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From the Archives: Early and Final Versions of "Mother I Climbed" Lyrics (Patreon)

Published:
2026-04-22 19:42:04
Imported:
2026-10
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Hi friends! There was a lot of engagement by songwriters and listeners alike on my last post, where we looked at early and final versions of the lyrics to Dave Carter's "Walk With Me."

I'm back with early and final versions of "Mother I Climbed," a song so many of you love -- and one I surely don't perform often enough.

The large open space in this early version is exactly as I found it in his file, intentionally left blank for another verse. Note: there was no title in the file but the song was known informally as "Dark Womb," which I told him would never fly. We give thanks to the poet Alan Gann of Texas for encouraging Dave to consider "Mother I Climbed" instead.

There’s a LOT here. On the surface, “look away” becomes “open up your gate.” Just THAT feels huge to me.

A single chorus becomes many as the search sharpens, and the subject starts to reckon more directly with their guides.

I’m so, so curious what you hear!

What stands out right away?

What feels gained in the final version?

What, if anything, do you miss from the earlier lyrics?

What surprises you, if anything?

Do you notice any patterns between early/final versions of this song and "Walk With Me"? Anything resembling a "process"?

Juicy stuff! Chime in and let me know your thoughts.

AND while I have you ... here's a reminder that this coming Tuesday 4/28, Jim Henry and I will offer up our monthly livestream (#73!). You can join the broadcast via YouTube right --> here.

Thanks, friends! Stay well. More soon. xotg

Files

Comments

Ron Greitzer

Oh, wow, this one’s gonna take a while. I recall hearing the song early on, and was lucky enough to hear early versions of several songs, but you’ve opened up quite the box of Pandora’s worms with this one. The new/old lyric that blows my mind is "go mindful of your weakness, son, beware the fairie folk, be fruitful then and multiply your sins until you choke.” Just wow.

Tracy Grammer

Yes! That line in particular feels like a flash of uncontrolled anger/frustration either with the content or the writing process -- an expression of the shadow, as it were, that needed out before he could move on and uncover, then integrate, the real message of the song.

Ron Greitzer

I also notice the change from “broken promised land” to “broken promise land.” A one-letter change that speaks volumes.

Mark Hardy

Thank you for sharing this, Tracy. I am rather daunted about commenting here, in fear of making an embarrassing gaff from lack of understanding but also because I am likely to ramble and ask more questions than provide comments. Firstly, I think the FLOWER OF AVALON (FOA) version is a masterpiece of poetic lyrics. I would love to sing it when my guitar practice allows me; it's on the list :). For me at least, the lyrics indicate Dave's frustrations with religion, spiritual leaders or in finding a spiritual path that suits him. Am I correct in thinking that Dave was a practicing Buddhist when he wrote it? My next question is, who is Marianna/Mariana and why has he spelt her name differently? Is there a biblical connection (Mary/Anna) or a reference to Mahayana Buddhism? In the early Work In Progress (WIP) version, he asks her to look away (why?) while in the FOA version, he asks her to open up her gate, presumably to some promised land. In the WIP version, Dave refers to a forest, a cavern in a canyon while in the FOA version, he cites religious buildings or structures, an altar, a temple, a tainted chapel, the Tower of Babel, the Wailing Wall (?), which gives a sense of his increasing frustration with conventional religion. I could write more but this is already a lengthy comment, apologies. Thanks again.

Tracy Grammer

Mark, at this point we're all guessing since the source has fled the realm, so I hope you'll feel comfortable lobbing any ideas here. Nobody really knows, and my experience with songwriters is that even THEY can't fathom all the associations, metaphors, and revelations they've tapped and/or triggered in a set of lyrics. Songwriting isn't a fathoms-deep process for every writer, but it was for Dave most of the time. To your questions: Yes, he was a practicing Buddhist. And yes to a biblical connection for Marianna. Marys in all their permutations, including the Marian sect of Catholicism. Mahayana Buddhism feels possible knowing how Dave relied on the semantics of sound first, and words second.