Songs for Our Journey 43

I wrote this song in 1979 in Hinesburg, Vermont, and sang it in a band called Witch One.  Then in 1993, bandmates Deb Venn and Organa met me in Maryland to make this recording. The photos are from 2017 in Hillsborough, NC.  I still love snow peas, and I still love this song, but I do sing it a bit slower now! .  Blessings to you and to your gardens.  Love, Kathleen

Peas
© K Hannan 1979

Well I know life isn't easy
And I've heard love doesn't last
Still I'm lookin' for some answers
As my days go rollin' past
It was late last Friday afternoon
I was down on my hands and knees...
Found the truth temporarily
In the garden pickin' peas

chorus
In the garden pickin' peas
By the twos and fours and threes
I found a sign in the grand design
Of the tendrils and the leaves
We'll steam some up for dinner
There'll be plenty left to freeze
Meantime I've found peace of mind
Pickin' edible pod snow peas

Well it's hard to explain what happened
As I crawled along that day
Mosquitos buzzed around my head
Stingin' nettles got in my way
And I wasn't thinkin' bout all that much
When it was suddenly clear to me
That hangin' there was a sweet truth
In each edible pod snow pea

chorus

Well I guess truth isn't permanent
And visions fade away
Cause where I once saw answers
There are only peas today
But I'm keepin' my eyes wide open
And I'm tryin' to be aware
Cause next month the watermelon's gettin' ripe
And there's bound to be some answers there

chorus

Yeah next month the watermelon's gettin' ripe
And there's bound...... to be some answers there!

One more story about this song.  In 1980 I think it was, or 1979, Witch One played at a music festival called Getting To The Same Place.  It was in New Hampshire as I recall, and Organa got us booked by telling the organizers that they did not have any Lesbian band booked yet, and they needed one. To their credit, they booked us, despite our lack of fame.  So we were booked at the last minute and shared the stages with Paul Winter, Ram Dass and others.  At the time I didn't know who Ram Dass was.  I was pretty much a nervous wreck after we played our four song set on an outdoor stage, and I put on a poncho and a hat to try and disguise myself. Moments later, Ram Dass walked right up to me in the crowd and thanked me for the Peas song.  He said that it was a match for where he was at, trying to see the sacred in everyday things like doing the dishes.   Of course, finding the sacred in a patch of snow peas is quite a bit easier than in doing dishes, but I knew what he meant. And I was grateful for his kindness, which took the edge off my fear.