The remnants of Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina on 27 September 2024. Our direct experience of it was of extensive rain and massive wind. The primary result in our community was of hundreds of very large trees (many oaks) being uprooted. Indeed, we watched a large red oak that we had named Tweedledum sway back and forth, coming closer to the ground on each swing, until it went over entirely.
Although i was able to write a poem, “Fallen Giants” within a day or two, i was not able to write a song about the storm in general until June 2025. There was just too much damage from flooding as well as wind that i did not directly experience. By April i had written a draft of the lyrics, but then sat on them for another couple of months, unsure how to turn them into a song. When i came back to them in June, the work came fairly quickly.
I haven’t sung it in public yet, but am planning to for a short memorial just prior to our “Old Songs” themed event on 25 September.