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Down This River

by Jan Dylan Hunter

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  • Full Digital Discography

    39
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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Music Of My Dreams, Janarchy, Its Only Sound, I Wish I Knew, Palm Passages, Bomba J, Down This River, Answer, and 31 more. , and , .

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1.
Distances We Travel 03:14
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Lyrics come to daddy hit me while we’re rockin’ steady Flow through my soul Come surround us, swirling like a river eddy Bring some meaning to the music yeah Every night dreams are walking through the static Liquid like the moon (and flowing too) All these oceans of emotion are the secret potion Pour these dreams into the music yeah Miles are wide, endless spans of earth and sky Call of the wild! Art and sound are free for all creation’s sake Bring this freedom to the music yeah Vines entwined lift to reveal a silver ribbon Silver ribbon of highway And at these speeds dimensions blur and colors bleed Freedom brings meaning to dreams And absolutes are splitting at the seams Yeah these mysteries unravel With the distances we travel These mysteries unravel with the distances we travel Distances we travel Distances we travel
2.
Answer 02:37
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You’re locked in a room Without any walls You’ve locked yourself in a room With thousands of doors You say the same ole, same ole Same old nothing The future is out there Tomorrow is everywhere You can change what you couldn’t before Rearrange these walls to make doors And find your answer Find your answer You’re leaving the room Escaping the state of mind Flying high Over those walls to find Intangible forces That hold you each day Same ole junk Don’t let them keep you at bay You can change what you couldn’t before Rearrange these walls to make doors And find your answer Find your answer Reaching outside Leaving the state of mind Traveling wide Opening eyes to find The same ole same ole Same old nothing Tomorrow is out there The future is everywhere You can change what you couldn’t before Look for the positive keys to the doors And find your answer Find your answer
3.
Eagle Wheeling High 01:17
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4.
Down This River 02:51
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City boy’s gone to country Returned to the wilderness Looking for those things I missed so long I envy the animals Their tough instinctuality And I’ve never felt it this strong As I go down this river Giving thanks to the giver Strong current with the rushing speed Everything’s coming back to me And it gets so intense when it all makes sense yeah I’m overwhelmed with the joy of life- so free yeah As I go down this river Giving thanks to the giver For choice in opportunity With many streams flowing to the sea As I paddle down this river Accept these gifts delivered Stars shine above the trees Brings me down to my knees And it gets so intense when it all makes sense yeah It reaffirms my faith there’s no accidents yeah Rolling river, tossed and crashing waves from windy skies to deep blue Dancing waters all in motion, while inside I have stillness of my soul Well I’m making moves and paddling steady Don’t stop now in the swirling eddy Backstroke if I’m not quite ready But always keep movin’ on As I flow down this river Cool water it makes me shiver Like the birds that fly so free This fish is swimming to the sea And it gets intense when it all makes sense yeah Overwhelms me with the joy of life So free
5.
The Salesman 05:19
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There once was a salesman of cradles and tombstones
Traveling through this lantern-land He rode on a wagon as big as a barn Powered by pinwheels and covered with yarn This yarn was all colors that you’ve ever known It glistened in the breeze as he blew into town The townspeople gathered under abalone skies A new child was born as an elder died And a sweet rain fell Clearing their vision and filling their wells A sweet rain fell And then the salesman kept traveling on Now the storm’s clearing and sun dries the land Stormy fingers keep crawling the land The salesman’s leaving new tracks in the sand That the new child wants to follow And a sweet rain fell Clearing their vision and filling their wells A sweet rain fell And so the salesman keeps traveling on The salesman trades with the desert enclaves And carries their message to the waterfall caves He barters for geodes of crystals and jade For he’s guided by sacred geometry Now he stands where the rocks meet the sea And listens to churning of elements breathe He’s giving it all back, now that its free There’s a salesman in you and a salesman in me And a sun ray fell On the sea and the sand by the rocks and the shore And the sweetest of rains shall fall But for now that child keeps traveling on Traveling traveling traveling on Traveling traveling traveling on Traveling traveling traveling on For now that child keeps traveling on (Not used): From Tunisian Turrets to Caspian crests Where the wagon will sail is anyone’s guess there’s always a need for some cradles and stones And this time its into a cyclone he goes
6.
Circle of Oaks 02:48
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7.
Flowers By The Roadside 03:29
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Well Cool was the morning as I drifted down The curves of Idaho 12 Sun showers shrouded the misty mountains In prisms of rain and light The car held tight as I cruised right by Flowers on the roadside Flowers on the roadside Flowers on the roadside yeah Hey hot was the going as the day wore on I pulled over for a drink I drank from the mountains and I drank from the stream I looked out up from my dream To a small white cross and a woman’s name In the flowers by the roadside Flowers by the roadside Flowers by the roadside yeah Who was the gal could it be the same? Mourned in the valley town? When she ran away with the gypsy boy They found the meaning of joy Now their lives only bloom inside The flowers by the roadside Now seven sisters weep as one Down into Hell’s Canyon oh Seven sisters weep for one Why am I the lucky one oh Lord? Hey the sun went down in a ball of flame The moon came up all full It shone ahead and it shone behind Painted pictures in my mind All in all in the circle of life Like the flowers by the roadside Flowers by the roadside Young lovers by the roadside yeah
8.
Janzini's Tightrope 02:58
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9.
Waves 03:54
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Seamless waves of glassy wonder rolling through this human heart Corridors of howling thunder This liquid life rolling through my veins Its all about waves waves waves yeah waves Waves And waves Waves And waves Flowing figures carve down a mountain Changing moments in forgotten time And the instances connect redefine Instances in a lifetime See the heat rise through the vapor Comin’ up, rising up in Waves Yeah waves waves and waves waves and waves said waves waves This song that comes through me It comes from the mountains It flows through the desert And down to the sea This song that comes through me Goes out to the ocean All I know is it doesn’t come from me Its all waves [and more waves] Check the waves, check your pulse These ripples have a rhythm yeah Every action has a reaction So pull into the curl connect All these instances in a lifetime Through this dance we are riding the pulsing vibrations of waves...
10.
Jazzmo 03:38
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11.
Moonlit Beach 03:46
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Your eyes were like lighthouse beacons At once I remember them twice Sparkling intelligence, humor and delight Piercing through the coastal fog on a Moonlit beach in July To rest here like physical impressions I feel them and I sigh Wash away like Footsteps Footsteps in the sand Walk on into your glory And dance like only you can Boldly with your life’s story Wrapped softly around you as a blanket can Waking in Eternal Oceans, roaming free as a whale Swimming through the Expanse, then sleeping in the sand Bleached bones and driftwood Signs of lives we had Black feathers unfolded out that carried you so high Swept out to scan the landscapes and soar around those evening skies Now landed you couldn’t have planned it much worse if you’d tried To wander through the olive groves until you reach the amber light Now I sit on this moonlit beach the waves they speak to me (Just listen) All is well in the universe anyway it was never rehearsed A dance of fools on the stage but who’s watching The audience sleeps and the playwright’s laughing Drunk with light on this moonlit night I can taste the salt of the truths I’ve swallowed Let it go - fade away Fade away I say Away into the gray Into the gray And be. Be. (Not used): Colors spread from brush to canvas in paintings through your soul Strong lines refined from culture and heritage before We never knew the what you went through but 22 was too damn soon To fall so far into such dark There was love for you Its too damn soon To wash away like Footsteps Footsteps in the sand
12.
Kaleidescape 02:24
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13.
Magpies 03:11
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Little Bro Here’s what I know Pay your dues And let it show Find your talent Meet your challenge Let it shine And blow some minds When the critics coming at you with their tunnel vision Just kick em in the shins with your rebel mission Magpies They’re all magpies Jealous critics And if you don’t know what to do I say just Look em in the eye Straight in the eye Hold your own Don’t pay no mind When the suckers come to you with their slack oppression Just nuke em in the head with your inner vision They’re just a flock of magpies You’re my bro Go dog, Go! Catch your dreams And let ‘em show Have a good session defeat repression Live your life And make it wise And when the supersuckers try to make you conform Show the penny-grubbers that you’re true to your art form So spread your wings and Fly above the Magpies And all those jealous critics they’re just magpies
14.
The Living Logic 03:24
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15.
Never Go Back 02:59
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Intro in G If I lost my (D) mind Would you please come help(G) find it? & If you so declined Would you at least show some kindness? & If I compromise And meet you halfway at the border? Then we’ll rest our eyes And maybe we can go back (But we can never go back) Its a subterfuge A fraud of romanticized daydreams Its a common ruse That I’m so guilty of believing Its a awful shame the politics of regretting I could lose my mind Thinking I can go back (I can never go back) CH:(G) And the snow it fli(A)ies (A) In our frosty li (C) ives (C)As the weather cri(A)ies In this lonesome ti (C) ime Oh oh (G--C x4) G--- CH: And the comfort’s nice As I bide my time But entropy (I’m falling apart) Gets the best of me If I found my mind Could we then get back together? We’ll have a good ole time Without a care to our disorders & If we compromise and meet up halfway at the border Then we’ll rest our eyes And maybe we can go back
16.
American River Rapids 02:15
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17.
Amble Back Home 01:25
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about

This is a collection of some of my more traditional "singer-songwriter" tracks along with eight instrumentals. Ten of the 17 songs were released on their own as singles on Bandcamp so I would consider it a solid collection, some of my better work.
The song "Answer" is one of my earliest, dating to 1987 but this is a newer version using an autoharp as a foundation. Moonlit Beach is another really early one (1986) but the words were re-written over the years to suit my mood, eventually concluding in this version to honor the memory of the young artist Eva Schrank.
The tunes "Moonlit Beach", "The Salesman" and "Flowers By The Roadside" were performed with Gypsy Flames in Boise in the late 1990's, as were the tunes "Distances We Travel", "Waves", "Magpies" with my bands Slipstream and Moxa. "Answer" was played a lot with my friends Michael McMillan and Tim Murphy in IL and WI in the early '90's.
The song "Down This River" was written in my mind as I canoed down various rivers in many places like Wisconsin, Idaho and Florida and I'm so glad to finally have it down in physical form.
Circle of Oaks was performed mostly on a Roland Handsonic HPD-15, which also appears on many drum backlines on this album for its wide range of percussion sounds. The Roland FA-06 keyboard appears here and there throughout. Guitars used were a Dean Boca 12-string, Mitchell acoustic 12-string, Phred Phusion, PRS Custom 22 with Boss GP-10, Ibanez MC-150, Ibanez MC-200, Hohner autoharp, Rogue mandolin, and a Washburn acoustic converted to a slide guitar. Also used were one Hohner harmonica, a native American flute and various shakers and percussion instruments.
Enjoy!

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released February 3, 2023

The original photo was by Shane Bumgarner in Colorado that this digital illustration is based on.

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Jan Dylan Hunter Santa Rosa, California

I play all the instruments on all my recordings unless otherwise noted, my main tools being guitar, keyboard and percussion.

I grew up in the Virgin Islands where I learned steel pan, percussion and clarinet.

Since then living in other states like California exposed me to more culture. Recent trips throughout Europe and the US have also really widened my musicabulary.
-Still taking it all in. ... more

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