Mokracy: MUSIC

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Probably sometime in like 2004 or 2005 I asked my buddy, comedian Darrin Hensley (www.darrinhensley.com) to write me some lyrics. I gave him a general story to base it around, and he came back with these incredibly poetic and meaningful verses.

I went straight home and started working on music that I hoped would do the song justice. At the time I was learning from Dave McLean how to use chromatic walkdowns in chord progressions, and two primary examples were Stairway to Heaven and Hotel California. It's probably not hard to hear the Zep and Eagles influence; I didn't do much to cover it up. It's a strong nod to the chromaticism of both songs, as well as the intensity dynamics of "Stairway" specifically.

Anyway, what you're hearing is what I came up with, as well as one of my first attempts to play and record all parts of a song. Everything is played manually, no loops. The drums are manual but played with a DR-670 drum machine, the same one I use to set looped beats at our live shows. (This is why there are some synchronization issues with the vocals toward the end of the song.)

Hope you enjoy "The Valley"!

I saw him walking
down in the valley,
hillsides rising all around
He’s looking for something
down in the valley,
his eyes stay focused on the ground
He spends all his time
down in the valley,
he’s wading through a forest of stone
His shadow walks with him
down in the valley,
but he still feels like he’s on his own
So many days now
down in the valley,
the water has flowed and washed him away
But still he goes back
down in the valley
hoping that this is where he can stay

He’ll be there to watch the sun
climb over the treetops
And still be there see the stars
fill the darkness of the night
He’ll be around when
the snow covers the ground
Watching and waiting
for his guiding light

His tears are falling
down in the valley,
sitting by the marker he knows so well
This is his last trip
down to the valley,
as he begins his journey to hell

He won’t be round to watch the sun
climb over the treetops
And won’t be there to see the stars
fill the darkness of the night
He’ll be long gone when
the snow covers the ground
The valley’s the victor
over another night