A song in my heart.

Brenn Hill, cowboy songster extraordinaire, just released his fourteenth album, Rocky Mountain Drifter.

There are sixteen songs to enjoy and, as with all things remarkable, it’s hard to pick a favorite. “Old Black Joe” and “Buffalo Beard” appeal to me for their originality. And I like “My Angel Wings.” It’s a sort of old-timey, touching kind of tune. You can’t listen to “Muddy Creek” without tapping your toes. Brenn does a fine job with one of my favorite Guy Clark classics (there are two tunes on the album written by someone other than Brenn), “Desperados Waitin’ for a Train.” I could go on and on, because everything on the album is good listening.

I confess I am drawn to one song in particular: “And the River Ran Red.” It’s a haunting, reverent song about the Massacre at Bear River, a tragedy I have written widely about. One reason I really like this song is that I had a hand in writing the words. Brenn makes those words sound better than they are.

It’s unlikely any more of my words will ever be set to music. But when it’s this good, once is enough.

“And the River Ran Red” debut performance.

Not long ago, singer and songwriter extraordinaire Brenn Hill debuted “And the River Ran Red,” a song I had the good fortune to help write. As I’ve said before, writing a song is a strange undertaking for me, as I couldn’t carry a tune with a packsaddle.

But, thanks to Brenn, I think it’s a damn fine song.

Based on the tragic events of the 1863 Bear River Massacre, where US Army troops slaughtered some 300 Shoshoni men, women, and children, the song adds to a list of my writings on the subject, which include a nonfiction book, Massacre at Bear River: First, Worst, Forgotten and a chapter in The Lost Frontier: Momentous Moments in the Old West You May Have Missed, as well as some short stories and poems.

Brenn Hill performed the song for the first time at the American West Heritage Center in Cache Valley, just 36 miles from the massacre site, on 10 and 11 April 2017. See a cell phone video of the performance on YouTube.

              

Sad Song.

Writing a song is an odd accomplishment for someone who couldn’t carry a tune with a packsaddle.

Still and all, lacking good sense, some time ago I thought to try it—and award-winning singer and songwriter Brenn Hill came to the rescue and made it reality.

I have long been obsessed with the Bear River Massacre. Events of that tragic day in 1863 have found their way into my poems, short stories, and an entire nonfiction book. Despite ignorance of the ways and means of music, being the curious sort I wondered if I could write a song about it. 

The jumble of words that resulted seemed to have possibilities so I inflicted it on the good graces of my friend Brenn, without any real expectation that anything would result. Lo and behold, a few days later he sent me an audio file labeled “And the River Ran Red”—the title I had given the piece. Brenn re-engineered some of the words to meet the demands of lyrical structure and set it to a beautiful tune as haunting as the massacre itself.

On February 10 and 11 (2017, of course), Brenn is headlining Valentine’s Day weekend concerts at the American West Heritage Center in Utah’s Cache Valley—between Wellsville and Logan, and some 36 miles south of the Bear River Massacre site. And, he tells me, the audience will experience the first performance of “And the River Ran Red” as part of the concert.

I can’t wait. Join us.

Cowboy Poetry at College—with a Song.

The cowboy poetry class I have been asked to teach for the University of Utah’s Lifelong Learning/Division of Continuing Education is creeping up—quickly. Our first session will be Wednesday, March 25, and the class continues each Wednesday through April 29 at the U’s Sandy campus.

I, for one, am looking forward to some excitement with syllables, fun with phrases, and fine times with rhymes.

I don’t know how enrollment is going, but I did hear tell of an inquiry from Indiana wondering if the course was available online.

The big news about the class is that phenomenal singer, songwriter, and poet Brenn Hill has agreed to visit as a guest lecturer April 9 and talk about his approach to writing poems and songs and how the two intertwine.

It’s not often that cowboy poetry is taken seriously enough and given sufficient respect that a university offers a class about it. I hope the cowboy community will repay that respect by showing up. It’ll be a good time.

Registration information here:

https://continue.utah.edu/lifelong/class/llwrc_831_introduction_to_cowboy_poetry