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Ephraim's Grave

by Highline Drifters

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about

Deep in the backcountry of the Bear River Mountains above the town of Logan, Utah, lies the grave of the last Grizzly Bear to inhabit these parts: Old Ephraim, who was brought down in his old age by the sheepherder Frank Clark in 1922. This is his song, written for the 100th anniversary of his death and just released this year. Music and lyrics by Eric LaMalfa.

lyrics

Over the hilltops where I’m bound
To the last spot where the bear was found
Looking down through the tangle wood
It was the last spot where he laid down
Tracks in the mud and snow
For many years he had lost me

He’d be gone for a long time
Then appear like a ghost
Crest of the hills and I’m looking back
At the place he was before

Playing reels in my head again
That old bear lived like me I’m told
Rambling hills in the summertime
and reaping grass from mountain meadows
Back and forth the bear he bested me
And for decades I kept score
He’s been gone now for a long long time
Slew foot tracks and echoes

He was gone for a long time
He’ll appear just like a ghost
Crest of the hills and I’m looking back
At the place he was before

You can hear him in the aspen leaves
And in the fresh unsettled snow
I spend most my live tending sheep
And rooting bears out from the wallow
Now without the chase I realize
It’s my own steel trap thats rust n’ broke
Mountains tame and we don’t raid no sheep no more
n’ no more do the hills I roam

Old Ephraim’s become folklore
The slew foot ghost that lived ain’t dead
Snowberry’s n’ the brush they become overgrown
cause a leg hold trap couldn't hold his soul

Silent Sow no wind sound
Cubs they’ll whisper tall tales
Scavenge bones for souvenirs
and the curse creeps up behind you

Up at temple fork and the mud flat road
Above his tomb on a moonless night
It was Ursa major’s skin I stole and
Never more regrets I’ll cry
Lonely n’ old now our spirits haunting kills
His archived tomb refutes the tail
My legacy cowers in a ten foot shadow
The lies I told dug Ephraim’s grave

He's been gone for a long time
And here he comes like a ghost
Crest of the hills and I’m looking back
At the place he was before

credits

released February 6, 2024
Eric LaMalfa: lead vocals, guitar
Kelin Gibbons: lead guitar, organ
Noah Enelow: mandolin
Rip Nolan: double bass
Travis Taylor: drums
Produced and engineered by Dan Fields at Whysound, Logan, UT.

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Highline Drifters Logan, Utah

The Highline Drifters are a progressive collaboration from Cache Valley's eclectic musical community. The group weaves together bluegrass, Americana, acoustic rock, reggae, Afro-pop, and funk through dynamic improvisations, danceable rhythms, and seamless transitions. A mainstay within the valley’s local music scene, the band performs regularly at notable venues and events across northern Utah. ... more

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