TREELINE is a original acoustic folkie roots band featuring the music of singer songwriter Gregory Swain. Our first CD release, Back to the Roots, features Robert Bourrie on bass, Jonathan Ison on percussion and recorder, and Tom Neale on dobro and lapsteel.
We’re already well into a second CD, Rock and Root, where we expand our palette to include more guest performances by plugging Robert in and untethering Jonathan from his cajon. This time around you can expect some of Swain’s songs to feature fiddle, accordion, sax, keyboards, and of course ukulele. Nevertheless, we’ll stay true to our roots and record the room live off the floor as much as we can for the most intimate listening experience.
Steffi G of York Region Open Mic will also join us for backup vocals and we’ll include a couple of her own original songs on the roster. She is the progenitor of the band because TREELINE was born from the community of her York Region Open Mic music scene.
We recorded Back to the Roots over three sessions in the loft of a horse barn at Waking Life Studios northwest of Toronto in Palgrave, Ontario. The album was co-produced, mixed, and mastered by owner Dayne Polney. This spring we’ll be returning to record Rock and Root, our second submission to the Canadian canon of original independent artists.
TREELINE is most often sighted in the wild at Farmers Markets, summer festivals, community concerts, charity events, kitchen parties, and in various configurations at Open Mics from Markham to Newmarket to Toronto. We can configure the band to suit any venue and proudly play original music, acoustic or electric, indoors or out.
You can follow us on Instagram, or sign up for Steffi’s weekly York Region Open Mic newsletter where you can also stay tuned into the York Region music scene and gigging opportunities. YROM has spawned several bands since its inception in 2012. It is a growing and evolving community network where you can support live music by being the live music!
We’ll let you know where and when you can find us!
I’m just a poor wayfaring stranger
Travelling through this world of woe
But there’s no sickness no toil or danger
In the bright land to where I go
I’m just going to see my mother
Said she’d meet me when I come
I’m just going over Jordan
I’m just going way back home
I know dark clouds will gather round me
I know my road is rough and steep
But golden fields lie just before me
Where they dig the graves so deep
I’m just going to see my father
I’m going there no more to roam
I’m just going over Jordan
I’m just going way back home
All my trials will soon be over
My body will sleep in the deep dark ground
I’ll drop this cross of self-denial
My soul will sing a beautious sound
I’m just going to see my mother
Said she’d meet me when I come
I’m just going over Jordan
I’m just going way back home
Anonymous circa 1850. Most folks only sing the first two verses, it was a challenge to find the third, and I’ve heard versions with father or mother choruses but combine them both herein.
Twisted branches reaching up for the sky
Fingers climbing to the sun
Like the leaves our love had to die
The bond between us came undone
In the morning when I look into your eyes
Something happened to the fun
Now that winter’s here and the snow will start to fly
Who has lost and who has won
Lonely midnight train are you going my way
Will you offer me a ride
Looking out an empty Pullman at the passing day
Brings me peace of mind
If I could see you again there’s so much I would say
But I’m running out of time
A new town along the rounds I think I’ll stay
And see who’s here to find
The wind is whining in the trees on the edge of town
It’s singing me a song
Walking in the snow leaving foot prints on the ground
They will melt before too long
I am so far away I never will be found
I can’t feel that I belong
So when the morning comes I’ll leave without a sound
You won’t miss me when I’m gone
GDS 1981ish
I’ve not see you for such a very long time
I’ve been living in this dream
There were children and there are parents too
These days we’re somewhere in between
And there’s a river that runs between us
No bridge or boat in sight
I am shouting from the shoreline
Swim with all your might
I’ve been living I’ve been dying too
These days I’m somewhere in between
And I’ve been laughing I’ve been drying too
Looking back at who I’ve been
And there’s a mountain in between us
No bridge or rad in sight
I am shouting down the valley
Climb with all your might
There are students there are teachers too
We are somewhere in between
There are prophets there are preachers too
And still we don’t know what it all means
There’s a river that runs between us
No bridge or road in sight
I am shouting from the shoreline
Swim with all your might
There are dreamers there are doers too
You and I are somewhere in between
There are winners there are losers too
Are we as lucky as it seems?
There’s a mountain in between us
No bridge or road in sight
I am shouting from the shoreline
Climb with all your might
And there’s a river that runs between us
No bridge or boat in sight
I am shouting from the shoreline
Swim with all your might
⁃ gds June 2017
For my kid brother, who lives on the other side of the Rocky Mountains and Athabasca River.
You’re standing at the trailhead of tomorrow
Your whole life starts again today
Find the meaning of your memories
For there’s a price you have to pay
Count the people who have loved you
And those you’ve touched in turn
There are blessings in the details
And wisdom left to earn
Follow your heart into tomorrow
There’s still so much left to learn
Moonrise over Manitoulin
Shimmering silver on Georgian Bay
We’ll catch the falling stars till morning
Then stay in bed the whole next day
Count the people who have touched you
And those you’ve loved in turn
There are blessing in the details
And bridges left to burn
Follow your heart into tomorrow
There’s still so much left to learn
Take my hand and walk a while
All we’ve ever owned is time
And we are living in this moment
Of the never ending rhyme
Count the people who have loved you
And those you’ve touched in turn
There are blessings in the details
And wisdom left to learn
Follow your heart into tomorrow
There’s still so much left to learn
Feb 2017
Am I making love to you
Or just breaking your heart
Sometimes it’s hard to tell these things
Been that way from the start
I have never felt this way
Never been here before
How much of you can I drink in
Still be thirsty for more
And oh how I love to miss you
When you’re not around
Like all the roads we did not take
What was lost will be found
I’m still heading westward
Damn near wore out my boots
I’ll be at my destination
When I’m back to the roots
So pull my big brown boots on
I’m going for a hike
See that red head sun go down
Fly my heart like a kite
So am I making love to you
Or just breaking your heart
Only time will tell these things
Been that way from the start
It’s been that way from the start
Sukkot 2015