Track 9 of "Ways that Are Dark" CD
A Dream Of A Bear

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Lyrics:
The night wind blow'd up
The Tennessee laurel
From the Gulf of Desolation
The hammer of Thor unchinked the walls
And tested our foundation
Two states our shack divides
It could blow to either side

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Notes:
From the chapter, "A Bear Hunt in the Smokies." The setting is a wind-cuffed little hunter's cabin, perched a mile high on a divide between Tennessee on one side and North Carolina on the other. Bear is the game, but Kephart notes something much more interesting in the pre-hunt culture that animates the cabin's tenants. The singing and dancing are accompanied by some fresh moonshine liquor, enough to satisfy Kephart's requirements for a fine evening out, but he seems most fascinated with the superstition that dreams foretell the hunt's outcome. Kephart blithely reveals his dream the following morning, but in so doing disqualifies himself from the hunt.

Lexicon:
Gulf of Desolation - a valley to the Tennessee side
gant lot - a fenced in area where mountain cattle are separated from the grass to remain "gant and nimble"
old windmaker - the spirits from whence the wind is made
coggled up - rickety, wobbly
dew-clawed - the functionless toe on the inner side of a dog's leg; thought to snake-proof a dog
pigeon-wing - a backstep or dance step
mast nuts - (acorns, chestnuts) found on the forest floor
spile - to spoil

The Musicians:
Lead Vocal: Scott Huffman
Tenor Vocals: Jim Watson
Guitar: Jack Lawrence
Banjo: Craig Smith
Mandolin: Daniel Gore
Fiddle: Don Lewis
String Bass: Robbie Link

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