Meet Me On the Mountain

When I saw the film Brokeback Mountain in 2005 (short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning Annie Proulx, screenplay by legends Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove) and Diana Ossana, directed by Ang Lee), I felt it was the most powerful work of art I had witnessed in my life.  The creative material elicited extraordinary performances from actors Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, and Linda Cardellini — all heart-breaking in their own way — and made the film transcendent, cathartic, and healing. To me, the final scenes wordlessly asked each viewer the all-important question: are you going to live the life you are meant to live?

There was also the incredibly poignant “vibe” established by the composer of the film’s guitar-driven score, Gustavo Santaolalla, that you couldn’t “shake” for days.

I spent six months responding to the impact by writing folk, bluegrass, and country songs inspired by its characters and plot twists. By summer of 2006, I had unwittingly created the musical version of it, whether intending to or not.

“Meet Me on the Mountain” was the first song to come, and it truly sums up the film in a single song.  I have been gratified to see how much it connects with people — whether or not they have any idea about the film.  I’ve seen kids come up at the end of concerts and proudly sing the chorus back to me. I’ve seen people find their own deep (untold) love story, however different, somehow inside the words as well.  I think everyone can connect with idea that the special love that blooms between two people is a sacred thing — theirs alone to know and to treasure.