Bill Berry, from Valdosta, Georgia, accompanied by Luke Smith, played his song “The River” and won Best Americana Song in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2024.

Bill Berry, The River, Best Americana Song, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2024

Bill Berry wrote about himself, “I’m 67, a native of Valdosta, a solo singer/ songwriter, and play guitar. I’ve been playing and writing for about 45 years.”

Here’s a WWALS YouTube playlist of Bill Berry and Luke Smith playing The River, followed by WWALS President Sara Squires Jones awarding the prize:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-QzcEbP8eVTuYmdMe5cPRFgD&si=2BFQe168zq1wQhL2

Video by Doug Jipson for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.

About the song, Bill Berry wrote, “The melody is something I picked out on the piano about 35 years ago. I recently put the lyrics to it for this contest. The song itself is just a reflection on life.”

Lyrics for “The River,” by Bill Berry, © 2022 Bill Berry:

I long for the day, when I will be free,
from the burdens of this life,
I will sit by the river, in the shade of a tree,
and commit my spirit to the sky.

Roll river, roll to the sea,
roll river, oh river, remember me.

Life is a river, it flows downstream and then it’s gone,
from the mountain into the valley, day by day, from dawn to dawn,
all our dreams and all our desires, everything we’ve built and done,
is washed away into the ocean, and disappears in the great beyond,

Roll river, roll to the sea,
roll river, oh river, remember me.

We will post videos of more performances soon.

Before the finalists played, everyone listened to the two main speakers, the talks about WWALS, and the headliner at the WWALS River Revue. More about all that later.

Then the three judges listened to the five finalists of the Seventh Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, and picked the winners.

Thanks to the sponsors, the ticket buyers, and the people who participated in the Silent Auction and the kayak raffle.

Proceeds benefit the advocacy and activities of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc., a 501(c)(3) IRS nonprofit educational charity, established 2012. Since December 2016, Suwannee Riverkeeper® is a project and a staff position with WWALS.

For more information, see:
https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2024

Flyer trimmed: Food, Speakers, M.C., Headliner, Songs, Judges, Prizes, and Sponsors So Far

Y’all come next year.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

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