"Murder of Mountains"

Dave Peyton inspired our writing of this song.West Virginia’s greatest defender — and her harshest critic — Dave spoke tirelessly from his popular newspaper columns and in his frequent radio and television appearances…… but also anywhere else that people would listen, in coffee shops and at conferences, in living rooms and at dinner tables, on concert stages and in our band room between our weekly tunes.Railing against what he saw as the relentless ravaging of the state, he’d say, “Sometimes I think the worst thing that ever happened to West Virginia was when somebody discovered coal.“But they never stop,” he’d add. “First they came for the timber. Now, after they’re done murdering the mountains, they’ll find something else to take from us.”Whispered LegacyWhat bothered Dave as much as what they took was what the exploiters left behind: a paralyzing — if seldom-spoken — sense of guilt running through generations of Mountain State natives, a communal sorrow for not being able to stop the rape of our home.“It is whispered if spoken at all,” as our song says: Of a broken trust and a grief that must Be the cut that has wounded us all.A half dozen years before Peyton’s death in 2020, his words inspired us, and “Murder of Mountains” started taking shape. With it now finally finished, we are pleased to have it as a tribute to Dave and to all he taught us.“Star of the County Down”The melody we use for our new song is the late Joe Dobbs’ version of the Irish tune called “Star of the County Down,” and thereby hangs another tale.Back in the early 1980s, when Joe’s Fret ‘n Fiddle music store was still in its original location on Huntington’s West 14th Street, a bluegrass mandolin player from Boston was passing through and spent a few nights at the Dobbs house. During a jam session there, the lad played this tune, and Joe loved it. When asked about it, the man said, “It’s an Irish song, but we’ve Americanized it.”A few months later at the next Bowen Bash, Joe taught it to the the rest of us, as you can hear in the above video (extracted, incidentally, from our Bowen Bash Legacy Film Series). It turns out that Joe’s house guest had been taking lessons up in Boston from an Irish fiddler. “I guess that’s where he got it,” Joe said.Anyway, for years, Joe and his Flood brothers played “Star of the County Down” in the same moody, stately manner as he had learned from that kind Yankee visitor. It was only later — decades later, in fact — that Joe learned just how “Americanized” the song had been.Say What Now?That was when another visitor — this one a fiddler from Ireland — later listened to Joe’s rendition and asked the name of the melody. He was surprised when Joe told him, “Why, that’s ‘Star of the County Down.’”“Really?” the visitor said. “Well,” he added sheepishly, “there’s good news and bad news, Joe. The good news is that it’s really lovely! The bad news is that’s not how that tune goes.”“What?!” Joe said. “Well,” the stranger said, “I’ve never heard anyone play only the harmony part. Uh …. Here’s how we play it.” The visitor feared his revelation would embarrass or anger his host, but, on the contrary, Joe found the news hilarious. The rest of The Flood did too.“So,” Dave chortled, “guess we oughta write some words to go with that song you wrote, Joe,” planting a seed in Charlie Bowen’s mind that only now is bearing fruit in “Murder of Mountains.”Epilogue IHere’s a footnote to the “Star of the County Down” part of this story. The Flood finally took steps to set the melodic record straight when back in 2020 the guys went into Paul Martin’s studio to record their Speechless: The Instrumentals album. In the years after Joe’s death, Doug Chaffin had stepped up to play The Flood’s fiddle. Click the button to hear his rendition of “Star” from those sessions.In it you hear Doug open the number by faithfully stating the melody that Joe brought us all those years ago. Then the album’s guest artist, Floodster Emeritus Stewart Schneider, comes forward for a fine Autoharp solo that nails the original melody as it is played in the aire’s Irish homeland. After that, the track rocks back and forth between the two variations.Epilogue IIBy the way, we have also felt it appropriate to add “Murder of Mountains” to the curated “West Virginia Blend” playlist in our free Radio Floodango music streaming service. Click below to read all about this particular special blend.And remember, we’ve now got ways to mobilize the ol’ Floodanago. Click here to find out how to put the Flood radio on your computer desktop and on an iPhone to make your Flood fix always just a click away. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com