The River Sings to Me
Notes written by Dr. Lyn Schenbeck
Water is a crucial part of life. Without it civilization would perish. But it also feeds the soul and spirit. Rivers are mysterious, beautiful, and often as unpredictable as the weather. They are sacred and holy in Native American culture, particularly the Yuchi people in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In fact, “the Muscle Shoals sound seems to come out of the river.” “The River Sings to Me” was inspired by that very sound, and an amazing story connected to it.
The Yuchi people could hear the river singing to them. What we now call the Tennessee River, the Yuchi people called the nunnuhsdae, literally, the river sings. They believed that a woman lived in its waters, guiding Them with her songs, and the river was part of their family.
This is the story of Te-lah-nay, “woman with the dancing eyes,” whose Grandmother put her umbilical cord into the river, effectively making the river Te-lah-nay’s sister. When she was 15 years old, as part of the Trail of Tears, she was forced to go to Oklahoma. There she could no longer hear the river sing and she felt like she was going to die.
She had many dreams in which her Grandmother called her home. She decided to return to Muscle Shoals, a criminal offence for which she could have been hanged. It took her five years of walking, during which she became a healer, better than many doctors of the time.
Her great, great grandson, Tom Hendricks, built a two-and-a-half-mile stone wall in honor of her trek. People bring stones from all over the world to add to the wall.
Diane and Junebug were inspired by Te-lah-nay’s strength and her connection to the river. As they were writing “The River Sings to Me,” they felt that the river was calling her home and they were connected to her story. In addition, they have always loved the soul music that has come out of Muscle Shoals, especially the incredible, storied rhythm section, the Swampers.
Junebug’s drums begin the song with the essence of life, the heartbeat. Like the riverbed, it continues to underscore the song, much as the Native American drum supports a ceremonial dance. Diane begins her soft, sensitive vocals over the percussion. Each phrase leads directly into the next, just as a river flows into its tributaries. The sound of Diane’s keyboard, and her ethereal vocals increase in volume as the slide guitar of the Great Tinsley Ellis emphasizes the haunting Blues sound. The river’s song has transported all of us home, at last.