From the recording The River Keeps on Flowing
River Afternoon was my first song written way back in 1978. I started my whitewater career in 1974 as one of 3 owners of Sundance Expeditions, a rafting and kayaking company on the beautiful Rogue River in southern Oregon. I left there in 1978 and I wanted to memorialize my time there in a song. One night jamming around with Steve Moddemeyer in Seattle I wrote the structure and Steve came up with some partial lyrics. That's as far as it went until some pre-production work occurred with Grant Stott in 2002. Originally titled Rogue River Afternoon, I made it more generic and Jeff took it to it's current form, beautifully reflecting my feelings about the care free life style of floating wild and scenic rivers.
Lyrics
RIVER AFTERNOON Casey Garland, Steve Modameyer
Floating down this River on a summer day
singing out this happy song
All the clouds have drifted out of sight
sun is shining, wind is calm
Yeah we're driftin' on this River after-noon
Oh, lazy, warm and gentle afternoon
Osprey soar above us, we drift below in graceful motion
In harmony, nothin' matters, today we're free
I’ll just keep on singing this melody
la la la la la la
Now we're driftin' on this River after-noon
Oh, lazy warm and gentle afternoon
Osprey soar above us, we drift below in graceful motion
To the sea, ain’t got no worries, I feel free
I’ll just keep on singing this melody
la la la la la la
Ahhh Ahhh OOhhh