I wrote "My Dandelion Friend" about the friendships we find and cultivate in the filk music community and elsewhere, anywhere we feel free and safe to be ourselves. Not just tolerated, not just accepted, but welcomed and celebrated–welcoming and celebrating–because we have known how it feels to be turned away. Because we see each other and value each other. Because we belong together, in all our misfit multitudes, and we gather to give the lie to the word “unwanted.”
Breaking perennially through the cracks in the sidewalks, with a will to live and a drive to create that cannot be contained.
lyrics
I smiled at a sunflower, but it turned up its face
I reached for the roses, but they only made me bleed
The forget-me-nots said, "Remember your place,
If you ever belonged, you belong in the weeds."
But you took me in, my dandelion friend
There by your side I would find
There is shelter in the wind
Storm after storm, when the whole world is reborn
I will be with you again.
The sky is our highway, we go as we please
Carry our stories in the satchel of a seed
I know when I hear it, aloft on the breeze
The song in your heart is the music I need
You took me in, my dandelion friend
Now we are many
And ever unbroken, we will bend
Row upon row, how the dandelions grow
And we will rise up again.
You took me in, my dandelion friend
There by your side I would find
There is shelter in the wind
Year after year, I return to find you here
I will find you again
My dandelion friend.
credits
from Courage, Dear Heart,
released November 3, 2023
Summer Russell - shared vocals, guitar
Lauren Oxford - shared vocals, banjo
Eric Distad - harmony vocals, bass
Cat Faber - harmony vocals, mandolin
Peter Alway - harmony vocals
Gabrielle Gold - harmony vocals
Judi Miller - harmony vocals
I could listen to Lauren sing forever. Her writing is vivid and sensitive, sweetly and painfully human--never apologizing for sharp corners and rough edges. The beauty of her spirit shines through. Summer Russell
Singer-songwriter Henry Parker puts his own spin on the classic sounds of '60s and '70s British folk on this wilderness-inspired new LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 9, 2021
