LYRICS to "Welcome Home"
© 2023, Gordon Thomas Ward

My home state has a different state of mind. 
When I have to leave, I miss her every time.
From the harbors to the highlands, from Aroostook to the bays,
This corner of our country’s doin’ fine. 

And you mighta heard you can’t get theyah from heyah,
But we’ll point you in the right direction, deayah.
From the forests of Paul Bunyan to our wild blueberry fields,
Yes, Dirigo won’t disappoint you theyah. 

From the Allagash to Androscoggin,
Fishin’ boats and timber loggin’,
Maine’s the way that life’s supposed to be.
Lobster rolls and cans of Moxie,
Dawnland of the Wabanaki,
Mount Katahdin to the rocky sea,
We’ve got Paris. We’ve got Rome.
Welcome home. 

And if you’re a fan of blueberry pie
Or popovers that reach up to the sky,
We’ve even got a desert, white pine, moose, and chickadee.
It’s all here January or July. 

Climb a trail and breathe those mountain winds
Where it’s hard to tell where earth and sky begins.
We’re the home of Stephen King, but the scariest Maine thing
Is tellin’ people that you’ve never been. 

Chorus 

Cadillac and tourmaline,
Lighthouses and L.L. Bean,
Hardest workin’ folks you’ll ever know.
There’s Acadia and Caribou.
Presque Isle’s not an isle, that’s true,
But we’re the first to see God’s sunrise glow.
Only heaven has a better view, you know.

[lead break] 

Cross that Piscataqua, roll your windows down.
Some head to Portland, some are Baxter bound.
Midcoast to Downeast, whoopie pies are quite a feast.
4,000 islands you can sail around.

And you mighta heard you can’t get theyah from heyah,
But we’ll point you in the right direction, deayah.
From the forests of Paul Bunyan to our wild blueberry fields,
Yes, Dirigo won’t disappoint you theyah.
No, Dirigo won’t disappoint you theyah. 

Chorus x2
Welcome home.
Welcome home.
Welcome.

"Welcome Home" is my brand new single that celebrates Maine! If you love this state, as I do, think of this song as its anthem.

Click on the “play” button to listen, and/or click on the image to download. Please share with those you know, and enjoy!

The official release date was June 27, 2023. The song was written in March of 2023 and recorded in Frog Hollow Studio in Topsham, Maine. The studio's owner and the song's engineer, mixer, and co-producer is Jud Caswell, who, by the way, is the best!

Here's the list of the track's musicians and their contributions toward the song. 
Gordon Thomas Ward: composer, lyricist, vocals, guitar, shaker, and wood block 
Andy Happel: finest fiddle you're fit to find!
Scott Elliott: awesome, acoustic bass to back the band!