Winter’s deep snow surrounded us in the ancient Adirondack mountains and I can still remember the first time I heard Peggy’s voice sing as I sipped hot cocoa. Such kindness! Such love! Such courage! Such encouragement! Our families had come to cross-country ski at Great Camp Sagamore and we left that week with two cassette’s of Peggy’s original tunes.
We proceeded to listen them velveteen.
Decades later, at Adirondack Great Camp Huntington, I heard her voice again after supper, as clear, kind and joyful as ever.
With tears in my eyes I sang her one of my favorites from those cassettes: a lil blues tune about worms way under the ground…
…and we’ve been friends ever since!
For years Peggy invited me to visit them in the Adirondacks and when I finally did, Peggy and Dan welcomed my mother and I with such delighted generosity that I’m weeping as I write this.
One of the many songs we sang is begging to be shared and so, with immense joy beyond words, here are the words to
Stand a Chance
What brings us here today at the threshold of tomorrow?
Binding us together in our joy and in our sorrow?
What brings us to this dignity as we help each other stand?
What put this notion in our heads that we could ever stand a chance?
Chorus
It is the music of our hearts, it is the labor of our hands
it is the love within our homes, the gathered bounty from the land
it is the passing of tradition into our children’s hands
and because of all these gifts we stand a chance
***
Women laid down the foundation for today’s communities
they were here in these mountains in the 19th century
their work defines our heritage, the culture of this land
they knew that only sacrifice could make us stand a chance
***
They were women guides, hoteliers and cooks in logging camps
writers, artists and a few who lit the lighthouse lamps
they started schools and libraries to help children understand
that only hand and hand and heart to heart we stand a chance
***
we stand a chance of knowing who we are and how we all belong
we stand a chance of finding harmony to join in freedom’s song
If you’d love to listen to Peggy’s (polished!) recording of this song and so many more, hop over and follow her on Bandcamp and FaceBook. Buy their downloads! Share with friends! There are a thousand ways to say and sing thank you and ohhhh we trust you to keep the gift moving and growing as abundantly as our gardens.
Sow Seeds & Sing Songs,
& the Many Possibilities of Fruition