"Hovenweep"

Words & Music by James Nihan

Rings of trees have told the tale
Of squash that withered on the vine
Arroyos turned a dusty pale
Choking back the columbine
The warrior with bow and spear
The dying desert denizen
Could not even shed a tear
That's how dry it was back then

Beneath the crimson-crested cliffs
Above the whisper of a stream
Canopied by petroglyphs
I sat down one day to dream
And there amongst the knapper's flakes
Before the crumbling castle keep
The hands of time began to shake
Reaching out from Hovenweep

Like the song that sweetly springs
From the Kokopelli flute
Rising up on raven wings
I climbed above the Sleeping Ute
Twisting through the canyonlands
Dancing dervish winds did sweep
My spirit like a grain of sand
Into the heart of Hovenweep

Bridge:
And with the ancient ones I walked
And listened as the shamans spoke
Tearfully my eyes were locked
Upon the swirling kiva smoke
The prayers that fluttered from my mouth
Joined my brothers' rising chants
The vision came to vanish south
Into the new kachina dance

Sherds of clay, shards of bone
Serpents sleep where shadows sprawl
Sentinels have turned to stone
A lonesome cougar caterwauls
While through the ruins swallows fly
With solemn secrets sworn to keep
A thousand generations die
In vigil over Hovenweep

Beneath the crimson-crested cliffs
Above the whisper of a stream
Canopied by petroglyphs
I sat down one day to dream

Published by Composure Music (ASCAP)
Copyright 2008