A song dedicated to Beth Brown Boettner, who started the Austin TX Recycling program, and was a cherished community activist. Encouraged by her supporters to run for office, Beth refused, but noted that someday, she hoped to be "the old lady in tennis shoes who gets things done." Because Beth died in her mid 40's, she didn't become an "old lady", but she did leave an empowering legacy behind her.
Where the Grassroots Grow, written by Rita Hosking, was engineered, mixed and mastered by Rich Brotherton at Ace Recording in Austin, Texas. Players include Hosking on guitar/lead vocals, Brotherton on guitar/harmony vocals, Glenn Fukunaga on upright bass, Dony Wynn on drums, Sean Feder on dobro, and Kora Feder on harmony vocals.
Copyright 2015, Rita Hosking, BMI
Lyrics
Down where the grassroots grow, there's a soul named Beth, the fairy
She flies through the garbage dumps picking up what she can carry
And her long arms reach down and give a little shove
Lord knows we could all use a little help from above
Where the grassroots grow, there's old ladies in tennis shoes, tending soil below and holding their hands out to you
Where the grassroots grow, there's no suits or limousines, where the grassroots grow, that's where I wanna be
She read Goodnight Moon to her baby son, she and her John Wayne
She did the town in her VW bus and held 'em back at Barton Springs
I wanna ride my bike across America and see my Grandma Pearl
So little time, so much to do in this world
Where the grassroots grow, there's old ladies in tennis shoes, tending soil below and holding their hands out to you
Where the grassroots grow, there's no suits or limousines, where the grassroots grow, that's where I wanna be
There's a way to recycle a soul, there's a way to renew
You just gotta remember them, like Beth, who left too soon
"Whatever may come and wherever I go, you're gonna find me working down where the grassroots grow"
Where the grassroots grow, there's old ladies in tennis shoes, tending soil below and holding their hands out to you
Where the grassroots grow, there's no suits or limousines, where the grassroots grow, that's where I wanna be, where the grassroots grow, that's where I wanna be.