The Story Behind In Vivid Hue
This song came from a day in the Sierra Nevada after the season’s second snow. At first I was not even convinced the storm had left much snow behind. The lower roads were mostly clear, the snowplows were sitting idle, and the foothills looked more wet than wintry. That changed as I climbed. By the time I turned south on Highway 89, the higher country had clearly been transformed.
I kept noticing how much the day rewarded the decision to make room for it. There were long shadows, low clouds spilling over ridges, snow releasing from tree branches in the warming sun, weathered alders, wide views above the tree line, and that strange combination of cold air and vivid color that can make the mountains feel newly revealed. The farther I went, the calmer and more attentive I became.
That became the real center of the song. It was not simply about seeing fresh snow. It was about what happened when I gave myself enough distance from ordinary noise to reconnect with curiosity, gratitude, empathy, and creativity. I came home feeling recharged rather than merely rested.
In that sense, In Vivid Hue became a natural companion to Becoming Still. The first song grew out of the season’s first snow and the quiet that came with it. This one came from the next storm, but the experience was different. Stillness had opened the door. This day filled the space with color, ideas, and a renewed desire to create.
Fun Fact
The trip began with me doubting whether the storm had produced much snow at all. By the time I reached the high country on Highway 89, the mountain had answered the question very clearly.
Creative Notes
The earliest drafts leaned much harder on snow as the recurring image. I deliberately pulled that back. Because Becoming Still already carried the first-snow idea, I wanted the second snow to remain part of the setting while the deeper focus shifted toward creativity, perspective, and the reward of showing up.
I refined the lyric section by section, replacing broader abstractions with details I had actually noticed during the day, including idle plows, old alder trunks and burls, the open high country, and the way the miles themselves seemed to produce calm. I used ChatGPT to test alternate phrasings as I worked through those revisions.
The title also evolved. I considered Second Snow and Becoming Resonant before settling on In Vivid Hue. The cover direction followed the recent RoyRoy Genkins visual language, using the mountain-day imagery as inspiration and balancing cool snow tones with warm orange light.
Lyrics
Listen & Follow
Play the song while you follow the lyrics.
Low sun turns the granite gold Mist curls where the ridges fold Plows idle the roads are clear Quiet follows storms up here
With every mile the calm expands Time drifts soft through open lands
I climbed where sky and stillness flow Found myself where kindness grows Clarity became my muse Every breath a spark to use
Elder alders heavy scarred Twisted trunks that time has marred Burls like stories half untold Weathered hands the mountain holds
Above the tree line wind stands still Listening takes a steady will
I climbed where sky and stillness flow Found myself where kindness grows Clarity became my muse Every breath a spark to use
The song and sunlight intertwined A perfect rhythm soul aligned The sky revealed what words can’t say Awe stood still and time gave way
Repaid by wonders time can’t replace Clean air cut sharp colors displace For every mile I choose to pursue The mountain speaks to me in vivid hue
Sun drops low horizons gleam The best of me recharged between The world I left the heights redeemed Heart alight with fuel for dreams
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