Young ones being born
Clean slate fresh snow
And I ain't seen some these friends in years
But somehow we stay close
There's a fork in these mountains
I came up just below
Leaving my folks is hard every single time
But I have to go
And I still call it home
Northern California
I still call it home
Northern California
Helluva place to live
I slipped on my hiking boots
And pulled down my window shades
To unveil my roots
Nor Cal backwoods
Home of old growth and fog
Rain fed and temperate
The clear cuts like scars
I grew up in the heart of it
Pumping in my blood
Washed in water painted politics
Where colors all run
Gloomy like the deep forest
North Coast grunge
Slip through the cracks of these trees like the sun but
There's a ghost in these hills
Where they dug in for the gold
Remnants of the past
Hang over this valley floor like smoke
They gave new names to the land
Replaced the ways of the old
They done bled the stones in these mountains cold
But they ain't stole her soul
And I still call it home
Northern California
I still call it home
Northern California
I see the past clear as reflections in a still pond
It lives on
Dry kindling on the fire
Waking up to greet the new dawn
Thick fog and first frost
Late for school get gone
Hot Summers
Fall colors
Strong Winters
Springs thaw
If you've ever lived here
You'd never question the love
I felt the cycle of these seasons
Like breath through the lungs
And when I'm gone
Carry on
There's no reason to hurt
Throw half my ashes in Salmon River
Leave the rest in the dirt
Of Nor Cal
Northern California
I still call it home
Northern California