Dana Lyons: ‘Current day Pete Seeger’ to sing No. 1 hit, ‘Cows with Guns’
Hunt Harris is a well-known Rappahannock resident, an avid environmentalist and among other accomplishments, a man with notable friends.
One of them is singer/ songwriter and worldrenowned environmentalist Dana Lyons, whom Hunt recently invited to Rappahannock - knowing of his East Coast tour - for a performance at Maggie Rogers’ Central Coffee Roasters intimate concert series in Sperryville, on Sunday, April 24 at 7 p.m.
Dana will grace Maggie’s stage, guitar in hand, his deep, resonant voice entertaining us all with both whimsical and thoughtprovoking song.
He’s known as the “current day Pete Seeger,” and an experienced DJ has said of his songs: “Play them once and watch the phones explode.” On a humorous note, Dana has been called “an out of control Johnny Cash.” On a more sober note: “Every movement has it’s minstrel. The unions had Woody Guthrie. The peace movement had Phil Ochs. The environmental movement has Dana Lyons.”
He’s shared the stage with the likes of Neil Young, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steppenwolf, Nazareth and Blue Oyster Cult, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, River Phoenix and more. His ballads have been sung by Pete Seeger.
His song, “Cows with Guns,” was a global radio and web hit and ranked No. 1 in numerous markets.
“The lyrics can be interpreted on three levels,” says Dana. “The first is simply being funny, the second is celebrating a vegan lifestyle, and the third is about people standing up to their oppressors; symbolic of standing up for ourselves.”
He smiles and adds, “other interpretations I’m sure exist as well.”
When asked about the origin of his passion for protecting the environment, he shares a poignant story about his youth:
“I grew up in upstate New York, and I must have been maybe 7-8 years old and I remember a grassy knoll where we’d built our forts . . . (it was) bulldozed for a mall and when I was maybe 10 or so I had a great teacher and it was Earth Day and she had students picking up garbage. It made me really think about the environment. I was raised, too, by parents who raised us to appreciate nature and often took us camping along the Hudson River. I remember as a child of the 60s and 70s listening to the likes of Pete Seeger, his lyrics providing social activist ammunition, and at that time folks were especially cognizant of the environment.”
I asked him about his guitar, his seemingly effortless command of the strings.
“I started playing when I was 12 and my teacher told me I was pretty good and that I should start a rock band and make some money.” He laughs. “So the following week I did.”
His newest album title track, “The Great Salish Sea,” is a moving ballad about orcas, killer whales. It’s written from the perspective of a 104-year-old matriarch who talks of the changing ocean sounds and the noise of super tankers ferrying fossil fuel. They are artificial acoustics, not natural to the music of the seas, sounds so different from the soft swishes of sailing ships, gliding along the water's surface, now replaced by an ugly noise, so crushing in intensity, reverberating throughout the ocean floor.
Dana is a true balladeer and he sings love songs, fervent, earnest messages of preservation, and the simple celebration of water and seas, of beautiful animals, of all nature’s jewels. He’s also an award-winning children’s author.
While camping in the Pacific rainforest, Dana was inspired to write about an ancient 800-year-old Douglas fir tree. “The Tree,” with a foreword penned by Dr. Jane Goodall and illustrated by Dave Danioth, is a recipient of numerous national awards. The book has been described as “the most eloquent argument made for the preservation of the delicate forest environment.”
One review of the book said: “The story is simple but profound, the haunting song of an ancient Douglas fir, living its life-cycle in the Pacific rainforest, speaking to the connection between all things on Earth. The sacredness of nature permeates this world, until the sound of an encroaching bulldozer disturbs the quiet beauty of generations, threatening the destruction of a fragile environment. The sanctuary of young owls learning to fly, the roaming grizzlies and the lone wolf…. The tree says: ‘Who will hold that river shore? And who will take refuge in my shadow, if my shadow falls no more.’”
In the end the tree hears the voices of children, their hands circling its trunk, their feet climbing the branches to peer on the others below and the tree believes “the wind may always carry my song.” Each illustration is rich and evocative of the simple beauty of earth and invites the reader into repose, to think.
When not on tour, nationally and internationally, Dana lives in Bellingham, Washington. He’s been to Rappahannock several times over the years visiting Hunt, supporting environmental issues. Rappahannock, he says, is a “stunning corner of the world.”
We’re honored to have him here and look forward to his song.