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A Song for the First of May

May 1, 2018

Even the heartiest of South Dakotans might mutter a nasty word or two under their breath at the sight of snowflakes on May 1, especially after a particularly long, cold winter. Eliza Blue, however, wrote a song about it.

The Perkins County singer/songwriter is releasing her newest single today. "South Dakota, 1st of May" is a beautiful rendition of that period when spring struggles to gain control over winter.

"I wrote the opening verse for this song the first spring I lived in South Dakota after it snowed on May 1," Blue says. "I am from Minnesota, so I am no stranger to long, cold winters, but that May 1 dusting, combined with the endless wind, made me realize I was in for something pretty different here."
 
"This winter has been similarly epic. Christian Begeman and I had to delay our filming date for the video after a spring snow storm in early April. You can see the remnants of it in the background. We'd hoped to go out to the pasture to film, but the drifts made the road impassable, and we had to settle for the yard."
 
"The bottom line: There is no doubt, you have to be pretty tough to be a Dakotan!"
 
Blue grew up in Minnesota, went to college on the East Coast and has lived in New York City and Portland, Maine. She now lives on a ranch in Perkins County with her husband, Max Loughlin, children Wesley (2) and Emmy Rose (1), a herd of sheep and some chickens.
 
"South Dakota, 1st of May" is the title track of Blue's new CD, which will be released in July. You can read more about that in our upcoming July/August issue, but for now, listen as Blue conveys, like no one else can, the changing of the seasons. 

 

Comments

09:14 am - Sat, May 2 2020
Jean Nelson said:
Are you the Eliza Blue who wrote the "Our unstable Industrialized Food Chain" article for the NYTimes? If so, please contact me. I am a consumer who would like to break the current Smithfield and big business monopoly. Any suggestions? NY
where I live is so far from your mom-and-pop ranchers and custom butcher shops but there must be a way to connect. Let's work together to figure it out. Hope to hear from you. Home phone is 914 771-9446 is you what to chat.
12:51 pm - Sun, May 3 2020
Maria Cortes said:
Hello, wonderful column in the NYT! I was also wondering how we can get product from a farm like yours directly to consumers, skipping the mega Smithfield plant.
Smithfield is emblematic of big business and greed!

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