North to Alaska

Following on with some of the recent musical endeavors in the geoblogosphere, I'm going to publish this mostly obscure song I wrote a number of years ago. It's called "North to Alaska" and is sung to the tune of (if you can sing the tune) "North to Alaska" by Johnny Horton. Also, this is in honor of certain parental-type Alaskans who will be visiting soon (although, that would be "South from Alaska" for them).

North to Alaska

Verse I:
Scott and Jon went to Juneau
In the year of eighty seven.
They looked around til they thought they found
A little bit of heaven.
They spent their time at the Red Dog,
Drinkin' down those Chinook beers.
But at the rate they're finding gold
They'll be there several years.
Jon said, "Scott, I think it's time,
We'd better head for the hills.
We've got to find some gold before
Dennis sees all these bills."
They drank a few more tall Chinooks,
Said goodbye to the old Red Dog.
They packed their bags and grabbed their gear
And headed up in the fog.

Where the rivers are winding,
Big nuggets they're finding,
North to Alaska, North the rush is on.







Verse II.
They hiked on up the river
Through forests of devils club.
They trudged through all the swamps,
Through all that muck and mud,
They marched and marched for miles and miles
Til they stopped on the riverbank.
They looked just like two refugees
From the forest dark and dank.

They looked down in the river,
And they didn't believe their eyes.
The salmon were thick from shore to shore;
They were two happy guys.
They ran back, got their rods and bait;
Their destiny was clear.
Scott said, "Jon, you know I'm glad
That we brought all our gear."

The rivers are winding,
Big Sockeyes they're finding.
North to Alaska,
North the rush is on.








Verse III.
Scott turned to Jon and said, "You know
We've caught us quite a pile.
My arms are tired, my feet are wet,
I think I'll rest a while."
Jon said, "Scott, I guess it's time
We packed these fish to town."
They didn't get far before they heard
A growl from a great big brown.

They quickly dropped the fish and ran
And pulled their 44's.
But by the time they tried to fire
The bear was on all fours.
It looked like they'd fight him hand to claw;
They knew that it was futile.
So they left their fish beneath that mountain
Just a little northwest of Juneau.

Where the rivers are winding,
Big brown bears they're finding.
North to Alaska,
North, the rush is on.











Verse IV.
They hiked on up the river
Looking for that gold.
They climbed up on the mountain
Trying to find the lode.
They tripped over all the rotten trees
And slipped on all that moss.
And each time that they tripped and fell
They were cussing out the boss.

They got out their machetes,
Hacked away at all those trees.
While trying to find the outcrops,
They were down on hand and knees.
Scott said, "Jon, I think I know
A better way to go.
We'll ride the ore buckets to the top,
And you know, we won't go slow."

The rivers are winding.
Big nuggets they're finding.
North to Alaska,
North, the rush is on.









Verse V.
They called back in to Reno,
Said, "Get Dennis up here fast.
We finally found the Mother Lode,
You won't believe how vast."
Scott and Jon found all the gold
That was buried in the land.
Now they sit in the bar and tell
Of how they dug and panned.

They sat and drank at the Red Dog
Til all the ore was mined.
"Jon, you know that gold mine was
So hard to find.
We worked the Juneau gold belt,
Now we're finally heading home,
From that mountain one thousand two hundred
Miles southeast of Nome."

Where the rivers are winding,
Big nuggets they're finding.
North to Alaska,
North, the rush is on.

North to Alaska,
North, we're going back home.

Photo credit for bear picture to Alaska Al.