Hike Your Own Hike
by @kludge
Liner Notes
I love hiking, and “hike your own hike” is common advice in the hiking community. Choose your own trail, set your own pace, hike in a way that makes you happy and comfortable. I wanted to expand on the idea as general life advice, and also give a sense of why I find the hiking experience so profoundly rewarding.
Lyrics
Is this what you should be doing? Is this where you want to be? Are you feeling trapped or feeling free? Go as far as you have to Go as far as you can walk Touch the mountaintops, or touch the sea
You can hike with friends and family You can hike somewhere alone You can hike with those you meet along the way No place is truly nowhere You’ll know it coz you’ve been there And maybe you’ll return again someday
(chorus) Hike your own hike Don’t let anybody tell you where to go Don’t let anybody tell you you’re too fast or you’re too slow You’ll get there when you get there And you’ll see what you will see Hike your own hike
When you listen to the birdsongs And you listen to the wind And you can’t hear cars even if you try Just listen to your body And listen to your heart Because the listening is its own reason why
(chorus)
You might get lost You might get injured You might let your fears keep you trapped inside Nature finds you Nature heals your aching heart Just let Earth and Sky and Spirit be your guide
When you come back to the place Where the canyons turn to valleys Where the trails turn to sidewalks and to roads You’ll feel the Earth beneath the pavement Feel the Sky above that roof And you’ll bring Nature everywhere you go
(chorus)
Comments
Excellent advice Dave, not just for hiking, but for life. Love that Dobro sound!
I love this! I hadn’t heard the phrase but certainly the more time I spend in nature, the easier it is to visualize myself back in nature no matter where I am. Sometimes can even smell it.
Oh, very nice!
Great song and great advice for the songwriting journey!
Maybe when the weather is a bit less cold, I'll think back to this song and be inspired to get out more. The town forest isn't far.
DOBRO!!!! hell yeah!!! what a good sound, and the perfect one for this song. i can also hear some pedal steel, but... maybe a later version 😉
"Just listen to your body And listen to your heart Because the listening is its own reason why"
there's so much you managed to capture here, both about the joy of hiking and the joy of living. man, i love songs that are simultaneously literal and also metaphors. this is such a shining example of that.
also, can we talk about that last verse??? so profoundly beautiful and true. i think the world would be a much kinder place if everyone went on a hike sometimes.
fantastic song, dave. thanks for writing it <3