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  • Published on

    212. Ribbon 13: Breaking Through

    Ribbon
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    ​The Sunday after this episode is released, November 23rd, 2025, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!
    ​Lyrics ​& Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.
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    89. a spell for intergenerational trauma
    by Ahlay Blakely

    Breaking
    Breaking
    Breaking the cycles now

    Ripple through
    Through to the ancient ones
    Ripple through
    Through to the future ones
    ​
    Healing at the Root
    We’re calling
    Healing at the root
    of our belonging
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    170. Over/Under
    by Lyndsey Scott

    Over / under
    All the way through
    Over / under
    Back to you
    Over / under
    All the way down
    Over / under
    Lost then found

    I am the love that doesn't leave
    We do this til we free us!
    Feel thru the dark is how we see
    We do this til we free us!
    We are remembering how to grieve
    We do this til we free us!
    You are a part of my family
    We do this til we free us!
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    ​77. Winter Song
    by Dirk Mont Campbell

    All things come and go, summer sun and winter snow.
    Blow wind, fall, rain; all things die and live again.

    Fallen leaves lie on the ground so cold and dead.
    Oak tree stands bare, and the holly green and red.
    Robin sings of love and loss for Jenny Wren.
    ​All things that die will return to life again.

    ​
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    50. Navigate the Current
    by Saro Lynch-Thomason

    I often feel a deep despair For a pain that feels unending
    For a body made with many faults That resists all salve or mending
    I’m tossed and driven with a tide Of an ocean unforgiving
    I am left shaking on the shore Afraid of even standing.

    I feel a deep temptation then As I am lying weary
    For a marble form to encase my bones That I may rest more deeply
    What comfort to be cast as stone To be static and suspended
    No ecstasy, no misery Nothing given or expended

    I am startled then by the touch of friends Who raise and fortify me
    Who say my name, bid me stretch my frame Help me face the sea’s great fury.
    Where would I be in these long hours Without their voices by me?
    To ease the pain and soothe the strain Of a troubled and angry body?
    ​
    I am bound between the amity That salves a body splintered
    And the cries and sighs of the daily hours That pull my soul more inward.
    Oh, may I learn to trust the hands That soothe a pain so fervent
    ​May I ride each wave with a greater faith And navigate the current
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    147. Walk On Through
    by Samara Jade

    The Mystery is holding your hand
    The Mystery is holding your hand
    The Mystery is holding your hand
    As you walk through

    The angels are holding your hand
    The angels are holding your hand
    The angels are holding your hand
    As you walk through….

    Chorus:
    So walk on through - no turning back
    Walk on through - we got your back
    We’ll stand by you
    You’re not alone
    So walk on through, we’ll walk you home

    (other verses, same form, fill in the blank with: stars and moon, mother earth, ancestors, all of us, etc.)
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    ​68. Share the Journey
    by Katie Sontag

    As the dark fades away, here it comes, a brand-new, new day.
    As it leaves, we watch it go, all we learned, all we need to know.
    I believe we will survive. I believe this is our time.
    ​I believe we are alive to share the journey, to share the journey.
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  • Published on

    211. Set Us Free

    4:4 Earth Freedom Generosity Peace Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Unison Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:49
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:29
    Lyrics:

    SET US FREE
    by Elise Witt,
    Spanish translation Lisset Rodes
    inspired by Rev. Timothy McDonald
    ©Non Si Sa Mai Music ASCAP

    Porqué MENTIR para buscar la verdad?
            We cannot LIE our way to the truth
            We spin and spin the earth around
    El mundo gira y girara’
            MENTIR nos destruye (Amen)
                    LYING will destroy us (Amen)
            Mas LA VERDAD nos liberara’
                    TRUTH will set us free

    Porqué GASTAR para endeudarnos mas?
            We cannot SPEND our way out of debt
            We spin and spin the earth around
    El mundo gira y girara’
            L’AMBICION destruye (Amen)
                    GREED will destroy us (Amen)
            LA SENCILLEZ nos liberara’
                    GENEROSITY will set us free

    Porqué PELEAR para lograr la paz?
            We cannot WAR our way to peace
            We spin and spin the earth around
    El mundo gira y girara’
            LA GUERRA destruye (Amen)
                    VIOLENCE will destroy us (Amen)
            Solo LA PAZ nos liberara’
                    PEACE will set us free
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    Song: Set Us Free
    Music by: Elise Witt

    Notes: Elise is an inventive songleader and huge heart in Georgia, USA, whom I met online during the pandemic doing vocal improv with our shared teacher, Rhiannon... but I had been in contact with her before then because I wanted to sing a song of hers with my community chorus. Here, she has set words from the Rev. Timothy McDonald, calling us to the kind of integrity that gives freedom. I teach the song a capella, so you can sing with just my voice -- and then do it with piano at the end, so you can experience it that way -- and then if you follow the shownote links, you can sing it in Spanish and English with Elise, Judith & Lisset Rodés -- Lisset wrote the Spanish words... and it's a little slower, a little more legato than I sang it. I love it when there's a chance to compare different versions of the same song!

    Songwriter Info: Elise’s concerts of Global, Local & Homemade Songs™ and her Impromptu Glorious Chorus™ workshops create and connect singing communities around the world. Born in Switzerland, raised in NC, and living in Atlanta since 1977, Elise speaks 5 languages fluently and sings in at least a dozen more. The Elise Witt Choral Series features choral arrangements of her original compositions and she recently published All Singing, a songbook with 58 original songs including music notation, lyrics and chords, stories and photos.
    A founding member of Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit, Elise spent many years as a Resident Artist, visiting communities around the state of Georgia and the Southeast, teaching global music and writing local songs with students of all ages.
    From 2009 until 2024 Elise served as Director of Music Programs at the Global Village Project, a non-profit, special purpose middle school for teenage refugee girls in Decatur Georgia, for which she published Imagine A Circle: The Global Village Songbook, Using Singing and Songwriting to teach English for Multi-lingual learners.
    Elise currently gathers singers of all persuasions in joyous circles, and continues her global touring.

    Sharing Info: Elise says: "I always love to share songs in oral (by ear) tradition and I'd love to hear from you how and with whom you share the song...
    AND the song is also available as a choral arrangement (SATB, SSAA, TTBB) on my website https://elisewitt.com/web/ewcs-choral-music/"
    ​
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:49
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:29

    Links:
    Website: www.EliseWitt.com 
    A glimpse of what I do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0YHTe_Q7bE&feature=youtu.be 
    All Singing: The Elise Witt Songbook: https://elisewitt.com/web/product-category/songbook/
    “Jenny Jenkins” global community music/art video created for DAS Year 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCmNNZIVZkw&t=2s
    “Ready or Not” global community music/art video created for DAS Year 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNsUsSobImw&t=11s 
    Imagine A Circle: The Global Village Project Songbook: https://elisewitt.com/web/gvp-songbook/ 
    Elise's Bandcamp: https://www.BandCamp.com/EliseWitt 
    Choral arrangements by Elise: https://elisewitt.com/web/ewcs-choral-music/ 
    Choral arrangements for Set Us Free in particular: https://elisewitt.com/web/product/set-us-free/ 
    Spanish and English version of Set Us Free in concert: https://youtu.be/L5IjAhJZyOo?si=5WIleerpseLX_rxo 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, many verses

    Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:  https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

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  • Published on

    210. In This House with guests MaMuse

    4:4 Abundance Belonging Birds Dreams Enough Friendship Gather Home Love Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Echo Song Form: Harmonized Songwriter Conversation Uptempo
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:56
    Start time of reprise: 01:03:15
    Lyrics:

    In this house, we lead with love.
    In this house, we lift each other up.
    In this house, we learn to fly with the dove.
    Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
    Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
    So come on over (come on over),
    Welcome in (welcome in),
    Come on over (come on over).
    Let's be friends (let's be friends).
    Come on over (come on over).
    There is enough.
    Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
    Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of. 
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    Song: In This House
    Music by: Karisha Longaker of MaMuse

    Notes: Today we get “right in the river, totally listening, totally all in” with MaMuse, the duo of Sorah Nutting and Karisha Longaker, whose description of songcatching is what I just quoted. I came out of our conversation thinking about so many things -- how we see and appreciate those we love, kindness as our common wealth, danceable songs, being led by feeling and what's insanely fun, and especially house rules for how we be in the world... which comes from "In This House." I was singing harmony with them by the time we sang the song the second time, so you'll hear me making stuff up... partly because of the big, beautiful permission Karisha and Sorah give each other and us to celebrate creativity. I hope you feel that extra space and encouragement, too, after you sing with us!

    Songwriter Info: MaMuse (“Ma” as in Mamma; “Muse” as in the one who inspires) was born out of a collaboration between songwriters Karisha Longaker and Sorah Nutting. 2008 was a year of great alchemy. Fires erupted in Northern California, a great wind of inspiration blew through, catalyzing a series of songs written from the soil and rivers, ash and heat of Chico where these two musicians met.
    In the early days these troubadours toted instruments around town by bicycle and shared their songs at farmers markets, community gatherings, small cafes and festivals. Not too long after, these two voices became iconic to the Chico community, representing idyllic values of friendship, community, love for nature and care for Self and World. The love spread, sisterhood held strong through two decades of LIFE: children, relationships arriving and dissolving, making home in many new places. 
    MaMuse songs such as “We Shall Be Known” and “Hallelujah” have sprouted wings and are now sung at the bed sides of birthing mothers, round campfires, at weddings and funerals... All places where people are gathered to celebrate and to mourn. These are songs born of the Folk lineage; songs for all of us.

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Karisha and Sorah always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:56
    Start time of reprise: 01:03:15

    Links:
    Show info, bookings and newsletter signup: www.mamuse.org 
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/mamusemusic 
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaMuseMusic 
    Patreon: www.patreon.com/mamuse
    Download and contribute to recorded music funds: mamuse.bandcamp.com 
    Song Village in Santa Cruz: https://www.songvillage.net/ 
    Kirtan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtan 
    ReMuse: https://mamuse.bandcamp.com/album/remuse 
    Patrick/FunkPharm who produced ReMuse: https://www.instagram.com/funkpharm/ 
    Tidal as a subscription platform: https://tidal.com/ 
    Community Choir Leadership Training in Canada: https://www.communitychoirleadership.com/ 
    Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion duet competition October 2012: https://www.prairiehome.org/shows/47951.html 
    Arnaé Batson: https://www.eomega.org/people/arnae-batson 
    Scott Elliot Ferreter (guitar and bass): https://www.scottelliottferreter.com/ 
    Trying Time album: https://open.spotify.com/album/3BSIiZwg5MdqY6OuVLRMdR 
    Nathan Dittle (keyboard/piano): https://www.instagram.com/redbeardthecat/ 
    Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder: https://open.spotify.com/album/6YUCc2RiXcEKS9ibuZxjt0 
    Blue by Joni Mitchell: https://open.spotify.com/album/1vz94WpXDVYIEGja8cjFNa 
    Aimée Ringle – Human and Tender: https://aimeeringle.bandcamp.com/album/human-and-tender 
    A Breath of Song conversation with Aimée Ringle: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/160-o-spirit-guide-me-to-those-i-need-with-guest-aimee-ringle#/ 
    Melanie DeMore: https://melaniedemore.com/ 
    A Breath of Song conversation with Melanie DeMore: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/175-one-footlead-with-love-with-guest-melanie-demore#/ 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, harmonized, call and echo

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  • Published on

    209. We Shall Be Known with Flow Singers

    2:2 Change Earth Fire Friendship Future Hope Love Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Strength
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Melody: 00:04:20
    High harmony: 00:07:16
    Low harmony: 00:11:34
    Whole song: 00:15:05
    Lyrics:

    We shall be known by the company we keep
    By the ones who circle round to tend these fires
    We shall be known by the ones who sow and reap
    The seeds of change alive from deep within the Earth
     
    It is time now
    It is time now that we thrive 
    It is time we lead ourselves into the well
    It is time now
    And what a time to be alive
    In this "Great Turning" we shall learn to lead in love
    In this "Great Turning" we shall learn to lead in love
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    Song: We Shall Be Known
    Music by: Karisha Longaker of MaMuse

    Notes: I could not be more delighted than to bring you this beloved song in a real-life song-sharing situation. My Flow Singing folk were singing "We Shall Be Known" for the third week -- so we simply recorded! You'll sing with them as they review the main melody, learn the upper harmony for the first time -- and then I inserted a quick teach of the low harmony -- and then we get to sing "in the room" with the Flow Singers, who were leaning into the song in such a beautiful way. I feel so lucky with the company I get to keep... and next week, I find myself in a Zoom room with Karisha Longaker and Sorah Nutting themselves, talking about the "insanely fun, incredibly connected" first years, and what it means in practical terms to "believe in kindness as our common wealth." 

    Songwriter Info: MaMuse (“Ma” as in Mamma; “Muse” as in the one who inspires) was born out of a collaboration between songwriters Karisha Longaker and Sorah Nutting. 2008 was a year of great alchemy. Fires erupted in Northern California, a great wind of inspiration blew through, catalyzing a series of songs written from the soil and rivers, ash and heat of Chico where these two musicians met.
    In the early days these troubadours toted instruments around town by bicycle and shared their songs at farmers markets, community gatherings, small cafes and festivals. Not too long after, these two voices became iconic to the Chico community, representing idyllic values of friendship, community, love for nature and care for Self and World. The love spread, sisterhood held strong through two decades of LIFE: children, relationships arriving and dissolving, making home in many new places. 
    MaMuse songs such as “We Shall Be Known” and “Hallelujah” have sprouted wings and are now sung at the bed sides of birthing mothers, round campfires, at weddings and funerals... All places where people are gathered to celebrate and to mourn. These are songs born of the Folk lineage; songs for all of us.

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Karisha and Sorah always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Melody: 00:04:20
    High harmony: 00:07:16
    Low harmony: 00:11:34
    Whole song: 00:15:05

    Links:
    Show info, bookings and newsletter signup: www.mamuse.org
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/mamusemusic 
    Patreon: www.patreon.com/mamuse
    Download and contribute to recorded music funds: mamuse.bandcamp.com 
    Lisa Littlebird's page for We Shall Be Known: thebirdsings.com/we-shall-be-known/
    Burlington, VT Flow Singers: ​www.juneberrymusic.com/flow-singing.html

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, 3-part harmony

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  • Published on

    208. Estrellitas

    4:4 Fire Grieve Heal Heart Night Pain Scale: Aeolian (minor) Sky Song Form: Unison Stars
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:39
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:14
    Lyrics:

    ​Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh… (bis 4x) 

    Deja, deja, deja que las estrellitas 
    Que las estrellitas, se lleven tu dolor 

    Deja, deja, deja, 
    Ve y enciende el fuego, 
    Deja, deja, deja, tu duda y tu temor

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…     (4x) 

    Let it go, let it go, let the little stars,
    Let the little stars carry away your pain.

    Let it go, let it go, let it go,
    Go and light up the fire,
    Let it go, let it go, release your doubt and fear.

    FURTHER LYRICS:

    La tristeza esa, Pa’ las estrellitas 
    La preocupación y el dolor del corazón 
    Deja, deja, deja que los queme el fuego 
    Deja, deja, deja y vuela alto por favor 

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…     (4x) 

    Deja, deja, deja, que los queme el fuego 
    Y las estrellitas transmuten tu dolor 
    Deja la tristeza, las dudas, el miedo, 
    Pide a las estrellas que te curen por favor… 

    Outro: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…

    ENGLISH:

    That sadness—give it to the stars,
    The worry and the ache within your heart.
    Let it go, let it go, let the fire burn them,
    Let it go, let it go, and now please, fly high 
    reaching the skies up above 

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…     (4x)

    Let it go, let it go, let the fire burn it,
    And let the stars transmute your pain.
    Leave behind sadness, the doubts, the fear,
    Please ask the stars to heal you… 

    Outro: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…
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    Song: Estrellitas
    Music by: Ana Lucia Divins

    Notes: Singing this song of grief and the lifting of grief connected deeply with my heart this week. No matter what grief is in my heart at the moment, the wordless "O", followed by the shaping of Spanish words for sorrow, doubt, and fear as well as let go and little stars -- letting all the grief light the fire and then the sparks carry it away -- oh, it felt good to sing this. Soft and strong, velvet and spark, ache and motion. I'm grateful Ana Lucia gifted us this song to sing, and excited that once you've learned the core of the song with me, you get to sing all of it with her if you follow the Bandcamp link! 

    Songwriter Info: Music has been a lifelong companion for Ana Lucia Divins, who has witnessed its healing power and the strength of community connections. This journey led her to explore sound and therapeutic music studies. She is a Certified Music Practitioner by MHTP and a Holistic Voice Therapist with the British Academy of Sound Therapy. Since 2022, she has integrated healing music into her offerings, singing by patients’ bedsides and sharing therapeutic music in the community for restoration and relaxation. In 2023, she received the Arts and Science Council Creative Renewal Fellowship and in 2024, the Arts and Science Council Artist Support Grant, enabling her to delve deeper into music’s healing potential and produce new works. Ana Lucia’s exploration of her voice has taken her to national and international workshops and retreats in Greece, Spain, the UK, and Colombia. 
    In the summer of 2024, Ana Lucia and Carlos Crespo, an Ecuadorian guitarist, released their debut healing music album, “Emerging,” in collaboration with other talented musicians. Available on all digital platforms, "Emerging" offers a deeply relaxing and uplifting sound bath of original new-age world music. It is a sonic journey mirroring life’s ebb and flow, from dawn’s gentle awakening to night’s tranquil embrace, remembering the cycles of healing, new beginnings, and transformation.

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Ana Lucia always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:39
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:14

    Links:
    Ana Lucia's website: https://www.adivins.com 
    Divins Music Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinsmusic/ 
    Azul Healing website: https://www.azulhealing.com 
    Azul Healing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azulhealing/ 
    Emerging album on Bandcamp: https://divins.bandcamp.com/album/emerging 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, unison

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  • Published on

    207. Ribbon 12: Dreaming

    Picture
    Picture
    The Sunday after this episode is released, October 12th, 2025, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!

    ​Lyrics     ​& Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.
    Picture

    ​28. Drifting Dark
    by Patricia Norton

    Drifting dark, cold and spark,
    floating dream, holiday scene.
    I know this world keeps on turning,
    spinning songs of hearts in yearning.

    Dark.  Spark.  
    Dream.  Scene.
    World.  Turning.
    Spinning candescent, spinning candescent,
    spinning hearts in yearning.
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    ​199. The Turtle Remembers
    by Becky Reardon

    The Turtle remembers 
    a dream in December,
    alone with God.
    Alone with songs of the whales,
    returning, returning.
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    ​189. Hearth
    by Yuri Woodstock

    Fire at the center in my heart
    Rise of the night spark fly away
    Smoke twines together in the sky
    Oh how the dark times light my way

    Fire in my heart
    Praise be to the dark

    Dreaming in an endless night
    Living in an endless dream
    Picture

    ​120. Alchemy
    by Te Martin

    Everything is helping you
    grow and thrive;
    know what you need to know.

    It is not too late,
    it is not too late to follow
    (3x)
    your dreams.

    Dream!
    Picture

    ​62. Let Me Be The Love
    by Karly Loveling

    Doing my best to be the Love
    my deepest heart is dreaming of.

    With every breath I take,
    Let me be the Love

    Letting my cup overflow
    Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
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