Spirit of the Wolf (Video)

Video combining the song "Spirit of the Wolf" by Matt Stone with photographic images of Yellowstone Wolves by Jimmy Jones, including Female Alpha "06".

For more information on this project:

http://mattfolkmuse.blogspot.com/2013...

I wrote the song in October 2011. The imagery of a transcendent wolf spirit came to me as the narrator and storyteller. The story touches on the loss of range and the hunting to near extinction of our wolves, and recounts aspects of the parallel fate of Native Americans.

The song was recorded between July and October 2012 during the making of a full length album, Northern Lights.

The writing of this song heightened my interest in the efforts to conserve and reintroduce wolves into the wild. I had been working on the idea of a video that would accompany the story, with appropriate images from both the wolf and native American themes. When the Wyoming and Montana wolf hunts began to take a toll on the Yellowstone wolves, culminating with the death of Lamar Canyon Alpha Female 06, Jimmy Jones' photographs told a compelling story. The idea of a video with music and photographs of 06 and other Yellowstone wolves took shape. My intention is to use this video to draw attention to the many organizations working to support and advocate for the wolves.

Spirit of the Wolf video
produced by Matt Stone
(c) 2012

Song available on the Northern Lights album:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mattstone1

http://www.mattfolkmuse.com

http://www.twitter.com/MattFolkmuse

http://www.facebook.com/mattfolkmuse

Photo credits:
Jimmy Jones Photography
Embracing Nature Gallery
http://www.jimmyjonesphotography.com

Music credits:
Spirit of the Wolf
written and performed by Matt Stone
Recorded and produced by Dave Blackburn, BeatNTrack Studio, Fallbrook, CA
Dayan Kai on wood and silver flutes, Radoslav Lorkovic on piano

Northern Lights CD available through:

http://www.mattfolkmuse.com
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mattstone1
and on iTunes

Donation Links:

Wolf Watcher
http://www.wolfwatcher.org

California Wolf Center
http://www.californiawolfcenter.org

Wolf Conservation Center
http://www.nywolf.org

Oregon Wild
http://www.oregonwild.org

Western Watersheds Project
http://westernwatersheds.org

Lobos of the Southwest
http://mexicanwolves.org

Wolf Education and Research Center
http://www.wolfcenter.org

Wild Earth Guardians
http://www.wildearthguardians.org

Raincoast Conservation Foundation
http://www.raincoast.org

In memory of Lamar Canyon 06
May your descendants roam these hills forever

My sincere thanks to Johnsmith, whose songwriting workshops at Esalen have been transformative.

HERE ARE LYRICS FOR THOSE WHO REQUESTED THEM

Spirit of the Wolf
(c) Matt Stone (Matthew Stone), 2011, BMI

Lyric Sheet

I stand here on this ridge
My fur covered in fresh snow
And I look down at the lights that fill the valley far below

We roamed these hills forever
We knew these mountains well
And our wisdom has been worn into a thousand forest trails

Our brothers the Comanche, the Cherokee and Sioux
Worshipped the Great Spirit
And taught from our totems too

The ranchers and the trappers
They shot us out of fear
Blocked us off with barbed wire, caught our feet in deadly gear

Late at night, when you're safe at home
You will hear my voice calling, across the valley far below
I am calling to my pack, and am calling to my clan
This is our land! This is our land! This is our land!

I have met the ghost of Black Elk
Running through these granite hills
My heart if full of sorrow for the blood that has been spilled

Trapped into the camps
Some made into slaves
But he never gave up dreaming of the land they took away

Late at night, when you're safe at home
You will hear the voice of Black Elk, when the cold north wind blows
He is calling to his people, he is calling to his tribe
This is our land! This is our land! This is our land!

Oh the mothers who were slaughtered
And their children who were killed
The suffering I've seen is something I can never tell

They told stories of their visions
And they danced around the fires
They kept it all alive somehow through times so dark and dire

Late at night, when you're safe at home
You will hear my voice calling, across the valley far below
I am calling to my pack, I am calling to my tribe
This is our land! This is our land! This is our land!

And now we have returned
Along the mighty Yellowstone
But our brothers never made it, to their ancient land and home

They were scattered on the four winds
Pushed off for mortal gold
But their tie to these mountains is to sacred to let go

Late at night, when you're safe at home
You will hear my voice calling, across the valley far below
I am calling to my people, I am calling to my tribe
This is our land! This is our land! This is our land!
This is our land! This is our land! This is our land!
This is our land! This is our land! This is our land!

I am the spirit of the wolf
And I am witness
To it all