Why I go hunting

[Cornflake]

Always meant to write a song about this. The song is no great shakes but it may be a good one to play on hunting trips.

Motor’s straining as we climb
Out of scrub and into pine
Never seen this place before
But it feels like mine
Here’s where we’ll sleep tonight
Can’t get the trucks much higher
As the shadows start to grow
I find wood for a fire

In the middle of nowhere
I’m where I should be
The middle of nowhere
Feels like home to me

The smell of burning juniper
Just may be the best I know
It’s the smell of friendly talk
By a fire’s glow
Anasazi knew this smell
By their fires, long ago
I see shadow faces that
I feel as if I know

In the middle of nowhere [chorus]....

Gene says he once saw a bear
Mosey up a rocky hill
He watched ‘til it disappeared
And he’s watching still
John recalls the time he saw
An ancient wall of weathered stone
Even when no one is near
You’re not quite alone

In the middle of nowhere [chorus]....

Tomorrow just like every year
We’ll be trying to find the deer
Drought has made it harder
But John thinks some are here
It isn’t deer we come for though
That’s just an alibi
It’s our way of coming home
And being near the sky

In the middle of nowhere [chorus]....

[Marshall]

I love the "But it feels like mine". That's an unexpected fresh look at the subject. And a personal one.

I read the other verses wondering if the 4th line also packed personal power (like maybe musically that would be an emphasizing point). "By a fires glow", and "And he's watching still" seem to have the same fresh feel. "But John thinks there are some here" doesn't fit as easily that same abstract analysis. But it moves the story along.

The conluding line "Feels like home", somehow seems a little less conclusive than I'm expecting. Maybe it's because "home" is normally all warm and fuzzy and safe and I don't expect to feel "safe" in the wilderness. I get the back-to-our-roots concept. More like "where i belong" instead of "home."

But, It's just a silly random observation. Take it or leave it.

[Marshall]

Upon further review . . . , maybe the "home" thing is just the surprise you're looking for.

[dradtke]

With only a very few changes, this describes what I feel about canoe trips up north. "Home" is the right choice.

[Village Idiot]

Having lived my life around good hunters and bad hunters, I can completely relate to this song.

The middle of nowhere
Feels like home to me

That line does it. Good hunters and non hunters will both get your song. My vote is for you to add it to you song list when you perform. It works.

[Cornflake]

Thanks for the comments. I wasn't even going to try this one out on my group but now I think I will.

[loopysanchez]

Yessir, I like it! Never hunted a day in my life, and I felt like I was right there sitting around the fire with you & the other guys. Looking forward to hearing the finished product when you get it recorded!

[davidhanners]

From a word/image standpoint, the writing is really impressive. You put me there and that's one of the things good songwriting does. Really great work on this one.

That said, I'll raise an issue that -- while it isn't a big issue to me -- might be an issue to some listeners. I would worry that the hunting bit may turn some people off. I understand what you're saying about being in the outdoors and breathing in the majesty of nature. And frankly, I think if you tried to change this to something about camping, it would sound wussie. (Or maybe it is spelled wussy.)

Even though the song only deals with hunting in the last verse, I fear the title may turn off some folks who could think you were the folk Ted Nugent. (That would be a sight....) I'm not saying anything should be changed because lyrically, it is a powerfully written song. Every word is razor-sharp and nothing is wasted.

The rejoinder to this imaginary listener's concerns, though, is, "it's art." When I was back home in Illinois last month, some friends and I went over to an open mike in Terre Haute and I played. Among the songs I did was a song about post-traumatic stress disorder in Iraq war veterans, and I guess to one of my friends, the song came off as anti-war. He gave me hell about it on the drive home. Fortunately, it's just a half-hour drive. But the only reply that came to me was, "Hey, it's just art."

You've got a great tune here.

[Cornflake]

David, I've thought about what you said. I don't mind bothering some listeners. My honest reaction is that if people's prejudices about hunting give them a hard time with this song, they need to reexamine their prejudices.

Marshall, gotta get you out into the middle of nowhere sometime. The only time I ever felt scared was when I was lost, on two occasions, and I survived each. Mostly out there it feels as if you've come home.

[davidhanners]

I concur wholeheartedly, Cornflake.