SONGS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST  

     This collection of songs grew out of a workshop at Rainy Camp, a weekend singing retreat of the Seattle Song Circle at Camp Don Bosco in Carnation, WA, Feb. 4 - 6, 2005. Most of the songs were recorded live in the camp chapel, others were recorded or taken from previous recordings as indicated. Some of these songs are traditional, others are newer songs written in the traditional style. Some have never been recorded before. They all represent a part of the ongoing folklore of the Pacific Northwest. The musicians are all ordinary local people, friends and members of the Seattle Song Circle. These are not big-name recording artists, but just folks who like to make their own music. This is what ‘'folk music’' is all about. Stewart Hendrickson

Listen to soundclips on CDBABY

Washington, Washington - words & music by Joseph Vinikow* & Glen Arthur Hughes, 1978. Linda Allen & Chorus

The Old Settler - words by Francis Henry, 1877, music traditional “Old Rosin the Beau.” David MacAuslan

Little Old Log Cabin On My Claim - Pacific Northwest words by Paul Ashford*, from the traditional Irish song “Little Old Log Cabin on the Lane”. Bob Nelson (recorded at Palatine House)

Ode to Puget Sound - words by Carlton Fitchett, ca. 1944. Sold to Ivar Haugland for a box of Cuban cigars. Allan Hirsch

Dig Me a Clam - words by Susy McAleer, John Dwyer, Hilda Thomas and others.The idea was hatched at a Seattle Song Circle in 1987. Susy McAleer & Jean Smith (recorded at Palatine House)

Northwest Gal - words & music by Susy McAleer. Susy McAleer (recorded at Palatine House)

Song of the Sockeye - words from a poem by Ross Cumberg*, music by Phil Thomas*, 1962. Dick Holdstock  (from his CD “Way Out West”)

Bring the Salmon Home - words & music by Mary Garvey. Set at Steamboat Slough on the Columbia River. Mary Garvey (recorded in Long Beach, WA)

Oystershell Road - words and music by Mary Garvey. About the women who had to pick oysters in the dark during the blackouts of world war II near South Bend, WA. Mary Garvey (recorded in Long Beach, WA)

Apple Picker’s Reel - words & music by Larry Hanks*, 1967. Andy Blyth

Cranberry - words & music by Mary Garvey. Mary Garvey (recorded in Long Beach, WA)

Meg of the Cowlitz - words & music by Mary Garvey. Mary Garvey (recorded in Long Beach, WA)

Pleasant and Delightful Seattle - words by Susy McAleer. Walking out of Monroe Center in Seattle into a sudden rain, John Dwyer said to Susy, “Ah, pleasant and delightful Seattle weather!” Susy McAleer & Jean Smith (recorded at Palatine House)

Notice to Mariners - words & music by John Dwyer*. A true story of the grounding of the Seattle to Bremerton ferry. Susy McAleer & Jean Smith (recorded at Palatine House)

Olympic Mountain Anthem (My Home on Phinney Ridge) - words & music by Mariide Widmann*. Mariide Widmann (from her CD “Rough Cuts”)

Cle Elum Girl - words & music by Nancy-Lu (Gellerman) Patterson, Seattle, early 1950s. The story goes that Nancy-Lu met an older woman in a bar in Cle Elum who spilled out her life story. This is a genuine Pacific Northwest song with a bittersweet, all-too-universal theme. Bob Nelson (recorded at Palatine House)

The Star of Bannack - based on the story of Miss Nellie Paget from Bannack, MT. Bob Nelson (recorded at Palatine House)

Helga Estby - words & music by Linda Allen. Based on a true story of a woman who, at the turn of the century, walked across the U.S. to save her family farm. Linda Allen

Britannia Mine - words by Paddy Graber, tune traditional “Skibbereen.” A bitter strike in 1946 led to eventual closing of the copper mine at Britannia Beach, B.C. Paddy Graber (recorded at Palatine House)

Shake Rats - words & music by Ana Green. Cutting cedar shakes from forest stumps. Linda Allen

The Chokerman - words & music by Don Olds of Hope, B.C. Don Olds

Hoedad Song - words & music by Jim Guthrie* for the Hoedad Treeplanting Collective. Percy Hilo

The Frozen Logger - words & music by James Stevens*, 1951. Andy Blyth

The Frozen Jogger - words by David Spalding*. The last 5 verses by John Dwyer turned this into a token song. Stewart Hendrickson & Jerry Middaugh (recorded at Palatine House)

Big Red Saloon - words & music by Mary Garvey. In Winlock, WA. Mary Garvey (recorded in Long Beach, WA)

Rose City Flyer - words & music by Percy Hilo. One of the last electric trains in the NW, ran from Vancouver, WA through Portland to Eugene, OR, was discontinued in 1941. Percy Hilo

Wreck of the Lady Washington - words by Mikki Perry*, music traditional “Greenland Whale Fishery.” An actual event that occurred on Oct. 17, 1991 in Pasco, WA. Roxann Ketch & Chorus

*With permission of the author.

 Musicians: Linda Allen, Andy Blyth, Mary Garvey, Paddy Graber, Stewart Hendrickson, Percy Hilo, Allan Hirsch, Dick Holdstock, Roxann Ketch, David MacAuslan, Susy McAleer, Jerry Middaugh, Bob Nelson, Don Olds, Jean Smith, Mariide Widmann. © Celtic-Palatine Recordings, October 1, 2005. Stewart Hendrickson, hend@stolaf.edu, http://www.stolaf.edu/people/hend/music.html

"Listening is a pleasure. You'll find yourself sitting around a campfire at a folkie camp, joining in the singing, and savoring the songs and musicianship of your friends. It will warm your heart, and, yes, it's a basic "what folk music is all about" CD." Faith Petric, San Frincisco Folk Music Club, Folknik, Vol. XLI, No. 6 (2005).