27
Jul

Damien Rice (with Lisa Hannigan) — “Volcano” (from O) — Volcano - O (Deluxe Version)

My adventure with A in the Pacific Northwest kicked off yesterday afternoon with a trip to Mount St. Helens, which I found to be absolutely riveting, even though the top of the mountain, sadly, was obscured by stubborn clouds which refused to part for even a bit. Looking at the landscape in the valleys around the volcano — still barren, and most of it still ash-gray, thirty-one years after the destructive eruption that devastated the area — it’s nearly impossible to get your mind to fathom what it must have been like for the people who made their entire livelihoods on this land — on the lake, in the forests, on the terrain in the shadow of this natural monster — only to watch it all get washed away in just a few excruciating moments. (As the thousands of remaining stumps bear witness to, not even the trees were strong enough to withstand the fury.) But the stark, serene beauty of what remains is arresting, is literally powerful enough to steal your breath wholly away.

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