man in love by his eyes?

Can you tell your folks are kind by the spinners on their lines,

Can you really judge a fish by its size?

Cause if he ain't fully grown over the gunnels he gets thrown,

He's got one more season to be free.

There's only one happy death, at the bottom there is rest,

For the salt of the earth and the sea.

Wake up in the morning with ambition in our eyes,

Be on the water before sunrise.

Gonna catch a fish and fry it up for dinner,

Then go back to the cabins and get ready for winter.

Cause the cold his here, the cold is near, 

We gotta hold together and stay away from fear,

If we can swim on, we'll see another dawn,

Cause it's cold in this country, it's cold in this country.