"Inside Passage" from Inside Passage (2004)
(c) Terry Kelly 2004
I wrote this song while preparing for a month-long kayaking trip through-- you guessed it-- the Inside Passage, that protected waterway that runs from Vancouver Island up to Skagway, Alaska. The trip was a serious undertaking, not only in terms of logistics, but also as a chance to measure myself. It was hard to think about being away from my wife, Cheryl, for five weeks--even harder because my first experience of the Inside Passage was with her when she was moving to Alaska. We took the Alaska Ferry to Haines and then drove to Anchorage. It was, and remains, one of the single most amazing weeks of my life. During much of our drive to Anchorage, the towering St. Elias Mountains were a constant landmark. Now I was preparing for more profound experiences in Alaska, but this time without Cheryl. The song anticipates the power of journey-- and the desire to make it back home.
"and we follow our star, to become who we are
even if it takes us far away.
But Saint Elias, Saint Elias
Show me, show me the way
Back home."
MUSIC