Dar Williams - Emerald lyrics

I have gone to the west: The emerald kingdom highway It's like a hero's path I'm following I don't know what to think What to do with myself today Shouldn't I hear the future calling me? Under a low cloud Vanishing up through the treeline of the mountain Catching the light from the morning on a river come to life: The grand Columbia I've returned this time Through these cascades in autumn And for once, I am unquestioning I can see the boatmen shout Over the wind and engines As the gold coins shower from aspen trees And into the twilight The hazy moon on the amethystine river Watching the hair and lifting up And her wings spread wide as the Columbia Unbeknownst to my pride I had filled my memories With these hours of gold and emerald light Now I plunge my hands Into all this time I've lived And the j**els spill through my fingers I am back in the west On this canyon highway I can see a girl is pa**ing She is going so fast I can hardly tell it's me Doesn't she know that she'll be traveling Under a low cloud Out of the northwest and through the Rocky Mountains Across the prairies to the Appalachian Rises now the Pennsylvania farms into the traffic of the eastern cities Into my town, onto my street Up the stairs, into my house Grab the kids, and out the back into the garden