Hampshire Alum and Biologist Phyllis D. Coley 70F Celebrated By The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.  Lissy Coley was one of the first Hampshire college students. She tells an interesting story about her time there, inspired, I wrote a song I call "I Would Know"


Verse 1
Way down south where the green vines climb,
Phyllis walked slow, takin' her time,
Notebook out and the sun runnin' low,
Chasin' the secrets the forests know.
From Amherst fields to Panama's heat,
She found where the wild hearts beat,
Every leaf and shadow below-
She'd smile and say, I would know.

Chorus
I would know-oh, I would know,
How the jungle hums where the rivers go.
From Hampshire roots to the tropic flow,
Ask the forest, ask the wind-
I would know.

Verse 2
First of her class when the College was new,
Dreams so big they almost flew,
Studied the teeth on the smallest bite,
Watched how the sunlight turns to night.
Each tree spoke in a language rare,
She learned to listen, she learned to care,
Years went by and her stories grow,
And she still says, I would know.

Chorus
I would know-oh, I would know,
How the jungle hums where the rivers go.
From Hampshire roots to the tropic flow,
Ask the forest, ask the wind-
I would know.

Bridge
Smithsonian honors her steady hand,
Mapping the life in a distant land,
Science and wonder in one true soul,
She's still out there takin' roll.

Verse 3
Every morning she greets the sky,
Names the birds as they driftin' by,
Tells the story the green leaves show,
Whispers low, I would know.

Final Chorus
I would know-oh, I would know,
How the jungle hums where the rivers go.
From Hampshire hills to the tropic glow,
Ask the forest, ask the wind-
I would know.



BUY ON BANDCAMP!

I Would Know

Firefighters battle massive fire at Amherst apartment complex. According to a news release from Amherst Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren, the fire was originally reported by 911 callers at 8:19 p.m. on Friday. Units arriving in the area discovered that a four-story building, which was under construction, was fully engulfed in flames, with fire spreading to nearby buildings. 


(Verse 1)
Night broke open on Kellogg Street,
Sirens cut through the autumn heat,
Wood frame rising, dreams half-made,
Now swallowed whole by the fire brigade.
Students watching with faces pale,
Ash like snow on the evening gale,
The lights of Amherst painted red,
Over the place where builders tread.
(Chorus)
Three-alarm fire, hearts in the smoke,
Hope turns to embers, faith to oak,
We stand in the glow where the rafters fall,
Three-alarm fire, it burned through all.
(Verse 2)
Windows cracking, beams collapse,
Engines roar through smoky gaps,
Ladders climbing, hoses scream,
Fighting the ghost of a vanished dream.
Chief calls orders through static haze,
Men and women move through the blaze,
Neighbors praying the flames will die,
While sparks write stories across the sky.
(Chorus)
Three-alarm fire, hearts in the smoke,
Hope turns to embers, faith to oak,
We stand in the glow where the rafters fall,
Three-alarm fire, it burned through all.
(Bridge)
By morning's light the cinders cool,
The air still thick, the silence cruel,
They'll build again, they always do,
From ashes rise a brighter view.
(Chorus - final)
Three-alarm fire, hearts in the smoke,
Hope turns to embers, faith to oak,
We stand in the glow where the rafters fall,
Three-alarm fire, we rise through it all.

Three Alarm Fire

When thousands of Massachusetts residents lost their SNAP benefits on November 1, one Holyoke girl decided to take action in her own community. 


Verse 1
When the SNAP checks stopped on November one,
Folks were hurting, the shelves were done.
A little girl saw what grown-ups missed,
Said, “I can help with hands like this.”

Chorus
Little food bank by the road,
Take what you need, lighten your load.
Kindness built from a child's hand,
Little food bank helps the land.

Verse 2
She found an old box by a maple tree,
Painted it bright so folks could see.
Cans and bread, a bit to share,
For anyone who needed care.

Chorus
Little food bank by the road,
Take what you need, lighten your load.
Kindness built from a child's hand,
Little food bank helps the land.

Verse 3
Her mama posted word online,
And neighbors gave what they could find.
Soon that box was full each day,
And hungry hearts had food to stay.

Chorus
Little food bank by the road,
Take what you need, lighten your load.
Kindness built from a child's hand,
Little food bank helps the land.

Verse 4
Now folks stop by with thanks to give,
A sign of hope for how we live.
One small heart began the spark,
That warms this town when times are dark.

Chorus
Little food bank by the road,
Take what you need, lighten your load.
Kindness built from a child's hand,
Little food bank helps the land.

Little Food Bank

Today I was thinking of the time I was booking bands at the Iron Horse in Northampton.  In 1994, I booked a band from Scotland called the Old Blind Dogs.  My band Woodkerne opened for them.  Their music still rings in my mind.  Here's a song that reminds me of them.
#OldBlindDogs #Woodkerne #IronHorse


Verse 1
When I was a-walking by the banks of the Ugee,
Come my dear friends and a story I'll relate,
I spied a dear comrade all dressed in white flannel,
Dressed in white flannel and cruel was his fate.

Chorus
Had he been a soldier, had he been a sailor,
Had he been a hero in battle array,
But he was a poor man, a poor man of sorrow,
And the white flannel shroud was the end of his day.

Verse 2
The cold wind was blowing, the river was rising,
The moon on the water threw silver and grey,
I knelt by his body and whispered a prayer,
For the soul of my comrade who'd drifted away.

Chorus
Had he been a soldier…

Verse 3
Now the Ugee keeps rolling, the years keep on turning,
But the notes of his fiddle still ring in my ear,
In the green room at Iron Horse, the laughter, the music,
Old Blind Dogs and Woodkerne - the night crystal clear.

Final Chorus
We were never soldiers, we were never sailors,
But we carried the songs through the cold and the rain,
And the white flannel memory still walks by the Ugee,
Till we meet on the banks of the river again.

Banks of the Ugee

Granby Preservation Society presents a Festival of Trees & Baskets 

November 29th and 30th, 2025 - Adam Sweet and Students from Granby Music will be performing Christmas Carols starting at 2pm

December 6th and 7th, 2025

11am - 6pm

250 State St Granby, MA

fundraising@granbypreservationsociety.org

413-218-1801

413-255-0712

All proceeds to benefit Kellogg Hall

Christmas at Kellogg Hall

Recorded under the Sweet Songs label and released through The Americana Project, “Northern Lights” captures a rare night when the skies over western Massachusetts came alive with color. The song tells the story of neighbors and families stepping outside to witness the aurora, weaving light and memory into a moment of shared wonder. Written and produced by Adam R Sweet, it blends heartfelt storytelling with the spirit of New England folk tradition—grounded, luminous, and deeply human. 

Verse 1
We stood out in the quiet fields near Granby,
Under a sky grown soft with November chill.
The trees were still, the air held its breath,
And the old farm fence caught the moon-glow on its rails.
Then came a shimmer, a ghostly green in the dark,
Waving through the branches above the valley.

Chorus
When the northern lights danced over western Massachusetts,
Like ribbons of hope across our silent nights.
In the hush we felt the earth and sky remember,
That something wild can reach beyond our sight.
Oh (avoiding “oh” per your preference) the lights they came, the lights they came…

Verse 2
I recalled my childhood nights with fiddle in my lap,
Dreams of far-away horizons under starlight's grip.
Here in my home-wood I found that same spark,
The sky unfolded secrets beyond our daily script.
My sons looked up, their faces drawn in awe,
As the colors drifted over roofs and winding roads.

Chorus
When the northern lights danced over western Massachusetts,
Like ribbons of hope across our silent nights.
In the hush we felt the earth and sky remember,
That something wild can reach beyond our sight.
The lights they came, the lights they came…

Bridge
Say goodbye to the small routines that anchor us,
Say hello to the moment when the sky becomes our mirror.
Even when the seasons change and the light slips away,
We'll carry that memory of wonder in the bones of this land.

Verse 3
Now I walk the ridge at dawn, footprints in frost,
Knowing that magic picks its time to show.
And though the years will shape us, bend us, slow us down,
There are nights when we remember how it felt to glow.
The fields will sleep, the snow may gather round the fence,
But the echo of those lights stays with our breath.

Chorus (repeat)
When the northern lights danced over western Massachusetts,
Like ribbons of hope across our silent nights.
In the hush we felt the earth and sky remember,
That something wild can reach beyond our sight.
The lights they came, the lights they came…

Outro
Let our hearts be open for the next time they'll appear,
And in the quiet of Massachusetts nights we'll listen.
For the sky to speak in colors we once thought too far away.

Northern Lights

Neolithic Chinese culture artifacts show systematic human bone modification. worked human bones are the result of an intricate relationship between the worker and the worked, associated with kinship and conflict.

Verse 1

By the wide Yangzi, where the waters bend,

Shadows of ancestors rise and descend,

Carved in the silence, marrow of stone,

Hands of the living shape the bones.



Refrain

Yangzi River bones, drifting with the tide,

Stories of the bloodline time cannot hide.



Verse 2

Echo of battles, kinship in flame,

Names forgotten, yet memory remains,

Honored in fragments, worked by hand,

Binding the people to the land.



Refrain

Yangzi River bones, drifting with the tide,

Stories of the bloodline time cannot hide.



Bridge

Not just remains but voices that sing,

Whispers of sorrow, of war and of kin,

From conflict's ashes the spirit grows,

The river remembers, the river knows.



Final Refrain

Yangzi River bones, carried on the tide,

Kinship and conflict forever allied.



Outro

By the wide Yangzi, the silence moans,

Forever we carry the Yangzi River bones.

Yangzi River Bones

A new track from Qin Silk Consort, released through Sweet Songs. “Taung Child” reflects on the small discovery that reshaped how we understand our beginnings, told with a gentle, thoughtful touch.
 #SweetSongs #QinSilkConsort #TaungChild
 


Recorded with the Qin Silk Consort, “Tahng Child” reflects on the discovery that changed how the world understood its own beginnings. The song follows the moment a small fossilized face emerged from the earth in South Africa, inviting scholars to rethink long-held assumptions and look with clearer eyes. It carries a quiet, steady warmth, shaped by string textures and an understated melodic line, honoring the way a single finding can shift an entire discipline. Gentle, reflective, and grounded in the spirit of honest inquiry, this track leans into stillness and wonder as it traces the legacy of the Tahng Child and the light it continues to cast on our shared story. 

the Taung Child shook up the scientific world Almost 100 years before calls to decolonize science, Taung was challenging researchers to reassess their internal biases. 


Verse 1
Long ago in a southern valley,
Hands uncovered a quiet face in stone.
Small as dawn and light as memory,
Carried forward from a world long gone.
Scholars paused and the story shifted,
Old ideas felt the edges move.

Chorus
Taung Child, rising from the earth,
Whispering truths we had yet to hear.
Teaching us how the past can open
When we learn to see with eyes unclouded.
Taung Child, still speaking clear.

Verse 2
Maps were drawn with a heavy leaning,
Lines decided long before the proof.
But the dust of ages held another meaning,
As the shape of history found its truth.
Quiet bones set the mind to wonder,
Where the path of humankind began.

Chorus
Taung Child, rising from the earth,
Whispering truths we had yet to hear.
Teaching us how the past can open
When we learn to see with eyes unclouded.
Taung Child, still speaking clear.

Bridge
Sometimes change begins in silence,
A single voice from long ago.
Asking us to let go lightly,
And follow where the evidence goes.

Final Chorus
Taung Child, rising from the earth,
Calling us back to what is real.
Showing the strength of honest learning,
When the heart is steady and the mind is still.
Taung Child, still speaking clear.


Taung Child

Sunken Silk Road city found as archaeologists discover ‘Atlantis’ in one of oldest lakes.  New findings confirm an ancient city, bustling with trade for over 1,500 years, was destroyed by a catastrophic quake. 
#QinSilkConsort #SweetSongs #SunkenSilkCity
 

Verse 1
By the edge of the oldest lake they wandered,
Traders once carried their silver and tea.
Caravans followed a path through the mountains,
Guided by lanterns that glowed in the breeze.
Stone walls held stories of many nations,
Voices that mingled in market and hall.

Chorus
Now the deep water keeps their footsteps,
Holding the rise and fall of the past.
Where boats once drifted on quiet mornings,
Columns rest peaceful beneath the glass.
The city sleeps in the lake's cool shadow,
Waiting in silence for daylight's track.

Verse 2
One night the ground shivered under the heavens,
Rumbled through valleys and ridges so wide.
Street after street gave way to the tremor,
Homes slipped slowly into the tide.
Yet those old patterns of woven culture
Still seem to shimmer where sunlight bends.

Chorus
Now the deep water keeps their footsteps,
Holding the rise and fall of the past.
Where boats once drifted on quiet mornings,
Columns rest peaceful beneath the glass.
The city sleeps in the lake's cool shadow,
Waiting in silence for daylight's track.

Bridge
If you lean close by the quiet shoreline,
Sometimes a ripple will shape a sound.
A hint of a song from long forgotten,
Echoing softly from where they drowned.

Final Chorus
Now the deep water keeps their footsteps,
Holding the rise and fall of the past.
Where boats once drifted on quiet mornings,
Columns rest peaceful beneath the glass.
The city sleeps in the lake's cool shadow,
Waiting in silence for daylight's track.

Sunken Silk City

How UMass, the Worst Team in College Football, Got Like This. The 2025 UMass Minutemen are making a strong case for the title of “worst FBS team in modern history.” 
#TheAmericanaProject #SweetSongsRecords #UMassMinutemen 


Verse 1
They charge onto the field with the drums still ringing
Fans in the bleachers wrapped up in the cold
Another long Saturday in the Pioneer Valley
Doing what they can with the hand they were dealt

Chorus
Give me a UMass minute
Hold on, they might just turn it around
Give me a UMass minute
They keep on standing their ground

Verse 2
Some say it's money, but the truth runs deeper
Plenty in the budget but the breaks don't land
Coaches keep hoping for a spark in the shadows
Trying to build momentum on stubborn sand

Verse 3
Still the team gathers by the goal-line huddle
Shoulders together in the fading light
One more chance to make the faithful cheer them
A little flash of glory before the night

Chorus
Give me a UMass minute
Hold on, they might just turn it around
Give me a UMass minute
They keep on standing their ground


UMass Minutemen

Walk Into the Light ist ein emotionaler Song über innere Stärke, Hoffnung und den Mut, das Alte loszulassen.
Der Song erzählt von einem stillen Moment der Entscheidung: nicht mehr im Schatten zu bleiben, sondern Schritt für Schritt dem eigenen Licht zu folgen.

Mit sanften Melodien, warmer Atmosphäre und ehrlicher Emotion lädt der Song dazu ein, nach vorne zu schauen – egal, wie dunkel der Weg zuvor war.
Ein Lied für alle, die heilen, wachsen und wieder an sich glauben.

Walk Into the Light”

If you like a song, please comment on the song track!  Thank you very much.

I Would Know

Sweet Songs for a New Generation