Information/Write-up
Dave Baker, born and raised in Nanaimo and Duncan, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, recorded this, his first album of West Coast folk, in 1973 on Stamp Records.
“It is the ambition of every songwriter to put into words and music his emotions, his experiences, and his way of life. Dave Edmund Baker, a native of Vancouver Island, reveals, in this his first album, a personal sensitivity towards life itself yet at the same time captures the spirit of the West Coast. From the haunting melody of “Kettle Valley Line” to the uptempo strains of “Now and Then”; from the reflective mood of “The Pain Lingers On For Awhile” to the driving rhythm of West Coast Logger Saga – this is Dave Baker…And it is my pleasure to introduce him to you.”
-Gerry Massop, Country Music News
Dave has lived in Port Alberni, Squamish, and Sechelt, and currently resides in Maple Ridge. He continues to record music about the West Coast and Railways.
Recorded at Studio 3, Vancouver
Produced by Jake Doell
Photography by Robert James
Recording Engineer: Don, Tap & Geoff
Manufactured and distributed by Quality Records
"Looking at a map, the Kettle Valley Line appears to have run a rather squiggly route between Midway to Hope BC, a distance of 525 km (325 miles). After a short run nor'west then sou'west from the main CPR line in Midway (which is between Grand Forks and Osoyoos), the line struck north along the West Kettle River. Then it circled around to the south at Myra Canyon and entered Penticton from the north running alongside Okanagan Lake for a time. It followed Trout River northwest and then along Hayes Creek to Princeton. From there the line headed north eventually joining what is now the Coquihalla Highway, roughly 40 km south of Merritt at a point called Brodie. If you drive through there you can see the old track bed in several places, particularly to the west of the highway at the bottom of Larsen's Hill. The line then worked its way south, along the route of the Coquihalla, ending in Hope where it joined existing rail lines that ran along the Fraser to Vancouver. Anyone who has driven the Coquihalla Highway will appreciate the difficulty chief engineer Andrew McCulloch must have had laying this line." source: http://www.irontrail.ca/KVL.html
Kettle Valley Line lyrics:
It's the Kettle Valley Railroad, my son,
the Kettle Valley Line.
From Hope through to Princeton, Penticton, past Trail,
to the Crow's Nest - on out to the plain.
A few years ago now, when I was a boy,
I remember so vividly well,
a still mountain lake rimmed with swamp-grass and reeds
and a soft hue when cool darkness fell.
Beside the still water lay steel rails and ties
an old water tower stood by,
so I asked my father, "What is this I see?"
He turned and he said with a smile,
It's the Kettle Valley Railroad, my son,
the Kettle Valley Line.
From Hope through to Princeton, Penticton, past Trail,
to the Crow's nest - on out to the plain.
From off in the distance, so faintly I heard
the wail of an old locie song.
Closer and closer it echoed and rang
through the peace that had lingered so long.
Then all at once came a bright pencil beam
that pierced through the still mountain night.
That old faithful workhouse of black steel and fire
came rolling along into sight.
It's the Kettle Valley Railroad, my son,
the Kettle Valley Line.
From Hope through to Princeton, Penticton, past Trail,
to the Crow's nest - on out to the plain.
A cool drink of water is all that she needs
and then she must be on her way.
There are sixty-six people who trust in her well
to take them to lands far away.
With a hot burst of steam and a heave and a groan
she ventured on into the night.
Her cry of farewell echoed soft though the trees
and memory so dear in my life.
It's the Kettle Valley Railroad, my son,
the Kettle Valley Line.
From Hope through to Princeton, Penticton, past Trail,
to the Crow's nest - on out to the plain.
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