The Changing Valley
This song, which was written, arranged, and recorded by Dana-Marie, won the $1000 Grand Prize in The Wild at Art Songwriting Competition in Squamish, BC in 2008. The competition called for local musicians to write a song about Squamish. It was during the time when the corridor was on the brink of immense development due to the coming Olympics, and the community was undergoing rapid changes to the town’s infrastructure and politics. In light of this, Dana-Marie chose to write her song from the perspective of the town’s two most prominent figures – The Chief and Mount Garibaldi. Personified as two old friends standing at either end of the town, they tell the story of Squamish: from prehistoric days, to First Nations, to settlers, to modern day, noting that while Squamish has seen many changes, the mountains have always been persistent fixtures serving to unite the town’s inhabitants with their inherent beauty.
In 2014, Dana-Marie was also honored to have her song included in Squamish’s Time Capsule which was buried in downtown Squamish and will be opened again in the year 2064.
Lyrics
The Chief stands in the doorway
And he looks to his diamond friend in the back
They talk about the weather
They talk about the things they’ve seen
And how they’ve been the same forever
Despite the changes in between
Many, many years pass by
As the eagles claim the water and the sky
And echoed beneath their soaring wings
Is the sound of a thousand passing dreams
Against the wind, they’re strong and proud
Beyond the movement of the clouds
Soon fathers and brothers mind their craft
While mothers watch their children play and laugh
While dancing in the pouring rain
They sense it will always be the same
And laughter booms above from the two
Who know changes won’t be few
Modern day is nothing of the past
The choirs of voices build and last
It’s hard to keep the balance of needs
Of the many who have planted their seeds
But uniting them from either end
Is the beauty of these two unchanging friends
Now rising from the shadows are the few
Who climb to share perspective with the two
While a man who gathers bottles on his bike
Reminds them all never to lose sight
So when looking down and across the land
Their changes might be planned
The chief stands in the doorway
And he looks to his diamond friend in the back
They talk about the weather
They talk about the changes they’ve seen
As they humbly hold together
The beauty and the love of everything between