go deep down
In 2009 I went on a couple of fun bus tour adventures that crossed the US. I remember a couple of friends I made along the way making fun at me always pointing my camera down at the ground. While most others seemed to be taking in the grandeur of the world rising up above us, I was pointing my direction downwards.
but oh the flowers
the butterflies
the rocks
the leaves
and all the other
wonderful small ones
hidden below our
line of
sight
And, of course, it was good to be reminded by my travel companions to look up sometimes. How could I miss the marble blue surface of Crater Lake, the tall Redwoods rising up around us in the Avenue of the Giants, the bubbling geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, to name just a few of the wonders.
At the end of last year a lot of storms came sweeping through our surrounds and it seemed like rainbow after rainbow filled the skies. I remember setting out on one morning run with friends and noticing stormy clouds in the distance. Being rather unfit after not running for a while, all my concentration had been looking down on the track, making sure I wasn’t tripping up on anything. Then, a couple of kilometres into the run, drops of rain started to fall, breaking my downward focus. I looked up and the most vivid double rainbow stretched across the electric grey, blue sky. So, yes, this song is about not missing out on those electric rainbows filling the sky, but also taking the time to sit with the smaller details when you get a chance.
If you only look down
You’re gonna miss the rainbows
If you only look up
You’re gonna miss the goin deep down
I’m gonna go deep down
Right down
If you only look in
You’re gonna miss the sunrise
If you only look back
You’re gonna miss the sunset goin down
I’m gonna go deep down
Right down
All this goin places is getting me dizzy
Like some tumbleweed I am restless
Rambling and prickly
With a gust of wind my bones break free
I rattle and roll on the open road
If you only look down
You’re gonna miss the rainbows
If you only look up
You’re gonna miss the goin deep down
I’m gonna go deep down
Right down
Down with the river, take me downstream
Where the wild rivers run free
Take my bones so deep
They rattle and roll
With the ancient stones
Tumble and fall
Til they reach the ocean shore
