This song is somewhat of an ongoing project. New verses are added from time to time, and I do appreciate the input I have gotten from so many of you. It is a bit of a journal, perhaps, and definitely the longest song I have ever written. Don't look for good writing here, just good memories. If you have ever been in any way associated with Lookout Mountain, there should be something in these verses you can identify with. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane.
Lookout Mountain
v.66 ©2005 Randy York
Chorus: Growing up on Lookout Mountain
Never growing old
The sunshine there would sparkle on the snow
The summer breeze would kiss the trees
And the angels know
The mountain is a perfect place to go
Early in the morning
When the sun is in the east
The peaks are islands in a sea of clouds
The Master’s work is on display
Solid as a fleece
Covering the earth in brilliant shroud
The Castle in the Clouds
Was an edifice of learning
That in the fog completely disappeared
And every time I pass that way
I remember there’s no turning
From a symbol of the past, a fortress through the years
I played tennis there with Beaux
She was not like other girls
She had a pet raccoon and loved my music
I was so glad for her friendship
To me it meant the world
A treasure, and I hope I never lose it (to chorus)
The Cherokee lived there first
And thousands lost their lives
Along the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma
But none of that shows in the prints
By Currier & Ives
A landscape just as lovely as Multnomah
We were the Rebels and the Yankees
In the woods just down the street
A hundred years from when they fought the war for real
Hope would spring eternal
Of snatching victory from defeat
When will those old war wounds finally heal?
Starting out at Sunset Rock
You could hike up to the Point
And that way you could walk right in for free
‘Cause if a ranger saw you climb the wall
He thought he owned the joint
And would chase you till you vanished in the trees (to chorus)
Rock City’s very scary
Has been since I was eight
And tried to sneak in with a group of friends
We got caught at Fairyland Caverns
He tried to set us straight
By scaring us to stand our hair on end
The Incline was my favorite
I kept a ticket book
And relied on it to cure my vertigo
But at Beaver Creek I learned the truth
I took a second look
And faced it all again on Latigo
The weather in the caves
Is the same throughout the year
And so at Ruby Falls it never rains
But when they throw the lights
And that waterfall appears
You will not regret it that you came (to chorus)
Winter held a certain magic
Especially when it snowed
Getter’s Gulch was the greatest place to sled
But better build a snowfort fast
‘Cause the weather won’t stay cold
And you’ll end up having slushball fights instead
Summer meant vacation
The time of year to drink
Iced tea with mint you pick yourself
And watch the girls out tanning
With their baby oil and zinc
When the sun’s so hot the asphalt seems to melt
The rich kids spent their summer days
At the Fairyland Pool
They were tanned and they were wet and they were loud
But Margaret Williams died
On the playground at the school
And never got to be part of that crowd
When the summer sun goes down
It'll make you stop and stare
Or run into the kitchen for a jar
Like fiery flashing jewels
Lightning bugs will fill the air
Floating like a thousand tiny stars (to chorus)
At Massey’s General Store
The candy filled the shelves
And I would fill my afternoons just looking
Then ride my bike back home
Welcomed by the smell
Of dinner and my mama’s southern cooking
In her dedication
Getting me to eat
My mother fed me underneath the table
When her children needed her
She jumped in with both feet
And did for us as much as she was able
Mimi was the secretary
At the Baptist Church
I was like a grandchild in her keeping
She had a stuffed dog I called Happy
And I always kept it perched
By my head whenever I was sleeping
Dr. Von made house calls
I don’t know when he slept
Whenever he was asked to help he would
He knew everything about me
No secrets could be kept
And I got a Safe-T-Pop when I was good (to chorus)
Abel was our favorite cop
Sometimes he’d give us rides
And even hit the siren and the lights
He knew just when to throw the book
And when to let it slide
And where to set up shop on Friday nights
Fred Bradford had a barber shop
Where he would cut your hair
And charge you just $1.25
But if you went out to Lula Lake
When the good old boys wuz there
You’d be lucky if you made it home alive
I was lucky like that once
Back in those woods with Dave
They outnumbered us and tailed us in their cars
We led them on a merry chase
But I didn’t feel too brave
Right then I would have rather been on Mars
And then once when I was younger
At the carnival in the rain
After Mr. Pockets left with all my dimes
The Hinkle boys left us alone
On the strength of my last name
And hoped that we had had the best of times (to chorus)
Walking through the door
Of the Redford Five & Dime
To buy the latest album by the Monkees
Step across the floor
Get in the checkout line
Add a Mars Bar for this junk food junkie
Sam would man the soda fountain
And pour us cherry Cokes
We’d sip and sit and spin there on our stools
I just loved it on the mountain
And I’m grateful for the folks
Who still loved me even when I was a fool (to chorus)
Zippy was our beagle
Trouble was our hound
Sparkle and then Pete round out the mix
In my opinion our dogs
Were the best canines around
Though none of them caught on to fetching sticks
Peter Pan and Cinderella,
Red Riding Hood and Gnome
All these streets are in our little town
If you drive down Princess Trail
You will find my childhood home
In Fairyland the fairy tales abound (to chorus)
From Loveman’s to the Top Shop
From House of Treasures out to Sears
Shopping was a major undertaking
Then Eastgate Center opened
Confirming all our fears
The dawn of shopping malls was finally breaking
Driving through the Milk Jug
Better not to linger
Picking up some butter, milk, and eggs
Picking up a June bug
Clamp it on your finger
Feel the power in those tiny legs
Head on down to Pioneer
Put some money in the bank
Build yourself a nest egg – here’s to hoping
Go to Henry Tarver’s Esso
Put a tiger in your tank
And pray the kid who pumps the gas ain’t smoking (to chorus)
When I was very young
There were two water fountains
And on the shorter one there was a sign
I could not drink from that one
Not there on the mountain
The tall one was reserved for me and mine
Standing on the eastern cliffs
Seeing seven states
Basking as the mountain air surrounds you
To stand upon the precipice
Fearlessness is all it takes
And a really good belay rope tied around you
Out on Frontier Bluff
Lived the first girl of my dreams
Since that was in first grade, I never kissed her
But it was at the Brass
A lifetime later it would seem
I mistook Rowena Lee for her sister (to chorus)
The first time that I went to Narnia
I was only eight
Mrs. Bower read to us each afternoon
I ran down to the library
And read the whole set straight
It made so much more sense than Brigadoon
Lookout Mountain Grammar School
Seemed to last forever
By the age of twelve I’d been there half my life
I had crushes on Elizabeth,
Rowena, Meg, and Chappel
Though none of them, of course, became my wife
Mary Lisa Chessnut,
Garnet Williams, Carter Wells,
Steppie Ortlip, Blackwell Smith, and Celia Ochs
Alan Murray, Catherine Chisholm,
John Gass, and Gaston Raoul,
Callie Taff, and Melanie Wilcox
All of these were schoolmates
I’ve lost track of every one
Some of them perhaps still live up there
But I never will forget them
Or the things that we have done
We’ve all been weathered by the mountain air (to chorus)
When Laura Lore’s house burned down
The flames lit up the night
And what was left next morning still was smoking
That’s when we all came back
And surveyed that awful sight
Silence ruled that day, there was no joking
Gary, Mark, and Gus
Were my best friends in those years
We did everything together in the summer
From model trains to go-carts
We were Four Musketeers
Or maybe Dummy, Dumbest, Dumb, and Dumber
I had two loving sisters
Who saw me as their slave
I stayed busy fetching them Brown Cows and Cokes
But they repaid me well
Teaching me each latest craze
So that maybe I could dance like other folks (to chorus)
I’ve never been to High Point
But I’ve seen it from afar
It was part of the horizon in my youth
I’ve never played the Opry
But I love this old guitar
Without music the whole world would be mute
So music filled the air
On the radio and records
And of course you could always go to see ‘em
But of all the outdoor concerts
I especially loved to listen
To Fletcher Bright and his Dismembered Tennesseans
I got to play a lot
At the Way Inn Coffeehouse
Trying out new songs on eager ears
But James Ward was still the favorite
Always got a huge turnout
We loved his music in those early years
Rob McDonald, Kathy Peele,
And Paula Nuremberger,
David Mitchell and Maria Cocke,
Nancy Davis, Donald Gott,
And Robin Middleton
The Way Inn Coffeehouse was never locked (to chorus)
Eleanor was there for me
Elementary, high school, college
She had a watchful eye and patient heart
Though I could not protect her
From the grief her brothers gave her
I've felt part of their family from the start
Geniese and Tommy Gilman
Would become our lifelong friends
Both our families now are filled with kids
Forgiveness is a mighty road
They’ve been down it to the end
Since we kidnapped Cassie – yes we did!
Joy and Roger Gulick
Lived on Whiteside Street
For us they were a gift that never ends
From Young Life camps to Youth Group
And every Thursday we would meet
For Breakfast Club before school with our friends
Christmas Eve was at the Ryans
A Spanish house of course
Where Judy’s bedroom perched atop a tower
Often I would wander
In the courtyard in the back
Looking at the fountains and the flowers (to chorus)
My flower’s name was Nancy
She bloomed where she was planted
And lived her life at sunset in the shadows of the trees
She early vowed her love for me
But later on recanted
And the crystal after that goes dark for me
I escorted Mary Alice
To the Cotton Ball
She had always been the girl next door
I was honored to be asked
To join her in that hall
Her society debut about to soar
Ray and I are still in touch
He was the leader of his pack
But this country boy at heart was all too urban
We set off in a hippie van
Saw the world and then came back
I’ve since traded in that van for a Suburban (to chorus)
Estes was the bestest
But then so was Bill Brock
Ed Chapin, Franklin Haney, and the rest
Seems like a politician lived
On every other block
But their campaigns did not always meet success
Kay’s Castle in St. Elmo
Served my favorite ice cream cones
But that was all the way down at the foot
The road out to Tiftonia
Ran past the Panoram
A lovely place long since reduced to soot
The McCallie-Baylor football game
Was revived before I left
It pains me to remember it because
McCallie lost it on a flag
A mouth guard of all things
I have no desire to tell you who that was
Harry is a longtime friend
Yes, the pun’s intended
We traveled Scenic Highway for the snakes
A songwriter extraordinaire
His creations all are splendid
And his ready wit is really all it takes (to chorus)
Joe Sokohl is a history buff
And a truly loyal friend
Talking with him never was a bore
His love for the bizarre
Was sometimes hard to comprehend
But his insights simply could not be ignored
Susan Johnston worked at Ruby Falls
I don’t know if you’ve heard
Her experience down there was pretty rough
It was on the elevator
An accident occurred (pause for effect)
When some kid couldn’t get to the bathroom fast enough
Nothing has been quite the same
Since 1974
When Lookout got a visit from Bob Dixon
The impact that he made
Is best left unexplored
But was felt from East Ridge all the way to Hixon
Just to impress my sister
A fella went so far
As to get me work at a GM dealership
On my first morning on the job
Before lunch I’d wrecked five cars
But I survived, and I’m giving you this tip (to chorus)
Some have written novels
Some have written songs
Some have painted pictures of old Lookout
But if you want to get to know the place
Then really you belong
At the Commons with your best friends for a cookout
West Brow was the place to live
I never quite knew why
‘Cause East Brow had the best view of the city
My father chose the East
And a house right in the sky
But he didn’t stay there long, and more’s the pity
Climbing on the boulders
Running through the trees
Like generations past and yet to come
The earth itself remembers
As does the mountain breeze
It’ll flash before your eyes before you’re done (to chorus)
On Lookout Mountain you could be
A general or explorer
The sky was still the limit to your dreams
And maybe you could find a bride
For richer or for poorer
But life is always more than what it seems
And so it was that I brought Kay
A Midwest farmer’s daughter
Down to Tennessee to see my home
I could not make her drink
But I could lead this horse to water
And leave the choice to her and her alone (to chorus)
Just off route 136
You can hike through Cloudland Canyon
Everybody’s welcome from the richest to the poorest
And then there’s bed and breakfasts
For you and a companion
That cater both to locals and to tourists
The Tennessee Aquarium
Was not part of my life
But my kids love it, and I’m glad to say
That every single chance I get
I go there with my wife
And my children, and we love to stay – all day (to chorus)
Now I don’t wish my life were different
I don’t wish that I had stayed
But I am afraid it may not be too long
Before so much time goes by
That the memories start to fade
I need to get them down before they’re gone
So y’all can make of this
Whatever you so choose
I wouldn’t trade those years for anything
New Orleans may have jazz
And Memphis has the blues
But it’s Lookout Mountain makes me want to sing (to chorus)
|