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    61. Sanctuary with Singer Joy Tru

    4:4 Accept Be Grateful Be Present Calm Flow Grieve Heal Notice Pain Rest Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Unison Song Form: Zipper Trust
    Song: Sanctuary
    Words & Music​ by Patricia Norton & you
    Lyrics
    I'm in a sanctuary right here, *right now*.
    (2x)
    When so much is wrong, so much is hard, something is right.
    (2x)
    *in this breath*     or *with this friend*
    *in this song* or *in this memory*
    *as I'm painting* or ?
    Picture

    Notes    : This is a vacation episode! I'm on vacation with my dear friend, Joy Truskowski... and what do you think we're doing together? We've been having such a good time singing, and on this episode (I think the shortest yet) you get to hear us together, singing a song I wrote just as a particularly difficult time was beginning. It helps me to not jump ahead to the future or gnash over the past -- that I can be right here, right now, and usually that's a pretty good moment. I asked the A Breath of Song listeners via the email list where they've experienced sanctuary, and they wrote the lyrics we sing... here are some of the other options that came up: in my swing, in this garden, in this choir, with this book, as I'm cooking, with this patient, with my cats, with my ponies, in my loved one's arms, in a canoe, while I'm painting, meditating.

    Songwriter Info: I'm bringing you this podcast, so you've already got a sense of me! You can find more about me at the juneberrymusic website, or pertaining specifically to this podcast here at abreathofsong.com.

    Links: 
    Find Joy at joytru.com -- all kinds of awesome things!​
    Juneberry Music -- everything I'm doing professionally, and some less-than-professionally
    A Breath of Song -- lots of extras about this podcast, including a Year One art tile page, atip jar, and songwriter collaboration information

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:00:59 
    Start time of reprise: 00:09:57​

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4; Ionian (major), zipper song, 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

    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!
  • Published on

    54. Surrender

    3:4 Accept Be Present Empower Flex Flow Gratitude & Trust Grief & Fear Grieve Pain Power & Change Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Layer Trust
    Song: Surrender
    Words & Music:​ Kaitie Ty Warren
    Lyrics
    What if I just stop struggling?
    What if I just stop struggling?
    ​What if I let it go?
    Can I surrender?
    Picture
    ​Notes: When choosing the searchable categories for this song, "Surrender," I found myself surprised by the juxtapositions -- I picked "Empower" and "Grieve", "Pain" and "Trust", "Accept" and "Flex". I realized how I find the most strength and power and freedom in myself at the moments when I surrender to how I feel, how my body is in the moment, my limitations. I love this series of questions that help me remember the possibility of surrender. Don't miss the back story to this song, told in Kaitie's own words at https://thelivingroomchoir.com/surrender/. Next week, Kaitie and I dive into a songwriter conversation, and Kaitie shares a delightful new song about the awkwardness of change and growth... and we talk about finding both continuity and fluidity in music and life, the Ubuntu philosophy, and much, much 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
    For more about "Surrender":     https://thelivingroomchoir.com/surrender/

    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Minor. Layer song.
    ​
    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!