Tom Paxton (born Thomas Richard Paxton on October 31, 1937) is an American … Read Full Bio ↴Tom Paxton (born Thomas Richard Paxton on October 31, 1937) is an American singer and writer of folk music whose songs have had enduring appeal (and include modern standards such as "The Last Thing on My Mind") known for a cynical, often political edge. In 2009, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Paxton was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest child of Burton and Esther Paxton. The Paxton family moved to Bristow, Oklahoma in 1948, where Tom grew to adulthood and which he still considers home. He attended the University of Oklahoma and majored in drama, developing an interest in folk music.

After time in the Army Reserves, Paxton moved to New York City where he frequented the city's Greenwich Village coffeehouse circuit. His early success in Greenwich Village coffeehouses led to an ever-increasing circle of work. He made his professional debut at the Gaslight, the renowned folk haunt that also issued the singer's first album. In 1962 Gaslight Records would press 2,000 copies of his debut album, I'm The Man Who Built The Bridges.

Paxton also auditioned to join the Chad Mitchell Trio, but although he failed, the group enjoyed a 1963 hit with "The Marvelous Toy," one of Paxton's early songs. Paxton performed at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, a performance that would be recorded-and released-by Vanguard Records. Paxton would go on to record a second album with Vanguard-at the Newport Folk Festival the following year - but his association with that record company lapsed, and it would not be until the year 2000 that Vanguard once again released a Tom Paxton album, Tom Paxton: Best of the Vanguard Years. In 1964 Paxton was signed to Elektra Records for whom he recorded his best-known work. Then in 1965 he made his first tour of the United Kingdom - the beginning of a still-thriving professional relationship that has included at least one tour in each of the succeeding years.

He and his wife Midge have been married since 1963 and have two daughters, Jennifer and Kate. All three women have served as inspiration for many of Paxton's songs. He now has three grandsons, Christopher, Sean, and Peter.

In addition to songwriting, Tom Paxton has written many critically acclaimed children's books, some of which were inspired by his songs for children.

He has performed thousands of concerts around the world in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Scandinavia, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, England, Scotland, Ireland and Canada. Paxton enjoys a strong relationship with fans throughout the world. His songs have experienced enduring appeal, including modern standards such as "The Last Thing on My Mind" (perhaps Paxton's best-known song, it has been recorded by dozens of artists, including Judy Collins, Sandy Denny, Dolly Parton, and Porter Wagoner), "Ramblin' Boy", "Bottle of Wine", "Whose Garden Was This", "The Marvelous Toy", and "The Hostage" (which recounts the 1971 uprising at Attica State Prison).

In February 2002, Tom Paxton was honored with the ASCAP Lifetime Achievement Award in Folk Music. A few days later, he received three Wammies (Washington, DC, Area Music Awards); as Best Male Vocalist in the "traditional folk" and "children's music" categories, and for Best Traditional Folk Recording of the Year for Under American Skies (the duo album he made with Anne Hills in 2001). This was the first Paxton album to receive an award of any kind.

Paxton has been nominated four times for Grammy Awards in his career, all since 2002.

In 2004, the Martin Guitar Company introduced the HD-40LSH Tom Paxton Signature Edition acoustic guitar in his honor.

In 2005, Paxton received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at BBC Radio 2's Folk Awards at London's Brewery Arts Centre.

In 2006, Paxton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance.

On January 22, 2007, Paxton was honored with an official UK Parliamentary tribute at the British House of Commons at the start of his 2007 United Kingdom tour.

On May 3, 2008, Paxton was honored with a special lifetime tribute from the World Folk Music Association, and a concert was held at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus, in Alexandria, Virginia.

There Goes The Mountain
Tom Paxton Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There goes the mountain, father of fir trees
Home for the grizzlies, under its snow
Shorn of its timber, torn by the monsters
Taken by truckloads to the great plains below

There goes the mountain, the avalanche maker
Heaven's caretaker, breeder of streams
There goes the mountain, maker of thunder

Torn down for the plunder, remembered in dreams

There goes the mountain, greeter of sunrise
Giant by starlight, the highest and best
The roar of the engines, the first in its lifetime
Will take what men value and spit out the rest

And there goes the mountain, the avalanche maker
Heaven's caretaker, breeder of streams
There goes the mountain, maker of thunder
Torn down for the plunder, remembered in dreams

Lord of the highlands, home for the eagles
Catcher of snowfalls for millions of years
Bleeding in mudslides, robbed of its insides
Prey to the skills of the bold engineer

And there goes the mountain, the avalanche maker
Heaven's caretaker, breeder of streams

There goes the mountain, maker of thunder
Torn down for the plunder, remembered in dreams

Overall Meaning

The song "There Goes the Mountain" by Tom Paxton is a powerful commentary on the destructive impact of human activity, specifically the logging industry, on the natural world. The song paints a vivid picture of a majestic and towering mountain, which serves as a home for animals like grizzly bears and a source of water from its streams. However, this mountain is being destroyed by humans who tear down its trees, extract its resources, and transport them to other parts of the country. The trucks that transport the timber and minerals are portrayed as monstrous beings intent on plundering the mountain's resources, while the roar of their engines signifies the destruction of nature.

Paxton also notes the irony that while the logging industry claims to create jobs and stimulate the economy, it is actually destroying the source of life for countless animals and ecosystems in the process. The mountain is portrayed as a lord of the highlands, a catcher of snowfalls, and a breeder of streams - all crucial elements of the natural world that are being sacrificed for short-term material gain.

Paxton underscores the tragic nature of this situation by emphasizing that the loss of the mountain is being felt not just by the animals and ecosystems that depend on it, but also by humans who are forced to remember it only in their dreams. This is a powerful statement on the irreversibility of environmental damage and the loss of natural heritage that accompanies it.

Line by Line Meaning

There goes the mountain, father of fir trees
The mountain, once proud and tall, was a home for fir trees,

Home for the grizzlies, under its snow
Beneath the snow of the mountain was a sanctuary for grizzly bears,

Shorn of its timber, torn by the monsters
The timber was stripped from the mountain, and it was ravaged by monstrous machines,

Taken by truckloads to the great plains below
The mountain's resources were hauled away in trucks to the plains below,

There goes the mountain, the avalanche maker
The mountain had an important role in nature as an avalanche maker,

Heaven's caretaker, breeder of streams
It also served as a caretaker for heaven, providing streams that nurtured life,

There goes the mountain, maker of thunder
Additionally, the mountain had the power to create thunder with its majestic size,

Torn down for the plunder, remembered in dreams
Sadly, the mountain was destroyed for profit, but it lives on in people's memories and dreams,

There goes the mountain, greeter of sunrise
In the morning, the mountain was a magnificent greeter of the sunrise,

Giant by starlight, the highest and best
At night, it stood tall like a giant under the starry sky, the best of nature's creations,

The roar of the engines, the first in its lifetime
Now, the only sound that remains is the roar of machines, unheard of in the mountain's natural life,

Will take what men value and spit out the rest
The mountain was valued for its resources, but what was left behind was of no worth to those who had taken from it,

Lord of the highlands, home for the eagles
Once it was the lord of the highlands, and home for eagles,

Catcher of snowfalls for millions of years
For millions of years, the mountain caught the snowfall and held it there, providing life-giving water,

Bleeding in mudslides, robbed of its insides
Now, the mountain bleeds in mudslides and is robbed of its natural insides,

Prey to the skills of the bold engineer
The mountain now falls prey to the skills of the bold engineer who can extract its resources,

And there goes the mountain, the avalanche maker
The mountain with all of its natural beauty and wonders is gone,

Heaven's caretaker, breeder of streams
For it served as heaven's caretaker and a breeder of streams,

There goes the mountain, maker of thunder
Everywhere it stood, it was the maker of thunder,

Torn down for the plunder, remembered in dreams
The mountain may be gone now, but it will always be remembered in people's dreams,

Contributed by Amelia G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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