BLACK RIVER TOWN

Written and Produced by Charles Maring

BLACK RIVER BACK STORY

Black River runs through the South Carolina low country kissing a few small towns along the way. I was born in Georgetown, but my grandparents had a farm on route 521 just outside of Andrews, SC. I attended middle school there, and lived on the farm several times throughout my life. It’s one of the fondest memories of my journey. I learned a lot from my grandparents about god and life. I learned about hard work, hoeing a row, and reaping what you sew. I learned to hunt and fish the blackwater, how to avoid the alligators, and how to find joy in the small things. As I write this, I can picture the rocking chairs on the front porch of the farmhouse at the end of a dirt road where we’d sit and talk for hours while snapping peas or breaking the butter beans out of their pods. I can taste the boiled peanuts we fresh picked, and the incredible sourdough bread my grandma used to make. The memories are all right here in this song.

Other than family and a few close friends most folks don’t know this country side of me, but it’s part of me that I hold dear. I believe that growing up country has helped give me depth of character, and an ability to see the world through a lens with a broader vision, perspective, and a more open mind. This experience helped shape me and the fact is, when you grow up with parents and a family who raises you right, sky is always the limit.

Later in my life I’d find myself living in Manhattan photographing celebrities, rubbing elbows with Presidents, and being invited to many of the cities most posh parties and events. I’d get to travel the world telling stories with a camera. I hope you enjoy this storytelling song filled with a lot of gratitude for god, country, and family. It’s a true story about a country boy with big city dreams who never forgets where he came from. You can take the boy out of the country, but the truth is you can never take the country out of the boy. Thank god for that! I’m proud to be from a Black River town.