Great River of the North ( #AtoZChallenge & #BOTB Results )

       Your view of the river depends on which side of the river you're looking from.  One person might see a scenic wonder while another might see a formidable barrier that must be crossed over in order to continue a journey.  Then there are those for whom the river is the journey...

 

Great River of the North

         Great River of the North is an official name of a river most of us know about but maybe don't know by that name.  Running nearly 1900 miles from Colorado through New Mexico and traversing Texas until the waters empty into the Gulf of Mexico, this Great River forms the natural border between the United States of America and Mexico.  It's that river so often in the news in recent years.  In other words it's the river those in the U.S. know as the Rio Grande.

       In Mexico the Rio Grande is known as Rio Bravo del Norte--or to some a border that must be crossed.  When I've crossed on foot over to the Mexican border towns of Piedras Negras, Nuevo Laredo, Ojinaga, and Ciudad Acuna, I would always pause in the middle of crossing the bridges passing over this border river to look down into the muddy waters and the vegetated shorelines and ponder those thousands, or millions, of travelers who had crossed over to the United States for whatever reason they may have had.  Then I would continue on to get some Mexican food and a few souvenirs--usually in the form of liquor.  

        The rivers of the western United States conjure up a wild history in my mind.  Rivers such as the Gallatin River in Wyoming and Montana, Gunnison River of Colorado, the Gila River in New Mexico and Arizona, and Green River in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming take my mind to days of cowboys and western bound settlers headed for new homes.  Those rivers also remind me of the indigenous peoples who lived in those watershed areas and saw the rivers as sacred givers (and takers) of life.

         The rivers of the West played a vital role in shaping the United States into the country it is today.  Those rivers continue to play an important part in the country's development and demographics.  They are all "great" rivers, but only one carries the name of being "great" and that's the Rio Grande.

Battle of the Bands Results

Colors of the Rivers

         As I mentioned in the Battle post that preceded this one, I dedicated it to Marvin Lowe, a Tennessean whom I have know since high school over fifty years ago.  Back in the late sixties and early seventies we both kept up with popular music, buying as many record albums as we could afford.  We would introduce each other to discoveries we had made and delight in sharing our favorite music.

       One of the albums that Marvin introduced to me in 1970 was the one by Australian group Christie that included the song "Yellow River."   He was a big fan of the song which had been getting considerable radio play in Knoxville as well as the rest of the country.  On hearing the song I too fell in love with it.  "Yellow River" is definitely my pick in this pairing.

        In my Battle, like Stephen T McCarthy said in his comment, I figured that "Green River" originally being the bigger hit by the most well-known group would win this Battle handily.  Maybe it was because I used Elton John over the country group Alabama that more voters went for "Yellow River" instead.  Whatever the case, I actually thought the recording of "Green River" was the better of the two versions I chose.  In fact I personally like the Alabama recording better than the one by CCR, which is a great recording itself.   

        So, this Battle was a surprise outcome for me and my favorite song "Yellow River" was the winner of this Battle.  Sometimes these Battles just don't turn out like expected!  Still it wasn't a bad outcome...

Final Vote Tally

Yellow River      11 votes

Green River         6 votes

Next Battle of the Bands on Thursday April 15th

       But be sure to keep coming back for all of the upcoming A to Z posts as well.  Daily.   Except for Sundays.