You head down a narrow, paved road that winds along a rushing mountain river. On either side are mixed woods of deciduous trees and hardy evergreens. Also alongside the road are domiciles carved out of the sides of mountains, complete with outbuildings and varied livestock. Then for no apparent reason, you make a right turn onto what appears to be the head of a trail. The trail heads directly into the woods and steeply up the side of a mountain. It’s time to shift the car into low-range 4-wheel drive, settle the tires into the ruts etched into the rocky surface, race the engine, and begin the climb to one of the more remote places you will ever visit – Smoky Hollow.

Once on the trail, you can’t turn back until you reach the top. What begins as a steep incline changes to almost a vertical climb. A mountain stream cascades down a ravine on the left side of the road, a seemingly impenetrable forest rises on the right side. A bridge spanning a miniature waterfall adds to the adventure. After a while what passes for a road begins to level out somewhat, and you enter a grassy, green oasis that we call Smoky Hollow.

For any who don’t know, a hollow is like a naturally carved out place in the side of a mountain. Smoky Hollow has a ridge to the north, a ridge to the east, a ridge to the west. And it has an opening to the south, the direction from which we entered. There is only one house visible from here – our double-wide trailer. A field of cultivated Christmas trees shares the general clearing, but other than that the place probably looks much the same as it has for centuries. And from 1986 until 2010, it was my primary residence.

There is a reason that people live among other members of our species. There is the matter of convenience, the matter of services, the matter of needing to interact with others in order to hold the untamed forces of nature at bay. But there are also reasons for living in a secluded and protected spot. There is the matter of freedom, the matter of self-reliance, the matter of having the time and space to reflect upon things without having other people tell you why what you think and do is not reasonable.

I wrote the song, “Smoky Hollow,” about the place described above. It is a romanticized version, not taking into account all the difficulties imposed by snow, ice, flash floods, and leaking roofs. But it does reflect a subtle and hard-won peace that pervades the experience. There is an old saying about true character being revealed by who you are when no one is looking. The woods around Smoky Hollow have heard me cuss, and they have heard me sing. I have been accepted both ways.

Three kids of mine have called Smoky Hollow home. I don’t think any will want to return to live there, but a part of each of them will never leave. Patty has accepted the challenges presented there, challenges which were so foreign to one who had generally experienced a much more “civilized” existence in surburbia. But she has braved challenges such as unrelenting snow, rugged landscape, incursions of woodland creatures into the house. And she has reaped rewards such as crystalline blue skies, deer that walk into the front yard, wild birds, wild flowers, summer night skies flooded with fireflies, and hikes into a relatively undisturbed wilderness.

There is so much more I could say about this song, but I will let the lyrics pick it up from here. Even though I don’t spend as much time in Smoky hollow as I once did, this song allows the place to live for me whenever I sing it.

Smoky Hollow

(Harmonica Intro)
Sittin’ by a tree where the cool wind blows
Sunlight fallin’ through the broad leaves
In Smoky Hollow

Clear stream skippin’ through the rocks with ease
I look at you You smile at me
In Smoky Hollow

(Short harmonica break)
We run like kids ‘cross an open field
We roll in the grass when I catch your heel
In Smoky Hollow

Two lives converge, yours and mine
No clocks ever made could measure time
In Smoky Hollow

Where the heavy rains don’t fall
Where the winds don’t blow too hard
Where the sun shines soft and warm
Where even ancient life feels young

We claim a treasure ours for free
Full in the face like a summer breeze
In Smoky Hollow

Secrets shared under open skies
No one there but you and I
In Smoky Hollow

Where the heavy rains don’t fall
Where the winds don’t blow too hard
Where the sun shines soft and warm
Where sweet memory covers all

(Guitar and harmonica break)
When I look at you my old heart yearns
I wonder, could we return
To Smoky Hollow

When I catch your eyes, I think I see
Through hazy mists … Could we still be
In Smoky Hollow

Where the heavy rains don’t fall
Where the winds don’t blow too hard
Where the sun shines soft and warm
Where our love is ever young

Down in Smoky Hollow
Down Down in Smoky Hollow
Down Down Down
In Smoky Hollow (Words and Music: Bob Tatum)

Sound Traveler will be playing tonight at the Getaway Martini Bar in Melbourne. On Saturday we will be at the International Sound and Flavor Festival in Wickham Park. Hope to see you at one or both of these venues. Bob Tatum