Inspired by their own backyard adventures, The Okee Dokee Brothers currently perform original music that reminds audiences of their own make-believes and treehouse-pretendings. Listening to their banjo and guitar is like Huck and Tom whitewater rafting with Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger down the Mississippi. The Okee Dokee Brothers believe that music should be an energetic, interactive, and fun experience where kids can enjoy dancing, singing and playing instruments with their families.
As an independently managed band, the young duo has gained a loyal grassroots following that is drawn to their witty lyrics, off-the-wall humor, strong musicianship, and unique folk style. By appealing to the musical needs of the entire family and recognizing that kids deserve quality music, The Okee Dokee Brothers are working full-time to regain the integrity of the children’s music genre.
The Great Divide
The Okee Dokee Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a great divide that makes the rivers and the rains
Flow to the western ocean or run through the eastern plains
So you go east and I go west
You go where the sun rises and I go where it sets
When I'm down in the valley
On my side of the line
It's hard to know that your hill
That mountaintop between us
Is the only place to see the other side
So let's meet up in the middle
Along the great divide
The road is rocky, the trail is steep
The cliffs get higher where the river runs deep
And it's not easy to look at what divides us
But if we do, we might find it's the same thing that unites us (Chorus)
Up above the treeline two paths become one
And as we ride together, two sides become none
Finding common ground is a tricky thing to do
But on the top of a mountain we can share a point of view (Chorus)
In The Great Divide, The Okee Dokee Brothers highlight the geographical and metaphorical divisions that exist between people, and how we must navigate these in order to find common ground. The song starts by describing the physical "great divide" that separates the Western and Eastern regions of the United States, and how these watersheds ultimately lead to different destinations. The lyrics then take on a more personal tone, exploring how these divisions can impact relationships between people. The singers confess that it's hard to feel connected to someone when they are on the other side of a mountain, but acknowledge that it's the only place where they can truly see each other. The song concludes with a message of hope: if we can find a way to overcome the obstacles that divide us, we might find that we share more in common than we thought.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a great divide that makes the rivers and the rains
There's a massive separation that determines where the rivers and rains will flow
Flow to the western ocean or run through the eastern plains
The separation causes the rivers and rains to either head towards the western ocean or flow through the eastern plains
So you go east and I go west
You choose to go towards the east, and I choose to go towards the west
You go where the sun rises and I go where it sets
You go towards the direction where the sun rises, and I go towards the direction where it sets
When I'm down in the valley
When I'm feeling low
On my side of the line
On the side of the separation where I am
It's hard to know that your hill
It's difficult to comprehend that your hill is
Is the same as mine
The same as my hill
That mountaintop between us
The peak of the mountain that separates us
Is the only place to see the other side
Is the only spot where we can get a view of each other's side
So let's meet up in the middle
Let's come together in the center
Along the great divide
At the point where the great separation exists
The road is rocky, the trail is steep
The path may be rough, and the trail may be challenging
The cliffs get higher where the river runs deep
The cliffs become more elevated where the river flows deeply
And it's not easy to look at what divides us
It's not simple to examine what separates us
But if we do, we might find it's the same thing that unites us (Chorus)
However, if we do, we may discover that the very thing that separates us is the same thing that unites us
Up above the treeline two paths become one
When we get above the level of the trees, two paths merge into one
And as we ride together, two sides become none
As we journey together, the division between the two sides disappears
Finding common ground is a tricky thing to do
It's not easy to discover similar points of view
But on the top of a mountain we can share a point of view (Chorus)
However, on the summit of a mountain, we can unite and share a common perspective
Contributed by Sebastian E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.