Turning The Winter Rye
A Songwriter's Garden
A songwriter never lets a good metaphor go to waste. I found a few in my garden last week—and a song was born. Give it a listen below!
Winter Rye is a magical cover crop that some farmers use to protect their fields from wind and water erosion. It also captures leftover nitrogen and nutrients, keeping them from leaching out of Iowa’s precious soil. I’m more of a yard farmer than an agronomy expert, but I do know how to build up healthy soil in my vegetable garden.
Three years ago, I built an L-shaped raised bed and have been improving the soil ever since. Last fall, I planted Winter Rye as a cover crop. It grows in grassy clumps until winter's bitter cold sends it into hibernation. Then, like magic, it picks up right where it left off when spring arrives.
Digging in the garden and songwriting are my two favorite forms of meditation. Turning over that rye, one shovel at a time, is hard work. But for me, it’s symbolic—emerging from my own winter hibernation and feeling those rare, welcome early warm days of spring (and the sore muscles that follow). My April goal was to turn the rye grass into the soil with my spade before growing woody and tough. Six weeks from now, I’ll have rich, composted soil—just in time for mid-May planting.
It’s too early to plant, but it’s never too early to let the garden inspire a song.
Listen to Turning The Winter Rye.
Your soul is soil, your hope is rain
Your seed is truth, the spade’s your pain
You tend your plot when the sun gets high
And rebuild your strength
Turning the winter rye
The soil is fed, you plant your seed
Your hope remains, then the skies turn green
You feed your flock, you store your prize
And return to plant your winter rye
And through the window when December blows
You see the rye poke through the milky snow
And much to your surprise when April’s thaw arrives
Your soul revives
Like the winter rye
Your soul is soil, your hope is rain
Your seed is truth, the spade’s your pain
The cycle spins and you’re called again
These things I’ve come to realize
Turning the winter rye
I’ll be singing this song, and a couple others, LIVE during Steve Shettler’s Iowa Music Showcase, Friday, April 11th from 11:30a at Barn Wired in Sigourney. Join us - or CLICK HERE to watch.
Also, I’ll be opening for
Sunday, April 27th, at xBk Live! Doors open at 4, the show starts at 5. CLICK HERE for info and tickets!