Celebrating songs of Leelanau: Laura Hood’s “Eddy Up”

From staff reports

Our story series celebrating songs inspired by Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes continues with Laura Hood’s “Eddy Up,” which the retired music teacher and Cedar resident first wrote for The Leelanau School’s graduating class of 2000.

For the past 25 years, Hood has performed “Eddy Up” as the benediction music at the school’s graduation ceremony, sending the graduating seniors off into the big wide world, and giving the families and school community a moment to reflect on the growth and pride of such an important transition in life.

The title “Eddy Up” is a paddling term used on rivers, and refers to a current that actually flows upstream. This current lies right along the banks of a river and is especially apparent behind any large obstacle in the water. If one is canoeing down a river and needs a moment to gather thoughts or make a plan for how to navigate difficult rapids ahead, the paddler can “Eddy Up” behind a big rock and safely rest in this upstream current until they are ready to take on the next challenge.

“Because The Leelanau School sits on the shores of Lake Michigan, and the Crystal River runs right through its beautiful campus, I decided to describe our students as water,” shared Hood. “They arrive in the rains and on the tides, from all over the world, coming to Northern Michigan to take some time to ‘Eddy Up with your family at Leelanau, on the edge of the Crystal so clear. When the river is strong and it’s pulling you down, the current is up when you’re here. And when you’re wiser and ready, swim out of this eddy, to the mouth of the Crystal and out to the Manitou’.” 

“My inspiration for this song came from watching my dear friends, Rob and Barb Karner, navigate the graduation of their eldest son Jesse. He had grown up at the Leelanau School, surrounded by a loving and caring community and was heading out into his next big adventure—college in Bozeman. He was an 18-year senior, we had all watched him grow up and were so proud of him.

“My husband and I were busy raising our 3- and 5-year old children at that time, and the thought of having your child head off on his or her own was pretty intense. So, as any songwriter will tell you, that is exactly the time to get out your guitar, paper and pencil.

“I remember the chorus of the song coming together in my head one evening when we lived in the Cochrane dormitory on the Leelanau School’s campus. I was wrangling two toddlers into bed and trying to keep 14 freshman boys focused on their homework in the evening study hall, all the while jotting song lyrics down on the small notebook I kept in my back pocket.

“It seems like the best inspiration always comes in the middle of life’s chaos. The verses describe what it is like to be a student at the Leelanau School, and the pride that the community holds for each of their graduates. It talks about the good times and the difficult times, about discovering who you are and who you want to be in the future, and about the loving and caring teaching that has guided each student. The bridge of the song, where the chords get a bit more complex encouraging each listener to lean in and notice the details, is really all about the Karner family. I wrote about each of the four family members’ relationship to water; “an icy clear cascading stream raging down the mountain so grand”, “waves on Lake Michigan lapping gently on beaches of sand”, “rains in the Spring giving life”, and “a pond so silent and still”.

The very last line of the song leaves everyone with a tear or two in their eyes, reaching for the hand of the dear friend that you may not ever see again and a clear reminder that once you are part of the Leelanau community, you are always a part of that special family. “The seas will carry you east or to west, come on home for a while if you will…….”.

Previous installments in our Songs of Leelanau series featured Les Dalgliesh’s “The Ways of Leelanau,” Jeff Maharry’s “Good Harbor Bay,” Seth Bernard’s instrumental ode to the Manitou Islands, Blake Elliott’s “Small Town” and Louann Lechler’s “I’m Proud to Say I Live in Leelanau County.”