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Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, Are You Up There Still?

by Jesse Manzanita

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about

We wrote this song about 6 months into Julia Hill's famous two year "tree-sit". (1998-1999) We sent a cassette copy of the song up to Julia and were so happy to receive a phone call from her one evening, from "Luna"! (as the ancient redwood tree was named). We sent copies to local radio stations & it got a lot of airplay. It became a sort of "anthem" that radio hosts would play before interviews with Julia, up & down the west coast and in other various broadcasts worldwide.
It is performed by Jesse using over-dubbing of vocal and guitar tracks. Recorded at Sappho Studios in 1998.
This song was subsequently used as Theme & Background music in a full-length documentary entitled: "Butterfly" by San Francisco based filmmaker, Doug Wolens. Which has aired on POV and in many theaters worldwide. (c)1999 Jesse Manzanita & Juli Palmer

lyrics

Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, Are you up there still?, Are you up there still?
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, by your strength & will, a vision to fulfill. (yeah).

In the year of the El Nino nineteen-hundred-and ninety-eight, through the fury of the fiercest winter's storms and the choppers force.
She clung high up there to her convictions,
that ancient redwood tress are not a renewable resource.

Chorus:
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, are you up there still, by your strength & will
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, are you up there still, a vision to fulfill? (yeah)

The TV news took their camera crews down to Scotia town,
to interview some people on the streets there.
They said "go ahead and cut it down, just cut it down,
if she gets hurt or killed, we don't care." (They don't care)

Chorus:
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, I guess they just can't see, the forest for the tree
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, it's more than I could do, and I look up to you

Spoken: Now Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, will always be remembered
in folk history and song. For climbing up into 'Luna's' branches
and staying there so long.....

Now we can hope and we can pray
that someday the ancient trees will still be here
to drink the morning mist in the fern filled glade,
and they can stand and they can face the golden sunrise
instead of a chainsaw blade.

Chorus:
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, are you up there still, by your strength & will
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, it's more than I could do, and I look up to you
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, I can see you up there shinin'
and all the trees are smilin'
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, when Luna shines her light on me
I know that butterflies are free!
Butterfly Hill, are you up there still?

credits

released June 1, 1999
Written by Karrie Wallace & Juli Palmer (c)1999. Recorded using an old Fostex 4-track recorder powered a 12v car battery which was charged by a solar panel. Further mixing and polishing done by Bert Pectol & Chuck Johnson.

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Jesse Manzanita image

Jesse Manzanita Salinas, California

Songwriter, guitarist. singer, harmonicas.
There is something spiritual about the creative process. I feel that the songs are gifts from the Great Spirit and once finished it's as if they were always there.

I switch between styles, folk, jazzy lounge & blues.
My instruments: Yamaha FG345, Fender Strat & Harmonicas.

I record all of my material on an old Roland 880EX, which is powered by the sun. ... more

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