Midnight Sun (2018)

Track List:

1. Midnight Sun

2. Against the Grain

3. Wandering

4. Hummingbird

5. Mermaids

6. Elderflower March

7. Bells on the Hill

8. Cat and the Fiddle

9. When the Rain Falls (ft. Michele McLaughlin)

10. Rose, Marie and Heather

11. Mazama Mornings

12. Colors of Home

 1. Midnight Sun (G. Gothard, W. Gothard)

Greta Gothard: guitar, bass, violin, percussion, vocals
Willow Gothard: lead violin, octave mandolin, vocals
Solana Gothard:  lead vocals, violin, djembe

Remember childhood, when you could have stayed outside all day and night long in the Summertime and only had to come inside because it got dark?
Midnight Sun is a song trying to describe the lovely, carefree atmosphere of an endless Summer’s day. After spending several months working and playing music on a ship traveling between Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Finland, we experienced the midnight sun every night and that’s where this song came from.

Verse 1
Golden meadow, Summer’s light
Northern land of elusive night
Here we spend our endless hours
Singing among the sweet wildflowers

Verse 2
Winds that whisper, evening song
Stories of the mountains strong
Here we spend our endless hours
Singing among the sweet wildflowers

CHORUS
And I look up, to the sky above
And I can name every star I see
And I hold close to the ones I love
And I will dance to the midnight sun

Verse 3
Far from troubles, Winter’s grieving
In this place we’ll chance believing
Here we spend our endless hours
Singing among the sweet wildflowers

CHORUS
CHORUS

 2. Against the Grain (W. Gothard)

(Tune Names: Against / The / Grain)

Greta Gothard: guitar, bass, keys
Willow Gothard: fiddle
Solana Gothard:  bodhran, percussion, harmonica, whistle

We like to joke that this is a “gluten-free tune set.” Haha! This set of tunes was written by Willow in the dead of Winter and is a favorite to play live at festivals. Solana went wild with the drums and Greta gets a guitar solo. Since she couldn’t decide on the names of the individual tunes, we named them each a part of the set name. So yes, there’s a tune called “the.”

 3. Wandering (G. Gothard)

Greta Gothard: guitar, bass, vocals, piano
Willow Gothard: violin, vocals, octave mandolin
Solana Gothard: lead vocals, drums, percussion

Wandering is a song about traveling, wandering, being rootless, the life of a touring musician. It is about impermanence. We’ve seen so many hundreds of interesting places on our travels around the world for performances. However, so often there just isn’t enough time to see everything! This song tries to capture that bittersweet feeling that you’ll never be able to see it all. This is a wonderful, amazing ‘ol world we live in!

Verse 1
Just one day / To see the walls of glowing stone, cliffs of sun
Just one day / For wandering fragrant streets of Summer, day is done
Wandering, traveling
Wandering, traveling

Verse 2
Just one day / To see the towering marble halls, balconies
Just one day / For viewing galleries, painted glass, centuries
Wandering, traveling
Wandering, traveling

CHORUS
So get up, up, and come along
Every new place has its very own song
We’re only here for just one day
Then we’ll pack up and we’ll wander on

Verse 3
Just one day / To see the dance of city lights, wander on
Just one day / To hear the music streets at night, wander on
Wandering, traveling
Wandering, traveling

Bridge
Even though I have to leave today
I know that I’ll be back someday

CHORUS
CHORUS

 4. Hummingbird (G. Gothard)

Greta Gothard: violin
Willow Gothard: mandolin
Solana Gothard:  octave violin, bass, piano, percussion, whistle

Hummingbird was originally written as an upbeat Americana-style Irish fiddle tune. But while we were writing the tune we happened to be playing music on a Disney cruise ship sailing through the Panama Canal... and the tune changed! Now it has a little bit more of a tropical flair.

 5. Mermaids (G. Gothard, W. Gothard)

Greta Gothard: guitar, lead violin, bass, piano, harpsichord, vocals
Willow Gothard: violin, mandolin, cajon, keys, chimes, vocals
Solana Gothard:  lead vocals, percussion

In many seafaring stories and legends mermaids are presented as evil temptresses that present a danger to ships and sailors. We took the idea of a young sailor on his first ocean voyage and added the twist that the mermaids are actually there to keep him safe. Rather than being dangerous, they’re the guardian angels of the sea. The poor guy makes it through a shipwreck and out the other side. 

Verse 1
The swell of the ocean, the salt of the sea
This movement and motion is foreign to me
My homeland behind, a vast distance ahead
The warnings of sailors have filled me with dread

Verse 2
They told me old tales of the bravest of heart
Mysterious fathoms that some men can chart
Of the ones who discover, while other men sleep
The creatures that lurk in the cool briny deep

CHORUS
But they say in the sea
There are mermaids wild and free
Keeping watch in the storm
Guide you home, safe from harm
They will keep you safe in the storm

Verse 3
Storm clouds are brewing, the wind lifts to blow
Moving and tossing, the pewter waves grow
Terrible beauty, swift lightning and rain
I’m afraid for my life on the cruel raging main

CHORUS

Verse 4
Our ship made it through with a patchwork of scars
Wreckage of wood ‘neath the stillness of stars
The horizon goes on for miles and for years
I play a sad song, but nobody hears

Verse 5
Daylight breaks early, there’s sighting of land
I find that I may have the strength left to stand
Their good mission over, our guardians must go
The mermaids return to the fathoms below

CHORUS
CHORUS

 6. Elderflower March (W. Gothard)

Greta Gothard: guitar, violin, dulcimer
Willow Gothard: mandolin, violin, cajon, keys
Solana Gothard: lead violin

Written while onboard a ship sailing in the Northern oceans outside of Norway, this is a lovely folk march that turns into a fast jig. It was inspired by the waves outside the porthole and by the lovely marches in the Scandinavian folk tradition. 

 7. Bells on the Hill (G. Gothard, W. Gothard, S. Gothard)

Greta Gothard: guitar, bass, keys, vocals
Willow Gothard: lead violin, mandolin, vocals
Solana Gothard: lead vocals, whistle, bodhran, snare, steel drum

The story of a sailor out at sea and his sweetheart, telling of the excitement when the sailors all return home after months away. We tried to capture the atmosphere of being at sea in this one, and of the feeling of waiting on a beach covered in warm sand by using a steel drum and whistle. 

Verse 1
He’s out at sea, sailing through the teal blue water
The ocean breeze carries him so far
He’s out at sea, cutting through the ice blue water
Through deepest night, he’s steering by a star

CHORUS
The bells on the hill are ringing out loud
Ring for our sailors, they’re coming home now
The sun fills the warm sand, the waves touch the shore
As my sailor comes home to me

Verse 2
He writes to me, treasures from a far-off island
Of wondrous things I’ve never seen before
He writes to me, cities castles wild and unknown
The gifts he’ll bring, from a foreign shore

CHORUS

Verse 3
He promised me, he will be coming home tomorrow
So there I’ll be, watching from the cove
He promised me, he’s running down the ramp tomorrow
So there I’ll be, to bring him home with me

CHORUS

 8. Cat and the Fiddle (W. Gothard)

Greta Gothard: guitar, bass, percussion, vocals
Willow Gothard: lead violin, cajon, vocals
Solana Gothard:  lead vocals, octave violin, percussion

There are a lot of animals playing joyful music in the forest in the nursery rhymes we grew up with, and Greta decided to write this song based on the one that goes “hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle.” It turned into a song about a musician who can’t wait to play the fiddle. Unfortunately, the cow jumping over the moon didn’t make it into the song, but the dish and the spoon definitely run away. And, as the lyrics say, we all sincerely hope the fork and knife will be alright without them. 

Verse 1
Good ‘ol moonlight through the night
Keep it up, good work, shining bright
I’ve waited all day for my chance to play
I’ll fiddle all night and I’ll sleep all day

CHORUS
This old fiddle’s seen every place
Miles on the road and dust on the case
Hey diddle diddle and a hop to the right
Like a cat with a fiddle in the pale moonlight

Verse 2
‘Who’ said the owl ‘will watch with me’
‘You and the moon and me make three
The dish and the spoon ran away last night
Hope the fork and the knife will be alright’

CHORUS

Verse 3
‘Oh’ said the mouse as she saw me there
‘If I was not so small new shoes I’d wear
I’d join that fiddler for a dance or two
I’d leap and I’d tap ’til he told me shoo’

CHORUS
CHORUS

 9. When the Rain Falls (W. Gothard, M. McLaughlin)

Michele McLaughlin: piano
Greta Gothard: guitar, bass, violin
Willow Gothard: lead violin, mandolin, cajon
Solana Gothard: whistle, djembe, violin, keys

A pensive song about the mystery, insight and thoughtfulness that comes with a good, heavy rain. Living in the Pacific Northwest, many of our songs have been inspired by the pouring rain and the lush green it nourishes. We got to collaborate with Michele McLaughlin, new age pianist extraordinaire, on this one! The song was created remotely and we had so much fun swapping musical ideas with Michele until we created this song. 

 10. Rose, Marie and Heather (G. Gothard, W. Gothard, S. Gothard)

Greta Gothard: guitar, bass, vocals
Willow Gothard: mandolin, octave mandolin, vocals
Solana Gothard: lead vocals, bodhran

There are actually quite a few songs about sisters in the Celtic and folk traditions, and seeing as we’re a group of three sisters we have always wanted to cover one of them. However, the lyrics of these songs tend to be dead depressing. They always seem to end up with one of the sisters dead in the lake or turned into a harp (??) because of jealousy or worse. So we decided to write a new version of the Celtic sister song - one where the sisters work as a team to defeat an evil fairy queen who is trying to tempt them into jealousy. 

Verse 1
There were three sisters walked through the trees
Rose, Marie and Heather
When they chanced upon a lady so fine
And she was the Queen of the fairies
The sisters were holding a party that night
Rose, Marie and Heather
But the lady was clever and blocked their path
And she was the Queen of the fairies

Verse 2
The Queen beckoned the eldest one in
Away from her sisters a-waiting
‘For you I would give all the gold in the land,
send away your worries and caring’
‘No thank you good Queen,’ the eldest one said,
‘I have enough to be happy’
And the sisters walked on to the edge of the trees
On the way home to the party

Verse 3
The Queen beckoned the middle one in 
Away from her sisters a-waiting
‘For you I would give all the praise in the land,
they would finally all see you shining’
‘No thank you good Queen,’ the middle one said,
‘I prefer my quieter life here’
And the sisters walked on to the foot of the hill
On the way home to the party

Verse 4
The Queen beckoned the youngest one in
Away from her sisters a-waiting
‘For you I’d give power over both of them,
they’d finally bow down before you’
‘No thank you good Queen,’ the youngest one said,
‘I’m happy as I am’
And the sisters climbed up to the top of the hill
On the way home to the party

Verse 5
There were three sisters walked through the fields
Rose, Marie and Heather
Away from the fairy Queen’s lonely schemes
Journeying home together
The sisters held their party that night
Rose, Marie and Heather 
With laughter and music and fruits of the field
Glad to be together

 12. Colors of Home (G. Gothard)

Greta Gothard: guitars, bass, percussion, vocals
Willow Gothard: lead violin, octave mandolin, vocals
Solana Gothard: lead vocals, drums, harmonica, percussion

Our family has roots in the American West, more specifically the Pacific Northwest, going back at least five generations. This song describes how it feels to be on the road and feeling homesick for the vivid, wild, dramatic natural colors in the landscape of the beautiful place we call home. It also pays homage to our ancestors, who made it all the way to the West from various points in Europe so that we could eventually grow up here.

Verse 1
They came from all over, blazing a trail
Like the snow that melts swiftly, from the peaks to the coast
They made a place there, for me to know
Like a tapestry woven, the colors of home

CHORUS
I miss the evergreen trees, I miss the comforting rain
I miss the grey of each misty new day
I miss the colors of my home, I miss the way the air feels
I miss the way that I know I belong
I miss the colors of my home

Verse 2
I grew up running pine needle trails
Moss green of the forest, the seagull’s bright call
Copper sunsets on a sapphire sea
Wide open spaces, as far as I can see

CHORUS

Bridge
Call me back! …to the windswept beaches
Call me back! …to the fresh salt air
Call me back! …to the mountain reaches
Call me back! …oh I feel so far away

Verse 3
They paint a memory, a part of me
It’s gold like the lightning that strikes violet skies
Crimson canyon, and the evening’s red flame
Hear the chorus of voices calling my name

CHORUS
CHORUS

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