this is not a trad song. Written by Colleen Anderson. But a wonderful song and very true and poignant - one that if I were a betting woman, I'd bet will find its way "into the tradition."


West Virginia Chose Me (Colleen Anderson)

Someone's always leaving here, it's just that kind of place

It's just that kind of world today you learn to live with loss

The grass is always greener there, just on the other side

The air is always cleaner there, the sky is twice as wide

I'm not the type to argue, I won't say it isn't true

It's just the kind of place for passing through.



Tom's in California now, and John's up north in Maine

Will went down to Raleigh, says he won't be back again

Annie's in Chicago and she likes it by the lake

Even Katie crossed the border, finally made the break

And if I had a dollar for every time I've said goodbye

There's nothing in this world I couldn't buy.



Chorus

But a few of us are staying and it's not a point of choice

It's not we who do the choosing we are chosen by the place

And West Virginia Chose Me, sure as my own mother knows me

If I leave you West Virginia, it don't matter where I roam

I don't know where I'm going, but I know I'm coming home.



They say home is where the heart is, and I guess that's true enough

But the heart's a stubborn muscle and there's no explaining love

I dream of higher mountains, and a cottage by the sea

But West Virginia won't let go of me.

Chorus

And a few of us are staying and it's not a point of choice

It's not we who do the choosing we are chosen by the place

And West Virginia Chose Me, sure as my own mother knows me

If I leave you West Virginia, it don't matter where I roam

I don't know where I'm going, but I know I'm coming home.


Not my favorite recording, (Becky Kimmons' a capella recording with an early permeation of Soup Kitchen is my favorite) but still a decent one is Mountain Thyme recording of West Virginia Chose Me