Juniper Willow — An adult wandering herbalist gathers luminous plants between a blue-green juniper and silver willow beside a brilliant Central Valley canal

The songbook

Juniper Willow

Words by Douglas Heyes Jr. Listen to the recorded versions and follow the lyric below.

Original Doug Heyes lyrics · AI-generated music & vocals

A shapeshifting sea witch draws the narrator through coastal celebrations, secret books, forests and shifting scenes of danger. Mythic romance repeatedly meets confusion, injury and conflict, making the promised freedom uncertain. Through each transformation, Juniper remains the companion he addresses with a final vow that travel and change will not undo his love.

Listen

Recorded versions

3 recordings. Different voices and arrangements bring another side of the song into the light.

Lyrics

Juniper Willow

Words by Douglas Heyes Jr

Save Lyrics as Text
JUNIPER WILLOW

Juniper Willow lives down by the Sea
She's just like you, but a lot more like me
She's a sea witch with the brightest of means
She stopped growing older when she was in her teens
She's a Shapeshifter, I thought that you should know
You will only find her where the 7 Winds still blow
She is my one true Lover, if you really must know
Jennifer Willow, my Love, I promise you only God knows

There's a commotion just over in town
Here by the Ocean, as the Sun’s going down
You'd better take caution
Because you're on Hallowed Ground
Just tiptoe around, try to keep the noise down
Or tongues will be wagging when you’re not around
Can you feel the Thunder down under the ground?
Is it water you're under, are you going to drown?

Juniper Willow turned herself around
Nobody knew she was there
Like a Ballerina, she did not make a sound
Lightning and Thunder, the Rain hitting the ground
There was a Celebration down in the Village Square
Dancing and Singing out in the open air
Felt like the beginning of La Belle Grande Opére
Everyone happy and devil may care

She was standing alone at the top of the stairs
Silk slippers on her feet, and Flowers in her hair
I could not believe that I was even there
I guess maybe it could have been anywhere
A White Dove flew over the Renaissance Faire
I was in Love with my sweet Maiden Fair
Cinnamon Sage, and the taste of fresh air
Sweet Ginger spice and her long Golden Hair

If I have a Memory in my Silver Box
It was like a Fantasy out there on the Rocks
I opened the Lock on a Silk Chinese Box
As all the Good Shepherds were tending their Flocks
I heard the ticking of a Grandfather Clock
A deep voice was singing tick-a-toc and tic-a-toc
I went out on a Hunt and fell into a Trap
I was just stranded there flat on my back

I heard the Sirens Singing
So beautiful, so clear
Valhalla waits upon the shore
At the Golden Hills of Evermore
I keep coming back for more
I Swear it’s the very last time
On this Journey to a distant land
I almost lost my Mind

There was no way around it
It was not the way I planned
And no simple solution
That I could even understand
Beware, they said, The Ides of March
All Hail the Constitution
If we can negotiate an appropriate solution
Then we will be Free Men again
Though our Life’s at its conclusion

People riot in the streets
It adds to the confusion
On your marks, get set and go
This could be a delusion
You cannot breathe, you cannot move
From a deep spinal contusion
And deep within your Castle Keep
You know it's an illusion

Her Violet eyes may smile again
My sweet and loving, gentle friend
Do you recall when we were 10?
Playing ball and just pretend?
When we come to the bitter end
When we've been there and back again
There won't be time to make amends
But we might have a fence to mend

Just Upstream in Willowbrook
She took a look inside the book
The book of secret, hidden things
The Treasury of Queens and Kings
There was a message written there
That she did not care to share
High aloft up in the air
She vanished like she wasn't there

She hurried off into the Forest
To her coastal Redwood Tree
She reached out her tiny hand
And was beckoning to me
One of 7 Vestal Virgins
From the Heights of Palomar
The incense was a Egyptian
With a scent like Shalimar

I stumbled forward like a kid
She was going to set me free
After all the things I did
And what was happening to me
I ran right up the mountain trail
I was searching for the Holy Grail
Another night Beyond The Pale
Won't you listen to The 4 Winds wail

The sky cracked open, it began to hail
Our efforts and our energies were all to no avail
The Royal Cascade Waterfall
Crashed down over the rail
While The Echoes down the Hallowed Halls
Like Alice when she's 10 feet tall
And there's no Rhyme or Reason
To know anything at all

Beset by Roman soldiers
Who came crashing through the wall
Fought them back with all we had
Right until the final fall
I'd say it was a fall from grace
But, that does not encapsulate
The hopelessness and righteousness
The viciousness and hate

Juniper’s an Elfin Sprite
She likes to just come out at Night
Underneath the pale Moonlight
If you're going to do it, do it right
The Stars are shining bright tonight
Sunrise at New Morning Light
I promise that it's quite all right
To stay together one more night

Juniper, you are my one Twin Flame
We've gone round the bend and back Again
If this, by chance, should be the End
I ask you to Remember when
You were my One and Only Friend
The sweetest of Surrenders, then
By the dying embers Fire low
There is one thing you should know
Wherever we go, whatever we do
I'll always be in Love with you
*********