The Blue Ridge Parkway-A Ribbon of Stone

Come Drive this Ribbon of Beauty

One day as I drove a section the Blue Ridge Parkway, I noted migrating birds and imagined what the Parkway must look like to them, flying high above our terrain. I could picture the curving, undulating road from the sky like a ribbon on patchwork squares of farms and fields, woods and fenced off pasture land. Perhaps it looked like a long narrow rumpled quilt with creases of peak and valley.

Out of this image began music and lyrics fleshing out the many facets of the importance of the Parkway to our nation.  Many years ago, for the 50th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway, I had written and recorded a ballad of the history of the parkway. Now, the deeper cultural and ecological, natural history and artistic aspects called to me to paint a song richer in metaphor, melodically Appalachian and recorded with organic traditional instruments.

 The cultural history of this region is rich with stories of the early settlers, some played out by re-enactors of their brave and rough lives at designated stops on the Parkway.  The music, the handmade, homemade life that became the folk art of this region sprang up along the early trails of America’s First People and wildlife. And from above, to the raptors and songbirds, it might all look like a ribbon stitched on to a verdant quilt—a glimpse of heaven far below.


 A Ribbon of Stone

One of thousands of great views along the Blue Ridge Parkway, American's Favorite Drive.

Here's another song you may enjoy as you drive the Blue Ridge Parkway: Virginia Beauty


   Artist’s Statement:  Joyce Johnson Rouse