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    16. Well Held

    Song Well Held
    Music & Words by Lyndsey Scott
    with extra harmonies by Patricia Norton
    Lyrics
    Just so that you know,
    there is nothing wrong in this moment;
    When you breathe, can you touch...
    There is nothing wrong!
    I will hold for you, "All is well in this moment."
    Relax and breathe, we've got your back,
    ​Love is scheming all along.

    Picture
    Notes In 2018, Lyndsey made a quick facebook recording of Well Held, and she said, “This little ditty tapped me on the shoulder, came through intact, and has basically been hanging out in my lap…” That's very much how this song is for me -- it just gently rumbles around in my head, letting me know that even while there is part of me that is anxious or jittery or grieving, there is another part of me singing this song -- it  has my back, can remind me to breathe, and reassure me to pay attention to this very moment, in which all is well. Such a relief!
    ​  Here's Lyndsey singing the original song, shortly after its appearance in the world...

    Songwriter info
    Born and raised in Rantoul, IL, Lyndsey is no stranger to the strange, plain beauty of small town spaciousness. After studying painting at the University of Illinois, she fled to St. Louis, MO for a decade of community art & rambunctious collaboration, letting kids nurse back the creative soul that art school stole and letting the south side streets be the hard knocks school of social justice. One healing crisis, two superhero bike tours, a yoga teacher training, and a permaculture design course later, she followed insistent gut-tugs to move back and rekindle the Home fire, with these new treasures in tow. Led by the embodied inquiry: "What does earthspeed, restorative culture feel like from the inside?" ~ for 7 years, she practiced weaving a hyperlocal web with Song, gardens, circles, and art, as well as creating a small yoga studio and doing healing work with her blood family. During the pandemic, she closed the yoga studio, moved, taught art at the local juvenile detention center, and began gathering online groups to dismantle internalized scripts of patriarchy and white supremacy through community singing, study, & story-sharing. Now she’s asking in (covid-safe) travel motion:: if “grief and Love are sisters”, what rituals and pathways are needed now to tend this unique cultural threshold wisely and grow our bandwidth for building Beloved Community?

    Songwriter contact
    You can find Lyndsey lots of different ways online:
    Her website: lyndseyscott.earth
    At her Patreon Account 
    On Facebook: We Belong Community of Song
    On Youtube - "Song as Prayer" channel 
    On Instagram @lila.gaia
    ​And a website


    Nuts & Bolts 4:4, melody with optional lower harmonized layer, Aeolian (natural minor)

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  • Published on

    8. Penobscot Nə̀pi (Water) Song

    Song Nə̀pi (Water) Song
    Music & Words Gabriel Paul
    Composed in 2017(?)
    In Penboscot
    ​nə̀pi
    kkəseləmələpəna
    kči-wəliwəni nəpi
    kkihčitamitəhαmələpəna
    Picture
    In English
    water
    we love you
    thank you so much, water
    ​we respect you
    My attempt at IPA
    nɜbe
    gəzɑl  molvənɑ
    gəddʒi  hwəlihwəni  nɜbe 
    gədʒi  dəmi  dəhɑ  molvənɑ 
    Notes: Today’s song is by Gabriel Paul, of the Crow and Eel Clan of the Penobscot, whose homelands are located along various waterways in Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. The song is a song to thank and honor water. I encourage you to learn and take it to water near you to sing -- and then maybe create your own water song and connect to the water that is near you!

    Gabe describes the song's origins on this webpage, and he and his niece, Leigh, have given permission for this song to be sung and shared freely. It is a privilege to be invited to sing in the language of the Penawahpskek nation, and I’ll help you learn it with care – but know that we are guests, and I'm sure I have an accent – it’s okay to be uncomfortable, and honored at the same time. Then visit the Penobscot nation site to respectfully learn more about these people who claim one of the oldest continuous governments in the world.

    A people who have lived in one place for 11,000 years have a very different perspective than mine, as a child of immigrants. In this episode, I quote Weh'na Ha'mu' Kwasset (She Who Brings the Light), an Indigenous writer and visionary who was raised on Penobscot land, and is also known as Sherri Mitchell. Her book is Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change.

    Links:
    Youtube recording of Leigh Neptune singing this song.
    Penobscot nation natural resources webpage on Nepi

    Nuts and Bolts: This song is unison, unmetered, Ionian (major).

    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!