National Park Soundtrack Volume 4
America the musical!
It’s Wednesday so you know what that means; more national parks, and more music!
As always here’s the link to last week’s NPS:
Crater Lake National Park: “D.B. Cooper” by Joshua Ray Walker
Crater Lake was recommended two weeks ago by the wonderful editor for The Riff; Kevin Alexander, and I forgot to include it last week.
This song was my favorite from Walker’s 2020 album; Glad You Made It. I chose this one because I think the vibe works, but also because the story of D.B. Cooper starts in Oregon, and even though the wilderness he supposedly dropped into isn’t in Oregon; I imagine it looking like this anyway.
I think the strange mix of the driving, rock-inspired sound, and Joshua Ray Walker’s twang-filled croon really fits the area. Oregon is a weird place, but in a very beautiful way, just like this song. The song talks a lot about the rain and floodwater too, which also is reminiscent of this lake for me.
I love the story, I love the song, and I think it fits this gorgeous lake well.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: “Ring Of Fire” by Johnny Cash
I mean come on…this one was probably the easiest one of these I’ve chosen so far.
I don’t really think the sound fits as much as some songs have, but the lyrics are undeniable. Every time I hear this song I think of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and all the volcanoes that lie within.
Even though Hawaii isn’t technically in that Ring of Fire, it’s still got plenty of volcanoes and I just can’t get this song out of my head when I think of it.
I tried to pick something else because of that, but I just couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried this song’s trumpets just kept blasting in my head, so I’m gonna stick with it!
Gettysburg National Military Park: “The Dead Don’t Die” by Sturgill Simpson
When I think of Gettysburg, I obviously think of the infamous battle fought there, but when I think of modern day Gettysburg; I think of the ghosts.
Gettysburg is supposed to be one of the most haunted places in America, and there’s no shortage of supposed ghost videos taken in Gettysburg. It makes sense that the deadliest battle on American soil would be home to plenty of restless souls.
I’ve mentioned before, how much I love paranormal stuff, so when this song came out, I was ecstatic. Country music is great at ghost songs, and this one is no exception.
I would love to ride through Gettysburg at night, with this song going, on the lookout for the specters of the night.
Pinnacles National Park: “Run” by Joji
It’s pretty well established now, that when I see desert, I think rock music. I don’t really see Pinnacles as full on desert though, so I needed a hybrid. “Run” is exactly what I was looking for.
This song is pretty different to what Joji normally does, and takes the lo-fi sound into a more rock-based place.
Pinnacles is very elegant, while still maintaining a desert feel. I think this song represents that pretty well. I also feel like for some reason when I think of California, I think of Joji, so it works in that aspect as well.
Valley Forge National Park: “Over There” The Eric Rogers Chorale and Orchestra
I know the song wasn’t written until 1917, but it really works.
Valley Forge is one of the encampments Washington and his army used over the winter during the Revolutionary War; because of this I knew I wanted a war song of some sort.
Like I said, “Over There” wasn’t written until 1917, but it sounds a lot like something the revolutionary soldiers would’ve been chanting during their battles.
I think it would be a fun little trip back in time to go to Valley Forge and listen to this song.
Thanks for reading yet another edition of National Park Soundtrack!
As always, let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions for parks, leave them in the comments!
