Sometimes you really don’t know how to describe a song or the feeling that imbues. Down by the river feels otherworldly and down to earth at the same time, a contradiction I’ve never been able to describe in a succinct, pleasant to read way.

Down by the river is a song that I’ve felt it’s always “there” but I don’t think I’ve fully grasped it’s exceeding emotional weight before 2022. It’s not that long enough and you know how we all felt during the pandemic. Being inside felt like time stopped, even if our bodies continued to grow old with each breath. I’ve had a first vaccine in 2021, then another shot in early 2022. You’d hear all weird shit about it, but in the end, if there’s no scientific backing, it’s weird shit, not a fact.

So, late may of 2022 and I feel like I gotta get out somewhere, anywhere. I’ve been dreaming of my time in Tula, which was very desertic and felt, and least when I was a kid, like the suburbs you’d seen in American tv shows. My version of smalltown, USA, I guess. So I booked a flight to Los Angeles, stay at a hotel called The Moment, then hightail it to the north. Back to Pismo, I place I fortuitously chose for a short stories more than a decade ago and somehow felt like a place to visit. I’ve already been there in 2016, on my solo trip through California, and I felt like it was the place to blow some steam, get some relaxation, and break that fast of staying at home.

The Surfliner train is a beautiful trip. You get to see the coast in places where no soul wanders, with some bits being so close to the water you fear a shark’s gonna jump you. I spent the majority of my trip just walking on nature spots. Limekiln trail was a bust as it had burned recently, so I had to improvise. I haphazardly ended up in Pfeiffer Park in Big Sur and loved every second of it. Then went to Lake Lopez, then San Luis Obispo, to the solemn Laguna Lake and its magnesium mineral deposits, the King Trail, then Froom Creek. Went up the hill at Morro Bay, up Black Hill Trail to take some nice shots of the landscape. Somehow ended on Bluff trail and loved every second until I had a panic attack. Did the small beaches near Pismo and Arroyo Grande. Barely made it to my train back to Los Angeles. Loved every minute of it.

I love California. Not the cities, but the all the nature trails. It’s even better than I imagined as a kid. I know the possibilities of living in a place like Arroyo Grande or San Luis Obispo are close to zero, but any chance I get to go back I will take. Because life is short and sweet, and when you find a place that gives you a semblance of peace, you should relish your time there. I’m not one for big cities or tourist resorts. Gimme a place with tall trees, running water, lots of birds and the odd bear. I’m happy.

And Down by the river, even if it resembles a murder ballad, always makes me think of California’s nature. Last may, I went on a lightning trip to the very last Just Like Heaven fest and I couldn’t stop listening to Down by the river on repeat. Re-reading what I wrote I can tell I was having a very bad time -mentally- but at least on the music front, I was happy. I also re-encountered with a friend, called Andrea, after almost 8 years of not seeing each other. It was a joy catching up with her again and I’ll try to keep in touch with dear friends more often, murder ballads notwithstanding.

Thank you, have a great week.

-Sam J. Valdés López