Blue Canyon

by Elena Loper

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about

“Blue Canyon” is Loper’s attempt to capture, in song, a magical afternoon: she was driving through the hills of the California Coast during the ‘golden hour,’ while on a summertime tour with her Dravus House bandmate. She was nostalgic for this day before it even ended, and set out to write a song about it.

On this day, even though the grass in the hills was dry and dead, just before sunset, the hills took on a glowing aura. After the sun went down, we drove through the hills near the coast at dusk until we reached the canyons that lead down to towns along the Pacific Ocean. There’s something about that post-sunset time anywhere along the West Coast, where mountains and the ocean seem to take on hundreds of shades of the most magnificent blues.

(Earlier that day, we had visited a relative of my bandmates who was not well. I loved connecting with him, and it gave me a poignant gratitude for the ability to pursue playing music and doing what we love.)

“Blue Canyon” is about feeling incredibly lucky for companionship and friendship- the kind of friendship that speaks to your soul, and kindles bravery inside yourself you never knew you had.

“Blue Canyon” has a reference to a line from an e. e. cummings poem: “since feeling is first, who pays any attention to the syntax of things”. To me, this line and poem are about pursuing sensation, the spiritual, the intuition, the intangible... as a way to propel you forward in life.

I generally feel so much more comfortable operating in ‘left-brain’ mode - as an analytical writer, working at a library, making spreadsheets, etc. “Blue Canyon” is a reminder to myself to be bold enough to create, and to pursue feeling through my experiences, rather than intellectualizing them. It’s about looking at life holistically, rather than getting bogged down by the details.

It’s also a song of gratitude, of friendship, for my musical partner in my duo project...for all of the wonderful moments we’ve spent together playing shows and taking our music on the road around the PNW and the west coast.

I wanted this song to be the first single I put out under my own name, to honor my bandmate in Dravus House as we pursue solo musical projects for the time being.

- Elena (July of 2021)

lyrics

Music & Lyrics: Elena Loper © 2019

Warm winds and curling oak trees
Scattered in a golden field
Lakes and creeks and colored clouds
Housed a truth I’d concealed

I heard it in the sanctuary
I sang it in secret to the eaves
Strength came to tell you
On a summer Paso breeze
To love, to love with ease

There’s a blue canyon of syntax separating you and me
Your spirit spins up and out and around in apogee

I heard it in the sanctuary
I sang it in secret to the eaves
Strength came to tell you
On a summer Paso breeze
To love, to love with ease

Fear my oldest friend
Told me to wait and wait and wait
And anticipate every disaster
But our friendship’s at an end
Since feeling and fate they heal us faster

credits

released March 4, 2022
Melody and Lyrics: Elena Loper (2019)
Guitar: Elena Loper (2019)
Recorded and Mixed by: Johnny Bregar, Brickyard Studio (2020)
Mastered by: Ed Brooks, Resonant Mastering (2021)

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about

Elena Loper Seattle, Washington

Elena Loper is an alt-folk musician based in Seattle, WA. Her music combines her soaring vocals with her intricate guitar picking and introspective writing.

Her sound is influenced by trans-Atlantic folk, along with 90s and 2000s alternative rock.
Craig Shelburne of The Bluegrass Situation described her music as being “understated and beautiful”. She also plays/writes with the duo Dravus House. ... more

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