The creek they called Big Hollow
Wound down the valley floor
It wasn’t all that deep or that wide
And I spent so much time there when I was a boy
When they dammed it up
Something in me died.

That valley stretched 4 miles
A paradise of woods
The old oak trees were tall and strong
There were willow trees and maples
And aspens on the hill
When they built the road
They cut all those trees down.

Chorus
I didn’t understand then how lucky I was
To grow up with the water and the woods
I’d go back there any time, if only I could
Big Hollow Creek in the woods
Big Hollow Creek in the woods.

That creek was great for waiting
Underneath the canopy of trees
And fish seemed to collect in every pool
In those long hot summer days
Of central Illinois
The water in that creek always ran cool.

But when those big old thunderstorms
Came rolling off the plains
The mood of the creek was not so mild
Water washed the gullies
And filled that little creek
And soon it became a river wild.

Chorus

©2023 Craig Hansen