Shine On, Ad Astra  

Concieved, writ and produced by Macy/White 2016

(with help from Peery, Penner and Price, LLC)

The Oregon Trail winds its way from the home of the Santa Fe Railway

Cheyenne braves, amber waves, Free State Slaves of the Ninnescah

They had their fill so Mennonite will pioneered north of Wichita

Ad Astra shine on…

From Nicodemus, where Lord Jesus told the black man he’d free us

Now we’re calling on John Brown – a spirit from your very own hometown,

A Luminary from the prairie – Potawatomi bygone

Ad Astra shine on…

Presidents and malcontents all set the precedence

Quantrill’s raid, a tirade - brokered arrogance

Carry Nation, pure damnation ringing dust to dawn

Shine on, Ad Astra, shine on.

Tall Grass Ocean in slow motion – a milkweed genesis

Free at last, unsurpassed goodwill of the cowboy exodus,

Elevator grain, Conestoga train, refrain of a westward manifest

Ad Astra, shine on…

Barnstormers, reformers, trail blazers, stargazers

Keepers of the flame

Wheat shockers, flint rockers

Colonizing & baptizing - To the stars! People of the plains

Zebulon Pike, oh and I like Ike - both brothers of the land of the Southwind

A flyer named Clyde & William Allen White – progressives for the middleman

Amelia’s flight and then her fight for the goddam Woman’s right

Shine on …

From Sharon Springs to Abilene - Let freedom ring

Hear the cottonwood sing and a meadowlark call for the restoration of Udall

Back in ‘55 a twister from the sky left ‘em high and dry – but they didn’t run

Chautauqua Hills, Smokey River thrills, windmills spin the glory

Harnessing the breeze, pretty as you please, it’s our own love story

It's honey from the comb, a place that we call home where the buffalo roamed…

Shine on, Ad astra, shine on.....

Recorded at Greenjeans Studios, Wellington, Kansas (like Bartlett Arboretum, an unexpected jewel of Sumner County) by Carter Green, engineer, on one hellova hot July day in 2016

Produced by Kentucky White

Featuring members of Sycamore Swing, great musicians from both the tall and short grass prairies:

Drums - Brandon Lee Blackburn of Hutchinson

Upright acoustic bass - Nathan Eicher of Tulsa, Oklahoma

Fiddle - Tulsa Playboy, Shelby Eicher

Steel Guitar - Tulsa Playboy, Steve Bagsby

Guitars - Kentucky White, Belle Plaine

Vocals - The Cherokee Maidens who are Robin Macy, Monica Taylor, Lauren White

Stunning Kansas images by John Morrison: PrairieVistas.com