In memory of the 19: A song about a similar fire disaster
- Thread starter Darryl Hattenhauer
- Start date
hansmoust
Enlightened Member
That's songwriting at its best! Sung beautifully as well!
Sincerely,
Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
Sincerely,
Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
guildman63
Senior Member
+1! .
Haven't been too regular on the forum these days so I missed this. Discovered it just a few days ago on the Martin forum [go to UMGF.com>Nazerath 2013>Anybody video "Cold Missouri Waters" ?? and watch the excellent performances of this there. I immediately picked up a guitar and started learning it, a fantastic and moving song by James Keelaghan.
When I was in grad school in the mid-late 60s, fire ecology was really coming into its own and its use as a management tool, and I have maintained an interest since then. For those with an interest read Norm McLean's "Young Men and Fire" an account of the Mann Gulch Fire which inspired this song. In a reprise McLean's son John wrote a book "Fire on the Mountain" about the South Canyon Fire in CO in 1994 which killed 14 firefighters under similar circumstances. The Wiki account of the Mann Gulch Fire is excellent, the account of the South Canyon Fire unfortunately is really a stub.
About 12 years ago one of the crosses at Mann Gulch was removed and replaced by a Mogen David as one of the dead firefighters was Jewish.
Harmony H-173 bought in 1960 (retired), Alvarez AC60S 2008, Eastman AC320ce 2009 "Hybrid", Guild D25M 1974 (all mahogany, archback), Martin Grand J35E 2009, Martin D12-20 1970, Martin OM-21 2009, Martin 00-15M Custom (full body gloss, wide neck) 2011, Martin 00-15M Custom (12 fret, wide neck, solid peghead) 2012, Voyage-air VAOM-06 2010
"I'm glad there are a lot of guitar players pursuing technique as diligently as they possibly can, because it leaves this whole other area open to people like me."
Richard Thompson
When I was in grad school in the mid-late 60s, fire ecology was really coming into its own and its use as a management tool, and I have maintained an interest since then. For those with an interest read Norm McLean's "Young Men and Fire" an account of the Mann Gulch Fire which inspired this song. In a reprise McLean's son John wrote a book "Fire on the Mountain" about the South Canyon Fire in CO in 1994 which killed 14 firefighters under similar circumstances. The Wiki account of the Mann Gulch Fire is excellent, the account of the South Canyon Fire unfortunately is really a stub.
About 12 years ago one of the crosses at Mann Gulch was removed and replaced by a Mogen David as one of the dead firefighters was Jewish.
Harmony H-173 bought in 1960 (retired), Alvarez AC60S 2008, Eastman AC320ce 2009 "Hybrid", Guild D25M 1974 (all mahogany, archback), Martin Grand J35E 2009, Martin D12-20 1970, Martin OM-21 2009, Martin 00-15M Custom (full body gloss, wide neck) 2011, Martin 00-15M Custom (12 fret, wide neck, solid peghead) 2012, Voyage-air VAOM-06 2010
"I'm glad there are a lot of guitar players pursuing technique as diligently as they possibly can, because it leaves this whole other area open to people like me."
Richard Thompson
Darryl Hattenhauer
Venerated Member
Also read Stephen Pyne's many books about fire.
Darryl
Thanks, I've been reading Pyne's online essays, good stuff. Its bringing me up-to-date on the latest thinking on fire ecology. His essay on the Wichita Mts. OK gave me a new perspective on the area. I was there on a field trip a number of years ago. Only time I was ever 10' from a small herd of bison, they are big suckers! A wild life photographer from New England was with us. He was taking photos lying and kneeling. He was not really aware of the KS/OK/TX excessively friendly arachnids known as chiggers. Poor guy was in agony that evening.
Harmony H-173 bought in 1960 (retired), Alvarez AC60S 2008, Eastman AC320ce 2009 "Hybrid", Guild D25M 1974 (all mahogany, archback), Martin Grand J35E 2009, Martin D12-20 1970, Martin OM-21 2009, Martin 00-15M Custom (full body gloss, wide neck) 2011, Martin 00-15M Custom (12 fret, wide neck, solid peghead) 2012, Voyage-air VAOM-06 2010
"I'm glad there are a lot of guitar players pursuing technique as diligently as they possibly can, because it leaves this whole other area open to people like me."
Richard Thompson
Thanks, I've been reading Pyne's online essays, good stuff. Its bringing me up-to-date on the latest thinking on fire ecology. His essay on the Wichita Mts. OK gave me a new perspective on the area. I was there on a field trip a number of years ago. Only time I was ever 10' from a small herd of bison, they are big suckers! A wild life photographer from New England was with us. He was taking photos lying and kneeling. He was not really aware of the KS/OK/TX excessively friendly arachnids known as chiggers. Poor guy was in agony that evening.
Harmony H-173 bought in 1960 (retired), Alvarez AC60S 2008, Eastman AC320ce 2009 "Hybrid", Guild D25M 1974 (all mahogany, archback), Martin Grand J35E 2009, Martin D12-20 1970, Martin OM-21 2009, Martin 00-15M Custom (full body gloss, wide neck) 2011, Martin 00-15M Custom (12 fret, wide neck, solid peghead) 2012, Voyage-air VAOM-06 2010
"I'm glad there are a lot of guitar players pursuing technique as diligently as they possibly can, because it leaves this whole other area open to people like me."
Richard Thompson
Bill Ashton
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The song in the video is performed by a group Cry Cry Cry, who have a most excellent CD. Interestingly, I had stumbled upon this song several years ago when my sister let me borrow a handful of CD's...turns out I was taking the S130/190 wildland firefighter class at the time. Gets better. We had to read Young Men And Fire for the class (at UMass-Amherst), and as part of the final exam the professor plays this song and then asks several questions to which we had to write an essay.
Man, I was too old to be writing college essays, LOL...but pretty sure I covered all his points. Majority of the kids in class were taking it thinking an easy 1-credit. Boy were they wrong! Reading the book was taken in stride, but playing this song near the end of the exam put a bunch nearly into tears...gets me there too, if listening when alone in the car.
And we have to keep repeating this tragedy every few years...
Man, I was too old to be writing college essays, LOL...but pretty sure I covered all his points. Majority of the kids in class were taking it thinking an easy 1-credit. Boy were they wrong! Reading the book was taken in stride, but playing this song near the end of the exam put a bunch nearly into tears...gets me there too, if listening when alone in the car.
And we have to keep repeating this tragedy every few years...
Cry Cry Cry was sort of a New York are folk super group with Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell. WFUV, a public radio station out of Fordham University used to play the crap out of their only release that I am aware of, "Cry Cry Cry" And I still have the CD. There are several other great songs on it; unfortunately they did not stay together. I had read "Young Men and Fire" a year or so before hearing "Cold Missouri Waters" I thought then and still do that it is great song. Terrible tragedy and Bill I can only imagine a firefighters reaction to it.