Download "Save The Arkansas"

Colorado singer/songwriter Gabrielle Louise

Free music download available here - New song by Colorado singer Gabrielle Louise warns Bush and Congress of Leadville disaster.

Download studio recording here (mp3 format)

DENVER -- Singer/songwriter Gabrielle Louise has released a new single, "Save The Arkansas," that calls for urgent response to an environmental disaster that hangs over Leadville, Colorado and the Arkansas River basin.

The song warns President Bush and members of the U.S. Congress of an imminent toxic mine pool blowout in Leadville. Up to 1-and-a-half billion gallons of poisonous waters suddenly escaping from blocked tunnels in Prospect Mountain and the surrounding mining district would flood local homes, contaminate the Arkansas River, and lay waste to the region's wildlife and ecosystem.

Under one scenario the deadly heavy metals in the water shooting out of the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel would mix with the caustic chemicals that would burst out of the vats in the treatment plant at the mouth of the tunnel. The resulting poison cocktail would be beyond the grasp of modern medicine.

On the day she wrote the song, the New York Times published a report on the Leadville threat, with the headline, "Mine Water Poses Danger of a Toxic Gusher." Hundreds of news stories around the country had drawn attention to the lack of response from both federal and state agencies.

The lyrics to "Save The Arkansas" are Gabrielle Louise's personal comments added to a citizen petition launched by Sen. Tom Wiens, who represents Lake County, Colorado, where Leadville is located. The singer grew up further south in Colorado on the Arkansas River, which runs through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas before reaching the Mississippi River. At the age of 18, she worked as a professional raft guide on the Arkansas, and the river was a source of imagery and inspiration in her songwriting. She is currently meeting with Colorado politicians to share her story about life on the river and the vibrant tourist economy it supports.

SAVE THE ARKANSAS
written Feb 28th, 2008 © Gabrielle Louise, ASCAP

The track features all Colorado musicians!

Gene Libbea: Bass
Bruce Hayes: Lead Guitar, Mandolin, harmonies
Ryan Drickey: Fiddle, Harmonies
Gabrielle Louise: R. Guitar, Lead Vocals, Songwriting
Greg Mcrae: Engineer, Coupe Studios, Boulder, CO

Lyrics:

I'm the daughter of the mountain,
Twenty years.
I work on the river,
Like so many here.

The sons of the farmland,
Far downstream,
They grow the corn and the cotton,
If the water's clean.

There's a lake of toxin
In the mountain side
And we're living in the shadow

This silver mine is a loaded gun,
Is a burning fuse;
It's a toxic flood,
Are you gonna wait 'til it breaks to call it news?

Who are you gonna blame?
Don't put it off until it's a hurricane
How long are we gonna wait?
What does it take to wake you up before the mountain breaks?
Before the mountain breaks.

One day I'll take my child to the waters edge
Gonna bless him there, like my father did

Lord knows we're not wealthy, but when we're dead and gone
It's the choice we make now that will carry on

You can stop this before the chance is gone
Join in the song, Save the Arkansas
Save the Arkansas.