Where the Ghost River Flows
Riding Through Time: Exploring the Ghost River's Wisdom
Lyrics
Backward turn backward, O time in your flight
Expresses a desire to turn back time.
Give me a saddle horse just for tonight
Requests a saddle horse for the night, suggesting a temporary escape or adventure.
A saddle and bridle, chaps and a quart
Desires specific horseback riding gear: saddle, bridle, chaps, and a quart (possibly for drinking).
God and silk hanky and an old buckskin shirt
Mentions items like a silk hanky and an old buckskin shirt, possibly reflecting nostalgia or a connection to the past.
Back in the saddle, I'm headed for those
Returning to the saddle and heading towards grass-covered hills, a symbolic journey or pursuit.
Grass covered hills where the Ghost River flows
Refers to the destination as hills where the Ghost River flows, implying a mystical or ethereal place.
When I started to farm, my friends declared, Pete
Friends advised farming for wealth, linking labor in wheat fields to financial success.
You're bound to get rich if you stick to the wheat
Suggests an observation that wealth is acquired after the hard work of riding and farming.
You can see for yourself when the riding is done
Emphasizes the farm as the place where one reaps financial rewards.
The farm is the place where the dollars are won
Reflects on the years spent farming and expresses a desire to ride in the hills as life concludes.
Many years I have farmed, and now at life's close
Acknowledges many years of farming and a wish to spend the remaining time in the hills.
Let me ride in the hills where the Ghost River flows
Reiterates the desire to ride in the hills where the Ghost River flows.
Ride through the frost with the stars shining bright
Describes riding through frost with shining stars, portraying a picturesque scene.
Ride til the rising sun chases the night
Highlights riding until the morning sun replaces the night, symbolizing endurance and persistence.
To blazes with ploughs and harvesting flax
Rejects the conventional farming life with disdain for ploughs, flax harvesting, and low-value crops.
Your 90 cent oats and your 20 cent sacks
Disparages the economic value of oats and sacks, possibly critiquing the financial returns from farming.
Herd laws in Texas, I knew not those woes
Mentions herd laws in Texas but expresses a lack of concern or knowledge about them.
Back in the hills where the Ghost River flows
Reiterates a preference for the hills where the Ghost River flows, implying a rejection of societal constraints.
When the last summons come and I answer the call
Addresses the inevitability of death and the anticipation of a beloved place beyond life.
There's a spot on the Ghost that I love beyond all
Expresses a deep love for a specific spot on the Ghost River.
Just bury there with my face to the West
Desires to be buried facing the West, a traditional motif symbolizing a peaceful afterlife.
Mark there the spot, Here's a cowboy at rest
Requests a marker indicating a cowboy at rest, suggesting a wish for a dignified memorial.
Where the sun always shines and the soft Chinook blows
Imagines a serene afterlife where the sun always shines and the soft Chinook wind blows.
Back in hills where the Ghost River flows
Reiterates the desire to be in the hills where the Ghost River flows in the afterlife.
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