"Ocklawahaman" hopes to have a playable song for everybody to hear soon -- it may appear first on the "RICK PERRY for State House" campaign website. IMHO, it may be the best and most factual Ocklawaha song ever written and musically performed. I will let y'all be the judge after I am able to direct you to where you FOR-FREE can listen to it. "Crooked River With Big Old Trees, Ocklawaha, Set Her Free" Original Lyrics by "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca (11 July 2012) Revised 06 August 2016 as "Ocklawaha, Set Her Free" Revised Lyrics by "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca, Wendy Music, and Captain Erika Ritter Vocals by Wendy Music and Musical Accompaniment by Jim Music LYRICS Silver Springs to the St. Johns wide A fifty-six-mile canoeing ride She lost her freedom at Rodman Dam Blocking striped bass wasn't Nature's plan Crooked river, big old trees Ocklawaha, set her free That crooked river, them big old trees Ocklawaha, let's set her free Virgin cypress, tall tupelo grow Artesian springs enter her shaded flow Catch largemouth bass from my canoe Remove that Dam, there'll be stripers too Crooked river, big old trees Ocklawaha, set her free That crooked river, them big old trees Ocklawaha, let's set her free Crooked river, big old trees Ocklawaha, set her free That crooked river, them big old trees Ocklawaha, let's set her free Bellowing gators and drake wood ducks Wild hogs, turkeys, and whitetail bucks Manatees, black bears, and sandhill cranes Reckon her water runs through my veins Crooked river, big old trees Ocklawaha, set her free That crooked river, them big old trees Ocklawaha, let's set her free Cry the ghosts of ivorybills Haunting them virgin cypress trees Ocklawaha, Ocklawaha, let's set her free -------------------------------------------------------- "Ocklawahaman" NOTE: Of course "ivorybills" (in the song) refers to that iconic symbol of the wilderness swamplands of the South -- the IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER (Campephilus principalis). Also known as the "Lord God Bird", the last credible ivory-billed woodpecker sighting in the Ocklawaha River basin was in 1949. Many of the Ocklawaha River swamp's remaining ancient baldcypress trees exhibit old and somewhat large nest-cavity holes -- quite possibly used in the distant past by ivorybills. -------------------------------------------------------- Show your support for the free migration -- St. Johns River to Silver Springs -- of the Florida manatee, channel catfish, and Atlantic-race STRIPED BASS. Note that the native Atlantic-race STRIPED BASS lost its only suitable spawning habitat of the entire St. Johns River basin (and the most southern in the U.S.) when Rodman (Kirkpatrick) Dam was closed across the Ocklawaha River on September 30, 1968. Riverine LARGEMOUTH BASS have been native to the Ocklawaha River for thousands of years -- they don't need Rodman Dam or Rodman Reservoir for their survival! Thank you to all that have already signed this petition FOR-FREE and desire a free-flowing "Source to the Sea" 56-mainstream-mile "Real-Florida-By-God" Ocklawaha River - Silver River - Silver Springs system! Encourage others and spouses and/or significant others to do the same! Remember that in the "Rough and Tumble" of politics, TWO (or THREE) votes beats ONE! Are we serious about getting Ocklawaha restoration started in earnest? Or? Please be aware that many active public employees of the Federal or State (of Florida) governments who agree with this "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" petition will be very reluctant to sign it publicly because of social media policies that may apply to them -- they have their careers, retirements, and families to consider! "Ocklawahaman" understands their situation because I was a U.S. and Florida governmental employee before retirement. Thanks for your support! Sincerely, "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca.