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    58. When We Are Gone

    2:2 Change Earth Farewell Fire Flow Grieve Hope Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Call & Response Song Form: Harmonized Water
    Song: When We Are Gone
    Words & Music: ​Starhawk and Anne Hill
    Lyrics
    When we are gone, they will remain:
    wind and rock, fire and rain.
    They will remain, when we return;
    the wind will blow and the fire will burn.
    Picture
    Notes: An elemental song that reminds us of how ephemeral human life is -- yet how we can rely on the solidity of the elements and return to them again and again. This is a song I need when I feel unrooted by grief and anger. I wonder how it will feel to you, what it might touch, how it might help you adapt and flex and grow? Listen for the surprise sound effect... I was recording with the windows open, and my looper caught a passing sound... I decided not to rerecord, both because I didn't really have the time, and because I thought it was actually kind of cool in the context of this song. Just a reminder that this podcast is not a polished recorded performance (as if you hadn't figured that out already! :) ) I use the looper to layer up my voice a bit, but it's how it would sound if we were sitting in the same place and you were singing with me live... two real humans doing real human-y stuff.

    Songwriter Info: Starhawk is an author, activist, permaculture designer and teacher, and a prominent voice in modern earth-based spirituality and ecofeminism. Anne Hill has expertise in many areas, from dreams and spirituality to self-publishing and author platforms. She is a sought-after speaker and teacher, helping people improve their lives using both inner and outer resources. With Diane Baker, they co-created a book called Circle Round, which is a resource of nature spirituality practices.  Unusually, I did not manage to get their explicit permission to share this song, though I reached out through their websites... so if this episode disappears, you'll know why! I'm hoping that because this song is already widely shared, it might be okay. Please, if this song speaks to you, here's an extra plea to use the links and visit their websites to support their work!

    Links: 
    Regenerative Culture, Earth-based Spirituality, and Permaculture « Starhawk's Website http://starhawk.org
    About Anne | Serpentine Music & Media

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:28 
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:29
    ​
    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Ionian, Call & response with harmonies.

    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
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    55. Everything Is Changing with Guest Kaitie Ty Warren

    4:4 Accept Be Present Change Flex Flow Gratitude & Trust Journey Praise & Wonder Protection & Presence Release Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Unison Songwriter Conversation Trust
    Song: Everything Is Changing
    Words & Music:​ Kaitie Ty Warren
    Lyrics
    Everything is changing.
    Life keeps rearranging; and
    sometimes it feels awkward,
    but we cannot go backward.
    We cannot go backward.
    Picture
    Notes: I keep singing this to myself... so grateful that Kaitie caught this song-morsel that provides so much release. This idea that life keeps rearranging, sometimes feeling awkward -- but that's not the end -- I get to keep moving through that... for some reason I can hear this so much more easily when it's coming in a song. Kaitie isn't done with this song -- she is still listening for the harmonies -- which means you're getting it at this sweet moment of openness and exploration -- how will you harmonize it, or will you stay with the melody, singing the reassurance into your bones? The songwriter conversation that follows ranges across the Ubuntu philosophy origin and how/why it applies to choirs, caring for a group, straight talk about singing in groups when not everyone's on pitch, what we can learn from small children, musings on flexibility versus predictability ... and more!

    Songwriter Info: Kaitie Ty Warren (she) is a Bay Area-based songleader, teacher, writer, cartoonist and performer. Passionate about creating joyful experiences through music, Kaitie uses simple yet luscious harmonies to build bridges within communities and bring people together in song. In early 2020, Kaitie's Living Room Choir moved online, and that fall her first child was born. Living Room Choir continued online, and in 2021 Kaitie added Simple Harmonies: Songs for Babies & Their Grown-Ups. Nowadays, Kaitie is still leading online but also exploring pandemic-conscious opportunities to sing together in person. Her dream, pandemic-willing, is to host a vibrant, in-person, intergenerational choir for babies, children and adults of all ages to sing together. ​

    Links: 
    To contact Kaitie directly: kaitietywarren@gmail.com
    To learn more of Kaitie's songs: https://thelivingroomchoir.com/original-music/
    To sing with Kaitie: thelivingroomchoir.com
    Kaitie's cartoons: https://www.instagram.com/kaitietywarren/
    For cartoons & things for sale: https://society6.com/kaitietywarren

    Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morrisette MORISSETTE,ALANIS - Jagged Little Pill Acoustic - Amazon.com Music
    Simon Webbe: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/simon-webbe/78729485
    more about the Bird/Cat/Dog idea for community reengagement
    Ubuntu and Bishop Desmond Tutu... here's an article about ubuntu by Desmond Tutu’s granddaughter

    ​Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:11
    Start time of reprise: 01:00:53

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Major (Ionian), melody with optional harmonies
    ​
    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    52. Ocean Wide

    4:4 Accept Be Present Empower Gratitude & Trust Grief & Fear Grieve Open Pain Ribbon Scale: Minor Song Form: Unison Trust
    Song: Ocean Wide
    Words & Music: Eli Marienthal
    Lyrics
    Open the ocean wide in us, open the ocean wide.
    Take all the pain inside of us, take all the pain inside.
    Open the ocean wide in us, oh, open the ocean wide.
    ​Take all the pain inside of us, take all the pain inside.
    Picture
    Notes: My interest in Eli Marienthal's song, "Ocean Wide" comes directly from how it expands my capacity to be present with deep grief and pain -- that of my own or that of others. My fear of feeling -- fear that somehow the world will crumble if I recognize how much pain I feel -- that fear is eased by the sense of having enough space inside me -- an ocean of space, in fact -- that is wide enough, deep enough, capacious enough for every drop of pain, every howl of grief. I love that this song has so much space for the singer inside it -- do you need to just sing a melody, over and over, to soothe and center yourself? Do you want to experiment, explore, let your voice speak to you? I hope I left space in this for you to fill in your own way -- and I hope you, too, find it healing to sense that oceanic space inside you.

    Songwriter Info: Since 2014, Eli has co-led one of Northern California's wilderness immersion and rite of passage organization for youth. He has wide interests -- geography, comparative lit, poetry, songwriting, spoken-word performance, theater, peacemaking, nature awareness, cross cultural respect, qi gong, leadership development and more.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:25
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:34​

    Links: 
    Eli's website: www.backtoearth.org

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Minor, unison

    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    50. Navigate The Current with guest Saro Lynch-Thomason

    2:2 Be Grateful Flex Friendship Gratitude & Trust Grief & Fear Grieve Pain Protection & Presence Release Rest Ribbon Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Ballad Songwriter Conversation Tend Trust
    Song: Navigate the Current  Words by Saro Lynch-Thomason  Melody based on the traditional Irish tune ​known as "Star of the County Down"
    Lyrics
    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
    Picture
    Notes: There's a freedom in not waiting for a cure. Traditional music is a way to connect to your spiritual ancestral community; it can affirm your experience and there's the "big expansion of empathy that is happening when we sing." Ornamentation and pronunciation of words in oral tradition. We don't create in isolation. How Saro's mom conveyed joy in singing, and what Saro would love "every human being on the planet to understand about disability." The broad umbrella of disability. Speaking with compassion to our bodies, and how that relates to justice work. Why singing is too important to be left to the professionals. Need I say more? This conversation with Saro has left me mulling over so much, and learning "Navigate the Current" has touched me deeply. Here's a chance to dig into what authentic expression feels like...
    ​
    Songwriter Info: Saro Lynch-Thomason is an award-winning ballad singer, song leader, folklorist, and documentarian from Asheville, North Carolina. Saro has been studying and teaching traditional song and balladry from the British Isles, Appalachia and the American South for over a decade. Saro believes that old songs help modern learners access history, folklore, and (most importantly) compassion for the experiences of others, and she uses in-person teaching, film documentary, podcasts and more to convey these lessons. She holds an M.A. in Appalachian Studies and a Certificate in Documentary Studies.

    ​    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:23
    Start time of reprise: 01:03:26

    Links: 
    www.sarosings.com
    www.patreon.com/sarolynch,
    Music at sarolyncht.bandcamp.com,
    TikTok and Instagram at @songspeaksaro
    Sign up for Saro's newsletter to be the first to hear when the class info is available...
    ​    ​Tim Eriksen Soul of the January Hills -- the link goes to Bandcamp, because if you buy the album there, the artist receives a larger % than any other source. Learn more about Tim Eriksen here: Tim Eriksen (timeriksenmusic.com)
    Michael & Carrie Kline at ​Talking Across the Lines (folktalk.org)

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Aeolian (minor), ballad form
    ​
    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    49. More Waters Rising

    4:4 Earth Empower Fire Grief & Fear Grieve Hope Journey Power & Change Ribbon Scale: Aeolian (minor) Tend Water
    Song: More Waters Rising
    Words & Music by Saro Lynch-Thomason
    Lyrics
    1. ​There are more waters rising, this I know, this I know.
    There are more waters rising, this I know.
    There are more waters rising, they will find their way to me;
    there are more waters rising, this I know, this I know,
    there are more waters rising, this I know.

    2. ....fires burning....
    3. ...mountains falling...
    4. I will wade through the waters... when they find their way to me;
    5. I will walk through the fires...
    6. I will re-build the mountains....
    ​7. I will wade through the water....

    Picture
    Notes: This particular song of Saro's has gained international attention, becoming an anthem in the movement to end global warming and garnering praise in the Huffington Post. You may already be familiar with it... in which case I'd really encourage you to use this podcast to explore it and use my voice as an opportunity for you to experiment with harmonies, or being a grounded, single note, or be able to pay extra attention to how it feels inside your body as you sing. Or maybe you don't know it yet? That's cause for celebration, because you have a treat waiting for you today! For me, when I sing this, I feel huge things -- grief at what is happening to our planet and a powerful, grounded determination to respond as I can -- and, like I said -- feeling those things strong and large. It taps into something bigger than myself, even when I'm singing alone, as I often am these days. And then Patty sent me her image for this, which she had developed independently, after listening to the song over and over -- and I was so moved by the force of this hippo! I'd be curious to hear how it feels to you to sing it with me?

    Saro encourages people to sing this in groups -- "please share this song -- use it at protests, use it in church, use it in meetings, add new verses, spread it around!"
    ​
    Songwriter Info: Saro Lynch-Thomason is an award-winning ballad singer, song leader, folklorist, and documentarian from Asheville, North Carolina. Saro has been studying and teaching traditional song and balladry from the British Isles, Appalachia and the American South for over a decade. Saro believes that old songs help modern learners access history, folklore, and (most importantly) compassion for the experiences of others, and she uses in-person teaching, film documentary, podcasts and more to convey these lessons. She holds an M.A. in Appalachian Studies and a Certificate in Documentary Studies.

    Links: 
    www.sarosings.com,
    www.patreon.com/sarolynch,
    Music at sarolyncht.bandcamp.com,
    TikTok and Instagram at @songspeaksaro
    Saro herself singing More Waters Rising. (SO worth singing with!!!)

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:57
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:17​

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, harmonizable
    ​
    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    46. We Are the Way

    4:4 Celebrate Change Flex Grow Notice Play Power & Change Praise & Wonder Protection & Presence Release Ribbon Scale: Mixolydian Song Form: Layer Song Form: Round Trust
    Song: We Are the Way
    Words & Music​ by Christine Kick
    Lyrics
    Celebrate the difference, 
    celebrate the distance,
    celebrate the love,
    celebrate this brand new way!
    We are the way, we are the way, we are the way!

    All night and every day we bring the love,
    ​we bring the love.
    Picture
    Notes: I came across We Are the Way in 2020 when I was joyfully listening through Annie Zylstra’s online collection in Heartland Harmony – if you love songs and haven’t found her library yet, you are in for a huge treat! Annie had this song, which lifted my heart and became a touchstone song for me in very short order. She explains that Christine Kick was living in her basement during a major home renovation that was taking longer than expected, and she found herself feeling a little shamefaced when friends would ask, “How’s it going?”, as it very much WASN’T… and then she reminded herself to celebrate the difference & distance she had come. We’ve just moved out of our home for 22 years to a new community, we’re unpacking boxes, searching for things in new places, slowly starting to meet new people… I am using this reminder on the regular!

    Songwriter Info: Christine has been writing songs ever since she was a kid, growing up singing in choirs, and playing flute, guitar, piano, hand drums, etc. She wrote We Are the Way in 2016. She teaches yoga as a way to harness more energy for life by overcoming our limitations and fears - energy that can then be applied to any passion or pursuit that fills us up! Christine believes that music is medicine, especially singing since it opens the throat chakra which allows energy to flow. Her mission is to inspire others to live their best life possible and show up for their heart's true calling.... and music is part of and parcel of who she is and what she does. When we connected for permission for me to use this song, she was in Costa Rica travelling, and sharing songs. Christine enjoys leading and hosting song circles, kirtans, and music jams.

    Links: 
    Find Christine's website here: Christine Kick
    on facebook as ChristineKick
    or Instagram as @acrounicorn

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:32 
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:29 ​

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian, round and layer
    ​
    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!