Hi! Welcome to “A Body of Work.” It’s the every other Tuesday space here on “Living in a Body” where I dig deep into Hal history and pull out a musical gem. Don’t miss the two videos (above and below) to hear “Lilac City.” Thank you for being here! Hal
One of my greatest joys is the process of writing a song. It’s also true that one of my greatest fears is facing the blank page — that daunting emptiness where the writing process begins. One thing that always helps me get started is working with others. Some of the best songs that I’ve ever written were born out of collaboration. Whether it’s an old friend or a classroom of elementary students, the creative energy of others feeds me and helps to get the magic going. One of my earliest memories of this kind of magic was in an elementary school teacher’s lounge where, with the help of a 2nd grade poet, David Hassler and I created the iconic Spring song, “Lilac City.”
Through the Ohio Arts Council Arts Learning program, David had been working as a poet-in-residence at St. Charles Elementary School in Lima, Ohio. I was grateful for the invitation to join him as a guest musician. It was this job in 1999 that launched my career as a teaching artist working in schools all around Ohio.
David was busy writing poems about Spring with 2nd graders. As the class shouted out words having to do with Spring, he chalked them up on the board. Then they drew lines connecting the words in search of unexpected combinations. Combining words like “sunshine” and “happy” created new sparks of meaning for the whole class. At one point, a quiet second grader, who had remained silent throughout the first part of the residency, spoke up with her idea. Little Kathy Rower said her poem aloud:
I’m going tulip crazy in this Lilac City
Dandelion faces all around me
I’m going daisy in this mud delicious world.
At lunch. David was excited to share with me this classroom breakthrough. We stopped eating, got out the guitar and started making some magic happen. By the end of lunch, we had enough of a song to share with the 2nd graders. By the end of the residency, we had finished a song that lives on to this day. For more than 20 years, most every Spring, David Hassler and I have had some reason to tell the story of Kathy Rower and to sing “Lilac City.”
I’m grateful that I had the strength on Saturday to sit on the porch and sing with Hassler. I think we sound pretty good. (Video above) In the Spring 2021 YouTube video below, I got to sing with one of my favorite singers of all time, Abby Kurus. Enjoy.
Lilac City
I’m goin’ tulip crazy in this lilac city
Dandelion faces all around
I’m goin’ daisy crazy
In this mud delicious world
And spring is springing from the ground.
I’m feeling bloomin’ silly
With these yellow lilies
Sparkling butterflies in my hair.
I’m skippin’ sunshine happy
Through this muddle puddle world
‘Cause spring is truly in the air.
Spring is in the air
It’s blooming everywhere
Spring is popping out
It makes me want to shout
©1999 - H. Walker, D. Hassler, K. Rower
Lilac City