Downstream

I was born on these tidelands thirty some years ago
Learned as a young girl to watch that ebb and flow
Waters always changing, quicker than you know
Keep your eye on the sounder, steady as you go

We’d swim in that water, so deep and so black
Ride the waves up in the bow, never looking back
Tell our secrets to the wind, laugh when we lost track
Living day by day, seemed the only path

Down stream, down stream
Those days are all down stream
Down stream, down stream
It all flows down stream

We’d watch the rain sweep from the mountains to the sea
Then the mist would rise through the forest and the creeks
I learned as a young girl to know when I can’t see
Place your foot step, by step, jump when you believe.

We’d walk through the logging camps, the mines and canneries
Look through what they left behind, as if it held the key
Old calendars, broken chairs, plates and memories
It felt like we were living in a land of rusted dreams.

Down stream, down stream
Those days are all down stream
Down stream, down stream
It all flows down stream

Down stream, down stream
Those days are all down stream
Down stream, down stream
It all flows down stream