Grand Coulee's place in music history

Grand Coulee and its dam have been mentioned in songs by a number of popular artists over the years.

Woody Guthrie started things off, penning a number of songs in 1941 mentioning Grand Coulee Dam. Most obvious is the song "Grand Coulee Dam," but the dam is also mentioned in what is easily one of the most famous and hauntingly beautiful folk songs ever written, "Pastures of Plenty," where Guthrie sings "Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground/From the Grand Coulee Dam where the waters run down."

Bob Dylan has covered both of these songs, as have a large number of other artists such as Pete Seeger and Peter, Paul & Mary. Lonnie Donegan recorded a version of "Grand Coulie Dam" (sic), which became a huge hit in England in 1958.

Dylan went on to pen a scathing song of scorn called "Idiot Wind" in 1974 about a girl who got under his skin. Guthrie's dam imagery clearly got stuck in Dylan's head as he goes on to sing "Idiot wind/Blowing like a circle around my skull/From the Grand Coulee Dam to the capitol."

In the late 1960s, Brian Wilson, eccentric leader of the Beach Boys, wrote some songs on the piano he had in a giant sandbox he'd had installed in his living room, one of which, called "Cabin Essence," has harmonies singing, "Have you seen the Grand Coulee... working on the Grand Coulee..." The album, "Smile," which was to include the song, was notoriously unfinished and shelved for years until Wilson eventually re-recorded the album in 2004.

In 2014, The Black Prairie, a hip indie/bluegrass/rock band from Portland, Oregon, released a song called "The 84" about traveling and relaxing on the road. Vocalist Annalisa Tornfelt sings "All the way to Grand Coulee/I've got the tunes picked out for you baby/Leaving everything behind/Heading up the road for a real good time."

Also in 2014, Chris Staples, who plays indie rock, released a song called "Grand Coulee Band," in which he sings "New Year's Eve 1964/Leaning over Grand Coulee Dam/Bottle of warm champagne/Wilted flowers in my hand." We can only wonder what incident this is referring to.

Yep, our small town and its dam continue to inspire and find their way into songs, now spanning over 75 years of music history.

Links to some of this music are provided in the online version of this story at grandcoulee.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg7IGuDsI3Y - The 84, by The Black Prairie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ3Z8BfwDzw - Chris Staples, Grand Coulee Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pw6hOJJD9o&frags=pl%2Cwn - Cabin Essence, Brian Wilson, Grand Coulee mentioned 2:19

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekseenAzRRY&frags=pl%2Cwn - Idiot Wind alternate take, Dylan, GCD mentioned 4:44

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMvMtIYCPH4 - Pastures of Plenty, Guthrie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0tpVUfgf7A - Grand Coulee Dam, Lonnie Donegan tv appearance