Practice Tracks
~A note on cultural appropriation~
•Recordings are for your ears only! Do not disseminate. For real. It's illegal.•
•And bear with me on some of these, they're quite imperfect. Sometimes its flat by the end of the recording, or my voice is straining. But I hope these rough cuts get the basic parts across!•
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An important reminder to count our blessings. There is so much to be thankful for, and at times our minds can be like velcro to negative things in life, while acting like teflon to the good stuff. Daily gratitude practice is so helpful to keep things in perspective, and having this song stuck in your head works pretty well!
Practice Tracks
All around me are blessings
raining down
all around me
All Come Together To Sing by Helen Yeomans
(We have) all come together to sing
Halle halle halle
Release the burdens of yesterday
May our hearts beat the tune
For our dreams of tomorrow
Hallelu hallelu hallelu
Hallelu hallelu hallelu
In this song, Laurence captures that moment of bewonderment that takes place when a vast body of water opens up before you. He has a detailed account (and his own stellar practice tracks!) on his website here, so these are kind of redundant, but enjoy!
Practice Tracks
When I saw all that open water
something opened in my soul
I felt the peace in the beauty of all that is
reminding me all is one, all is round, all is full
all is well, all is whole.
One of my mentors from BC composed this. He said, roughly, “There are so many songs that only use ‘Alleluia’, that I wanted to make a really special one, and only do it once. This is my alleluia”.
This song came to me as I was watching the sun go down on a brisk Fall evening. The deepening color complexity in the leaves' melancholy yet celebratory changing; overlaid with the echo of that same bittersweet transition in the day's cycle into nightfall. Every Autumn I feel like I'm coming home.
Practice Tracks
Part 1:
Autumn light fading right into the end of day
Autumn air, lead me where I'm home, home to stay.
Part 2:
The day is leaving, the stars have come
Part 3:
The color of dreams, the color of dusk
The color of peach, the color of rust
Part 4:
Fading into all my dreaming
Crafting an object, all that is around us and inside us is reflected in what we create. This song was co-created by a group of friends, asking themselves, "what is it that I'd like to put into this sacred object as my hands work? What do I want to weave into my life in this moment? crafting as prayer.
Debbie Nargi Brown Is yet another song leader percussionist virtuoso, based near Santa Cruz. This is a fun insta-song reminding us that we don't know what is going to happen, so we may as well be open to positive outcomes.
The story behind this song is a powerful one. It is based on a piece of writing by Julia Alvarez that Laurence wrote the song from. The lyrics are a direct quote from Henry James, and the overall message is one of deep acceptance of the world even in the darkest of times.
Practice Tracks
Be the one on whom nothing is lost
and you will gain the whole world, and a soul besides.
Gracias. Gracias.
Based on the words of Rumi, this hauntingly beautiful and spacious piece is a powerful reminder. Nickomo is a composer in the UK who does lots of spiritual chants and rounds. Check it out here.
Practice Tracks
May the beauty of what we love, what we love,
be what we do...
Song alchemist Annie Zylstra derived inspiration for this song from the shifting nature of the land by the Trinity river in California. The river would periodically flood, washing away huge stony banks, and oftentimes homes and farms. The Trinity mountains were scarred with layer after layer of wildfire burns. As the salmon runned up the river, their bodies were in active decay whilst simultaneously achieving the lifelong task of spawning. Blessed Motion is an ode to the changingness of it all, outside of us and within us. Annie also quotes Martîn Prechtel who after witnessing the Guatemalan earthquake of 1976 devour entire villages, reflected that solid ground is just a myth for those who live on the earth rather than in it. For those of you want to dig deeper, here are her practice tracks, with a fun layering second part.
Practice Tracks
I believed in solid ground, until I saw the earth in motion.
In the winds of steady change, and in the ever rolling ocean
A gratitude song to our endlessly intelligent bodies, this song recognizes that often, the body knows best. The three-part harmony overlaying the groovy bass parts creates an interesting dynamic sound.
Body body thank you
Body body thank you
Oh body body thank you
Body body thank you
You know what to do ohohoh body thank you
Body feels, body shows
Body heals, body knows
A super catchy song about the deeper connection we may cultivate with one another if we are brave enough to say what we feel! And about letting honesty guide us.
Part One: This bond of trust, it will hold you. You are safe there. Safe there.
Part Two: May the truth be the guide. May it shine bright. May the truth guide the light.
Part Three: The truth! Show me the way. Give me the courage to say...
Part Four: If I feel it, I will say it. If I feel it I'll Say it say it-Say it say it!
Another awesome nature-based song from Bend, OR based song leader Kira Seto, this one is rich in layered harmonies that come crashing together, and evoke the dance of pollinators! Some lyrics were also a collaboration with Ian Carrick.
Lyrics:
Soprano: Floating from flower to flower, spreading all your love
Alto: I feel your love, I see you pollinating
Tenor: Bumblebee, bumblebee, bumblebee, I see you pollinating
Bass: Pollen nectar ancient love
Catchy and quick teach! I encourage you to learn this round well enough to teach it widely. Based on Paulette Meyers' Original, Can work as three micro-parts or as a round, which I prefer.
A new and soothing song by Karly, this song brings us into our bodies and encourages trust in oneself. The descending low part is really fun and could be octaved up. Really an anthem inviting lots of harmonies.
Breathe easy, let it all go
rest your body, trust your soul
to guide your way and keep you whole
breathe easy let go.
A humorous and epic round I learned from friends from the Murmurations choir from New Orleans.
"Cats meow out of angst....
Thumbs, if we only had thumbs thumbs,
If we only had thumbs, i
f we only had thumbs...
we could we could
we could we could break so much!"
A part of a longer composition by Vanessa Degrassi of the Murmurations choir of New Orleans. This is a tribute to the goddess of the dawn in Greco-Roman mythology, Eos. Written with the intention to be sung by worshipers who encourage Eos up over the horizon at dawn.
-Cauldron of light,
Cauldron of light,
the colors alight
the heart beats the time
-Copper and red
ribbons of dawn
pulsing, blushing
-Blood is on the land
the heart beats on
the blushing (blood)
Based on a quote from Brooklynn Childs, melody by Karly Loveling, brand new, learned at Song Village this June. What a gem, and yet another vegetable-themed banger. We contain more than we know...
-If cauliflower can somehow become pizza, you, my dear, can be anything
-There's cashew cheese, and avocado mayonnaise, just think, what could you become?
- I want you to reach beyond your wildest dreams. Way beyond mushroom jerky.
I met Kjerston this year and was struck by her unique groovy songleading style. This one stood out to me as a special bop. It reminds me of classic funk. She likes to play with words, like "be-holdin'".
-Celebrate the beauty we behold here now,
celebrate the beauty we be holdin'
This is the charge I keep as mine
The goal of every hope and plan
to cancel the dividing line
between me and my fellow man
A fun gathering song from Ghana. The words mean "Come back to shore with your boats, it's about to rain." I'll write the lyrics phoenetically.
che che ku le
che che ku fi sa
ku fi sa lan ga
kata chi langa
um a day day
Joyous and heartening song of welcome and inclusion. Great for the beginning of a party, conference, etc. Words are from Jelaluddin Rumi.
Come, come, whoever you are
wanderers, worshipers,
lovers of leaving
Ours is no caravan of despair
come, come again, come
An English nursery rhyme, once featured on sesame street. I've heard various versions of it, but here is mine. The song asks a question and answers it, so it naturally should be sung by more than one person. Whither means "to where?" . Fun and simple, good for leading someone into the forest!
Come follow follow follow follow follow follow me
whither shall I follow follow follow
whither shall I follow follow thee?
to the greenwood, to the greenwood, to the greenwood greenwood tree!
This song shows us, very viscerally, how we can merge into an entity that is greater than the sum of its parts! Overtones emerge and new melodies are discovered when we weave into this tight round. Here is a video of Ysaye Barnwell teaching it. Great warm up!
A fun and lively nonsense song in 5/4 timing. Written as a loose base to improvise upon by Karen Porkka, a member of the Ubuntu Choirs Network.
Djun Djun Gudaka
De De Ga De Ga Dun
De De Ga De Ga Dun
De De Ga De Ga Dun
Teaching Tracks
Do Your Best by Dodie Whitaker
Middle Part:
Do your best until you know better
When you know better do better
High Part:
I’ll do my best until my best is better altogether
Higher Part:
We don’t know what we don’t know
Till we know to do better
A classic round, and one that I often hear sung in a simplified or shortened manner. A bit of a workout for the vocal chords to get all those notes just right. The words are Latin for "grant us peace"
Melody - I will lay me down by the river. I will lay me down and rest. I will lay me down by the river and know the world is blessed.
High part - I lay down by the water's edge. I lay down and know I'm blessed
Low part - Water heal me with your song. Whisper love poems all night long
I learned this song from Kira Seto, a Bend, OR-based songleader. She learned it from Sarina Partridge at a hot spring in the wilderness. What a perfect setting for this magically-layered song, full of flourish and well-held harmony. Sarina is based in Minneapolis and you can find many songs by her Here.
I will go down to the well
let the water ring me like a bell
let the water rock me like a child
for this well will not run dry
no this well will not run dry.
Dream Our Dream by Helen Yeomans
Soprano:
We’ll dream our dream together
Before we go
We’ll weave our wish into the stars
We’ll dream our dream together
Before the sunrise
Alto:
We’ll dream our dream
Before we go
We’ll weave our magic
We’ll dream before the sunrise
We’ll dream our dream
Before we go
We’ll weave our magic
We’ll dream before the sunrise
Tenor:
We’ll dream
Our dream before we go
Away
Weave our magic
We’ll dream
Before the sunrise
Bass:
We’ll dream
Our dream before
We go away
We’ll dream our dream
Before the sunrise
I learned this Haunting Lullaby at Village Fire in 2017. Ladino is a language with heavy Spanish influence, from a time when there was a large Jewish population living in Spain, which was pushed out in 1492. Now Ladino is spoken by pockets of Sephardic Jews in Israel, the Balkans, Turkey, Greece, and North Africa. I am a quarter Sephardic, and have absorbed a fair bit of the culture and magic through that line. There are many different versions of this Ladino lullaby that you can find online, none exactly like this. The words mean, "sleep beautiful child, sleep without worry or pain"
Durme, durme, hermosa donzella,
Durme, durme, sin ansia i dolor,
Durme, durme, sin ansia i dolor.
This is an earth blessing song in the style of the traditional hula of Hawaii. The words mean 'Yes, we must do what is right, and take care of the earth.' This is an example of a type of cultural appropriation similar to 'Kudekukuru', in which an outsider with some familiarity with a musical style composes a Western-style choral piece based on a native song or blessing. The message, (almost identical to Kudekukuru,) is one of ecological consciousness, and while it may be a bit of a white guy wanna-be song, it's seriously groovy, respectful and aware of the culture it is inspired from, and has a positive intent. The "crunchy chord" at the end is really satisfying! Here's a video of it being performed.
E Malama i ka heiau x3
E malama pono I ka heiau
eeee
Teaching Tracks
This song takes its content from a chapter in Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass (which everyone should read.) All about lichen, which is the embodiment of mutual thriving. Lichen is a co-operation between algae and fungus. Two beings from different "kingdoms" working in harmony to support one another, and weathering the ages in difficult environments. The term 'ear of stone' refers to a common name for a kind of rock tripe/lichen. Here is that chapter read aloud. The quotes we are singing come in at the very end. To fully understand the meaning of this song I highly recommend listening to or re-reading this chapter.
-Oh lichen, oh lichen turning light and stone into flesh and bone.
-Ear of stone will you hear our anguish when we understand what we have done? x2
-May you also hear our hymns of joy when we, likeyou, marry ourselves to the earth.
A classic round you may find in "hippie" circles, or summer camps. The "sail away" part is fun to sing, and the churning rhythms mirror the oceanic theme.
Earth and ocean
sand and rolling sea
wind and motion, fire be lit in me
sail away!
Lightly touch down to (Earth...)
A praise song to the god of Tolkein's writings
Eru Ilúvatar by the Woodstock Brothers
lyrics: Eru Ilúvatar
This epic arrangement comes from German composer Meinhard Ansohn. Suggestion for small groups is to try the melody plus both alto parts, which could be octaved down for low voices. That makes a nice three-part!
Evening rise, spirit come
sun goes down when the day is done
mother earth awakens me
with the heartbeat of the sea
Teaching Tracks
So fun to sing! Another banger from Helen Yeomans, a contemporary UK composer. The words speak for themselves. Space it out enough for the response to have some room around it. In a small group I'd just do lead, soprano, and tenor. Enjoy!
Every voice shall sing, every light shall shine.
Shine on, shine on...
Halleluia! Shine on Yeah! Shine on
Teaching Tracks
One of my favorite Mary Poppins-esque songs, bringing to mind images of some goofy old English blokes making their way to a gathering or pub across a lake. A very old drinking song, I originally learned it in 2017 when I took the Ferry across the Salish sea to attend Community Choir Leadership Training from magical Canadian song elves.
The boat, the boat haste to the ferry
and we'll cross over and be merry
and laugh and sing and drink old sherry
lyrics: oley leyloyla
Dreamy round that embodies the feeling of silent magical snow world. Still searching for the origins...
The first snow falls so silently down,
that none can hear it touch the ground
and still it falls, and falls, and falls.
This song has been described as the distillation of all that Nick Prater told his daughter, Suzie Ro Prater, when he was on his deathbed. Suzie Ro has a unique fire for powerful, vivacious song leading. She has carried along what her father began with the Wild Harmonies chorus and taken it to magnificent new levels. The musicality blends triumphant chords with dissonant depth. It matches the words wonderfully. One of my singers' all-time-favorites, we focus on the fugue/ first half, which has a really different energy than the second half! Here is the original, choral version, and here is Suzie Ro's singer/songwriter solo version.
Listen deeply, a flame in the center of the storm
she sings in silence, inside the ocean of my soul.
Voices rise and weapons fall and nations unite around the world
and songs of peace at the heart of every land
A great "bang for your buck" three-parter. Awesome harmonies, clear message. Sing it with a couple friends on a night hike!
-Full moon shining bright, guide my way through the night.
-Full moon, shining, guide me through the night.
A mesmerizing and hypnotic round that reminds me of the feelings of spinning and spiraling.
Under the full moon light we dance
Spirits dance we dance
joining hands we dance
joining souls rejoice
A song that truly gives voice to the power of the full moon, and the feelings that can come out on nights like this! A truly epic and fun song, and one to have in your back pocket for the next time you find yourself staring at the moon!
-I wanna howl, I wanna scream! In this moon dance I feel all of me
-Let it out, let it ALL out--shake it off--shake. it. off! Dance in your fullness dance in your fullness, beauty!
-La Luna calls to me dance in her ecstasy
-On a night like this, I swim with the moon flowing through my soul
I learned this song as a foot stompin' round at Catoctin Quaker Camp when I was Nine years old. That's how I have it presented here. Turns out there is actually a written score for Soprano, Alto, and Bass, written in 1972, which can be found here. Interesting. It has a calypso rhythmic section... "For Joyous Occasions" . The translation more specifically is "Let us rejoice today."
Gaudeamus Hodie
This song came to Soleil in a dream. I added the ridiculous minor harmonies. Praise be unto an avocado that can really feed you and your friends...
-Giant, giant avocado x3
With a pit in it, giant avocado
-You can eat it with your friends on some tacos!
Another of my pal Karly's magnificent three-parters, I learned this last summer from her at Song Village. It has a bittersweet redeeming quality I think.
Middle - For this breath, this sound, this holy, holy ground
for this wondrous living world,
give thanks, give thanks
High - Breathing in and breathing out
we stand in love for all this living world
give thanks, give thanks
Low - For this sacred breath, for this holy ground
for all this living world
give thanks, give thanks
Original melody by Thomas Ravenscroft from the 1600's. This one has changed over time, the original words were "Go to Jane Glouer (Glover) and tell Her I love her, and by the low of the moon I will come to her" . Some contemporary spoof versions include, "Go to Jane Glover and tell her I loath her and by the light of the moon, I'll push her over." This version is the one sung by a late friend of mine, I like how it's more universal.
Go to my mother
and tell her I love her
and by the light of the moon
I will come to her
In her nature-reverent style, Annie gives us one of her most beautiful rounds dedicated to the time of year when successive flushes of yellow mark our Autumnal glory.
Sun wanes along the field
Goldenrod begins
sighing trees let go of leaves
day turns to night again
I found it! Jan Harmon, 1985. Jan lived 1940-1993 and was a prolific songwriter. This one works as a round or a choral song. Here is the info from Jan's website. It is a few notes different from how I learned it. I'm excited to do this one during shanty hour...
Oh the wind, it is a song
that harbors through the winter.
Oh the sail, it is a door
that bids the song to enter.
So let us sail the seas good friend
and let us sing together.
The singer lasts the season long
but the song, it lasts forever.
Coming in with my required Mary Poppins style here, this is SUCH a great round, easy to learn and teach, and with a clear purpose. I have ended many fire circles with this song. Author unknown, older lyrics say "may angels surround you, their silent watch keep".
Goodnight to you all, and sweet be your sleep, may silence surround you, your slumber be deep. Goodnight goodnight goodnight goodnight.
Great, Grand, Glorious! by Debbie Nargi Brown
Melody:
Great grand glorious
Great grand and glorious
Its already great grand glorious
When we get together and sing
Basking low:
We’re basking in your glory
We’re basking in your glory
We’re basking in your glory
It’s time to rewrite the story
High drone:
Great grand glorious
Great grand and glorious
Great grand glorious
When we get together and sing
Basking high:
We’re basking in your glory x6
This song allows us to embody the spirit of gratitude. Sometimes it can be hard to strike the balance of humbleness and feeling worthy of the bounty of life. The words here recognize that there is a surrendering involved in accepting this bounty, and that there is surrendering inherent in gratitude. It came out of a workshop led by Suzie Ro Prater, in which a group together composes a song then and there, the Authors names are Sharon Galyer, Olivia Flenley, Jennie Fisk and Mel Deevy. There are two parts, a call, and an echo, with the Alto and Tenors making the call, and all the other parts on the echo. Fun to sing once we get it!
Practice Tracks
I allow, I surrender. I feel so grateful to receive
Bass: So grateful so, so grateful so,
so grateful, so grateful, so grateful to receive
This song has become an anthem of our times in certain circles. It came to my friend Karisha, fully formed, in a dream. She put it out into the world with hertwo-part band MaMuse, and it became a community singing touchstone, referencing "the great turning" of Joanna Macy's writings. The low harmony was later added by Kyle Lemle of the Thrive choir in Oakland, CA.
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.
There are many Halleluia rounds. This one is a mystery to me, but I learned it from my friend Hannah Stampey years ago. I love the way it builds. Please let me know if you know the origin!
The words to this song have been presented to me as meaning "the pigeons will die together in the nest tonight". And that it reflects the undying nature of love. It is popular among community choirs right now as a deep emotional song, and this arrangement certainly conveys that aspect of the song. It was brought to the west by Mighael Spiro and Michael Williams's Bata Mbira album, which contains Afro Cuban music. Here is their recording. As you can see, it's not a sad song by any measure, though their cover may have pulled the song in an upbeat direction.
For an ethnomusicology perspective: According to Chartwell Dutiro, “This song combines two classic musical styles – payinera guitar and jerusarema rhythm. Payinera is a style of guitar that was played by lone guitarists busking on trains and in beer halls. Payinera came to Zimbabwe with migrant workers from South Africa. Jerusarema is typical Zimbabwe rhythm from Murehwa."
I think it's important to recognize that our experience of the version of this song we're singing is it's own thing, and probably a far cry from the various traditions that informed it's growth and spreading. That being said, I think it's a very powerful song as it is.
Taught to me by Community Song Leader Laura Sandage, This song is a mantra to clear a space, inward or outward, of the divisive forces we contain. It's hard to stop it once it gets going!
Nickomo is an awesome composer based in England, writing songs of earth worship that are often overlapping polyphonic feasts for the ears. He has put out a bunch of song books. Check it out here. This was, believe it or not, the first four-part song I ever lead. I guess I was grabbing the bull by the horns. I would recommend starting out treating it as a two-part song with just the Soprano and bass parts.
Heart to heart
Hand in hand
Healing the circle
Healing the Land
This classic has been sung by choirs all around the world. It's about finding everything you need within yourself. A fun multi-part harmony song with a bouncing Bass part that floats the whole thing.
Practice Tracks
I'm gonna find Heaven in my heart
Oooh oooh oooooh
Middle: Let the shame that keeps me heightened dissipate, dissipate
and lay me softly on the ground where I can activate
The words are direct, the message is important. Every time I sing this it feels like an important reminder. It's so common in our culture to see the body as something to be worked on, if not judged outright, yet these words affirm our homeness amongst all of it, the pleasure and pain.
Practice Tracks
1: Home I am, Home in my body, home in my body I am home
2: I am home in my body
3: In this breath, in this heart, in this pleasure, in this pain;
In this breath, in this heart, I am home again.
Low:
So sweet in my mouth
Middle:
Honeydew melon honeydew
Honeydew melon I love you
High:
Honeydew I love you
Honeydew I love you
Debbie Nargi-Brown has been traching African Drum in Santa Cruz for decades, and is a powerhouse of a human, and an amazing song leader. If you ever get a chance to sing with her, you won't regret it. I learned this one as Song Village outside Santa Cruz this year, and she made it as a response to a deep conversation we had on the beach about hopelessness. The main text comes from the Emily Dickinson Poem. Her songs are less strictly parts songs, and more layers that can come and go organically.
Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all
How Do I Find Faith by Katie Sontag
Melody
How do I find faith in me
How do I find faith in me
How do I find faith in me
faith in me, faith in me
How do I find faith in us
How do I find faith in us
How do I find faith in us
faith in us, faith in us
High part
Ooo-ooo how do I find faith
How do I find faith
How do I find faith
“Feel the Fear”
Feel the fear
Do it anyway
Know it’ll be alright
Feel the fear
Do it anyway
Know you are not alone
“Feel Your Feet”
Feel your feet on the ground
Know it’ll be alright
Feel your feet on the ground
Know you are not alone
So haunting, this one. I first learned it from Annie Zylstra at Singing Alive '17. Excellent for experimenting with vowel sounds. I've seen this one refuse to end in a big group around a fire many times.
Shireen Amini is a drum and percussion instructor based in Seattle, and an amazing songleader. She can turn a song circle into an epic dance party. This song was her anthem during the pandemic when going on a jog was sometimes the only outlet for movement.
Middle: I am free in my body
I am free in my body
I am free in my body
Nothing can take that away from me
High: Nothin but free
Nothin but free
Nothin but free
Nothin can take that away from me
Low: Badadadada
Badadadada
Badadadada
Badadadada
Nothing can take that away from me
In this day and age, we are working on dismantling deep systems of oppression within ourselves, and in the process, we are stumbling as we learn. Lisa wrote this song as an anthem to our imperfection in that process, and to encourage a culture where we aren't separating, cancelling, and pushing away others when they make a mistake in this process. As a reminder that for anyone to learn and grow, they need to be held in love even as their behaviors are brought under scrutiny. **Play through to the B part, perhaps the best line in the whole song!**
-How could I know what I don't know? x3
How, how, How could I?
- I am learning what I don't know yet, I am changing...I am learning.
-Wake me up to learn...fall on my face!... Wake me up to learn...
At Village Fire 2018, Paul was doing some journaling on self-affirming mantras for his day, and came up with the harmonies very quickly and taught them to the whole gathering that evening. This is the original version, he has since made some changes to notes but I'm stuck in my ways. A powerful song to sing to yourself, I definitely cried the first time I sang it in earnestness to myself.
I am me
I am courageous
I love
I am powerfully here
One among so many amazing song-tools that Ahlay gives us in her album Spells from the Unknown, this rousing parts song reminds us that we can choose not to go with the flow, to be true to ourselves despite sometimes having that run against peoples expectations or wishes of us.
I am willing to risk belonging
I am letting go of disappointing you in order to be true to myself
I decline, I decline. I am on the side of my own soul.
Classic Karly Loveling 3-part layer song, one that I heard years ago but only recently got to experience seeing it really take off. It's about how we all have an inner compass directing us, and ideally we can release to it and be directed in the right direction.
-I got a fire burnin inside of me
I got a fire burnin in my soul
-And I can feel that fire guiding me, telling me which way to go
-And I'm gonna feed it, I'm gonna feed that fire
and I'm gonna heed it, when it tells me which way to go
I learned this one in a song circle that Karly lead a couple years ago, and it pops into my head constantly. Sometimes there are those circumstances in life that require us to release control and accept that "it is what it is", and to move on. Sometimes we don't need to recontextualize/reframe, or search for the silver lining in everything. Sometimes, we step in dog poop, and as Forrest Gump said, "It happens." That kind of immediate acceptance is what this song is about.
- It is what it is, like it or not. It is what it is
.-Love keeps loving, oh-oh. And I'm still Loving you...
-Push-pull, give it up give it over.
Dream-scheme, fall down and start over
-Keep on moving, keep on moving forward.
The story behind this song is one of my favorites. The full story is on the Individual tracks page. It has come full circle as a chant of personal transformation, turned into a bluegrass song by a Hare Krishna-influenced hippie in the seventies, mistaken widely for an old southern gospel song, and ultimately reclaimed by Appalachian alternative types as a transformation chant again. Full-Circle! This is my arrangement/ distillation of the original into parts.
Practice Tracks
I'm goin' up on the mountain
ain't comin' down till the mornin
I'm goin up on the mountain
ain't comin' down in chains.
An upbeat gospel song by my fellow CCLT director and friend, Arnae Batson.
Teaching Tracks
I've Got a Feelin', That everything's gonna be alright...
Woah ooh ohh ~~
I've Got a Feelin', That everything's gonna be alright...x2
Be alright, be alright, be alright
The folk musician Jean Ritchie first spread and popularized this old Baptist song in the fifties. Northern Harmony and the Starry Mountain Singers have also done some amazing arrangements of it as well. Super fun to sing, and a great duet to learn with a friend. Make sure to pitch it low enough to make room for the high part!
I've got a mother Gone to Glory
I've got a mother Gone to Glory
Look away over yonder on the golden shore
Away up in heaven
Away up in heaven
I've got a mother Gone to Glory
Look away over yonder on the golden shore
(...Some bright day I'll go and see her/
That Bright day may be tomorrow)
In the winter, nature can seem really dead. But life never sleeps. This season of choir contains the old celebration of Imbolc, (traditionally celebrated on February 1) where we pay homage to the seeds actively germinating under the earth in late winter. It is a "cross-quarter" holiday falls half way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Let's keep these magical little seeds in our hearts!
In the beginning was the seed, was the seed
and in that seed was a dream
sings "awake, arise,
begin the growing you will need,
till one day you're a seed again."
Marias's Bonus Harmonies!
Words by Rumi. Arranged by Laurence Cole.
A recently released collaboration from folky new-agey performers, fun to play with, many options for harmony. The collaborators are Starling Arrow, Chloe Smith, Rising Appalachia, Leah Song, Tina Malia, Ayla Nereo, Marya Stark.
-I wanna lay my bones down in the water,
I wanna lay my body down on the earth
-Lean in, lean in, lean into the river
- Hum with the rain, come sing again, hum with the rain
A soulful and honest reflection on being heard. We all need this. The lower three parts start on the same note and branch out, and the Soprano starts higher, these parts weave together beautifully.
It's when you hear me that I feel known
It's when you hear me that I'm not alone
Can you hear my heart song?
Can you hear my prayer?
x2
A Halyard Shanty from the South Pacific, or at least the name is. Hawaiian sailors were renowned for their excellent seamanship. Sometimes their names were hard for English speakers to pronounce, and the Hawaiian word for man, "Kanaka" was used. Great to sing in excitement for a day off, but as with many shanties, it can be about anything.
I heard, I heard the old man say
John Kanaka-naka tulai e
Today, today is a holiday
John Kanaka-naka tulai e
Tulai e -woah- tulai e
John Kanaka-naka tulai e
We're bound away for Frisco Bay,
John Kanaka-naka tulai e
We're bound away at the break of day
John Kanaka-naka tulai e
Tulai e -woah- tulai e
John Kanaka-naka tulai e
A quick and easy opener round meaning "Rejoice" or "rejoice in God". A great back-pocket song.
A round from a poem by Kabir
When you were born you cried
And the world rejoiced
Live your life so that when you die
The world cries and you rejoice
This mesmerizing four-part round by Becky Reardon eloquently points to the reality that we, as support for our friends, family, and wider community, cannot live out one another's life/experiences/ challenges, but we can "keep watch". It gives me a sense of solidity in those who care for me. It's saying, "I'll be there for you, though your path may be dark, and you will walk it alone." Musically, this song is really fun to sing, especially on the arching note on the words "Keep Watch". It feels impossible to sing this one without moving to the layering harmonies.
We cannot follow you where you are going.
What you are feeling we cannot know.
But we will keep watch, watch through the night
watch till your journey brings you home.
I usually begin teaching this song with a noticeable chuckle from the group. To "sing Kumbaya" has come to imply useless gestures at unification and bridge building, a normalized snarkiness that seems to assume the inevitability of divisiveness between people. Perhaps the song was overused in the sixties and seventies and thus became a stereotype. But this song, in its time, as a part of the powerful civil rights movement and so many movements that have permanently changed the consciousness of this country, it shouldn't be overlooked.
The story often goes that Missionaries in Angola taught the words "come by here" to natives, and their accent/pronunciation stuck, with the song arriving back in the states as "Kumbaya". But this story is most likely erroneous and seems to come from a single pastor who liked the story. There are recordings from the twenties, and it surely comes from even earlier times, amongst Gulla peoples, and also from Tennessee. It's important to know that there are varying opinions of how this song should be sung. I've heard an account of Ysaye Barnwell insisting that it is a lament, and shouldn't ever be sung as a light or joyous song. It was passed to me by a Pastor at Village Fire who I believe made this arrangement, and he encouraged its use as a community prayer.
This will be a new kind of experience for the choir. Normally a song like this is tagged at the end of a longer song, so this short piece is called a "barbershop tag". Often barbershop style singing involves adding extra flare to a melody or song they're covering, and the tag is basically a bonus part where they get to really play, usually with the main chorus line. Anyway, barbershop tags took on a life of their own and there are conventions where people focus on just tags. It presents a bite-sized way to start experiencing that is a pretty difficult singing style.
Like Leaves in fall we'll fall in love, in love.
Mysterious sounding layer/insta song. Check it out on Spotify. Pretty friggin groovy.
A powerful insta-song by Eugene-based songstress Karly Loveling. Put this one in you pocket! Interesting subtle polyrhythms.
• Doin' 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
Teaching Tracks
I have been hunting for this arrangement for about four years, and finally found it. A couple Winters ago I arranged it myself but wasn't satisfied with the outcome. Mine has more going on, but I like the simplicity of this arrangement. Just to make things needlessly complicated, you can find my arrangement below. Tommy Sands is an American songwriter, though this song is Celtic influenced. Here is the Original. A sweet song about inclusion and welcome.
Let the circle be wide ‘round the fireside
And we’ll soon make room for you.
Let your heart fell no fear
For there’re no strangers here.
Just friends that you never knew.
Teaching Tracks
Years ago, I heard a jumbled recording from a friend who had visited England and learned from some of the Natural Voice Network choir leaders out there. In it, a very grumpy teacher was mostly yelling at his choir, but also teaching a four-part arrangement of this Tommy Sands Song. I only vaguely remember the subtleties, and couldn't track it down, so arranged this version myself.
Practice Tracks
Let the circle be wide round the fireside
and we'll soon make room for you
let your heart have no fear
for there are no strangers here
just friends that you never knew.
My mashup of two different arrangements on the classic song about getting out of our own way. Heather Houston did the harmonies on the main melody, Pam Blevins Hinkledid the three response harmonies. It all adds up to quite the sound. We will probably play with this one selecting a few harmonies at a time.
Sing Through my voice, play through my hands
Let the way be open
Based on part of the inspirational poem The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, This classic LC song invites us into presence, and challenges us to "source our lives" from a transcendent beauty.
-Let us see the beauty every day,
and source our lives from its presence
-I want to know if you can see the beauty, even when it's not pretty every day.
This song is inspired by the "four universal addictions" as described by Angeles Arrien in her book, The Four-fold Way. They are 1. The addiction to Intensity, 2. The addiction to Perfection, 3. The addiction to Focusing on whats going wrong. 4. The addiction to "knowing" This may be my favorite of all Karly Loveling songs right now, because when the rhythm is clicked into, it is seriously groovy and unstoppable!
-I am letting go of the need to do it right I am doing the best I can
-I am letting go of wanting things to be different than they are
-I'm letting go, I'm letting go, I'm letting go of the need to know
-I am letting go, I am letting go
What a magical tag line. To be remembering how to return to the presence in feeling "all is well". I feel constantly in the struggle to remember to tap into the goodness all around me. And this song speaks as well as shows that. Its almost as if the melody line is a person rambling along a lane, while the beautiful droning overlays are the omnipresent magic we can choose to tap into...
-This life is an act of learning how to be ever returning to the living stream of all is well
-This life, return, come on home, come on home, all is well.
- This life is learning, ever returning, all is well.
A fun, rhythmic layer song from Hark singer Chloe Lieberman. She asked a piece of land to which she was deeply bonded for guidance, and this song came through, about honoring the joyous creative part inside.
-Listen to the light alive inside, listen to your own heart.
-There is a drum that beats within rhythms of wisdom coming from your heart
-How can we know how to do our part?
A simple etheric chant/round. Good for night time around the fire.
Listen to your heart, Listen to your heart
Let love guide you
Let love guide you
A simple round by Hark singer Ellison Graham, and a lovely mantra.
A beautiful and heartfelt song of gratitude and parting. This is a great one to learn a few of the parts of with a few friends, such that when somebody departs, you could break into this layered caress as they leave, singing our friends in and out of our days and lives... I have all six parts, but I find that combinations of three or four work best. And All parts can be sung the octave down for lower voices!
Teaching Tracks
Love that you were here with me,
Love that you were with me
In my waking, and in my sleeping,
love that you were with me.
Love This Dirt by Gina Chick
High Part:
Take me to the place where my heart just longs to be
Take me to the place where I know that I am free
Middle Part:
Every time I lay upon the earth
Feel the rhythm
Love this dirt
Low Part:
Every time I lay my feet upon the earth
I feel the rhythm in my body
Love this dirt
Magic. The more songs we can inject into our transitions, our arrivals and departures, our sleeping and awaking, our sowing and reaping, the more our world comes alive with music. Still looking for the source of this song....
Lulululabye lullaby, lullaby sweetly sing to lullaby
My new favorite round. I learned it from folks in the murmurations choir from New Orleans. Source unknown. I love the feeling of many vendors all singing about their wares!
Who Will buy my roses? Who will buy my posies? Who will buy my lillies? Ladies, fair.
Taste and try before you buy, fine ripe pears! x2
Clothes, clothes! Many old clothes for sale. Fine bear skins and rabbit skins. Many old clothes!
A hypnotic and earthy offering from Heidi Wilson. Milkweed pods, edible when young, release a voluptuous unfurling of silken seed in the Autumn, and I chose it for the Spring session because it reflects our going out into the world in all our doings...
Go wind
carry us now
like milkweed silk
and send us out
send us out
Never forget to be grateful. That's what this song says to me. Don't lose sight of the gloriousness of this world and our getting to live in it. And
1 May today be a day you find miracles on your way.
2 It's a miracle we are alive, it's a miracle we got to love.
3 Oh I believe beautiful things are on their way
This song was shared with my by the amazing songstress Aimee Ringle on a beautiful day in Port Townsend. She had recently sung it to the full moon eclipse with a group of friends on the beach. To her knowledge, it comes from a choir leader named Marc Groden, who runs a community choir in San Francisco called the Everybody In Choir. I haven't been able to confirm this. Wonderful insta-song! Here's a challenge: I bet you can learn all four parts AND how they fit together...Just go for it!
Moonlight
Teaching tracks
Written by our very own Ellison, the crunchy chords manage to melodically convey the coincidence of light and dark that we experience on a moonlit snowy night.
Practice Tracks
Moonlight Over the Field
Moonlight, casting shadows on the snowy ground,
casting shadows on the ground
A lilting, fun, and light 3-part round, based on Mozart. I found this song on an album by Barbara Swetina and the Findhorn singers.
This is a lullabye-esque song to our grandmothers. Nanila means grandma, similar words in many languages; and is a classic early baby word. The strange rise at the end of every other line make this one especially mesmerising.
Nanila Nanila
Na Nanila
Nanila
EEH
Teaching Tracks
An instant classic! This song is hot off the presses from Seattle-based songleader, activist, and grief-tender Ahlay Blakely. It reminds us that we don't need to hold the story alone. We all hold a part. And so fun to sing with a drone, a building part, and a chanting crescendo.
Everyone feels and carries different parts of the story
And together we weave, we weave a net of rememberance
We were not made; we were not created to hold this; hold this all alone
A song in the Shona language that means "will you get there?" implying, to heaven, though I apply its meaning to many things when I sing it.
Teaching Tracks
Noyana, Noyana
Noyana Noyana
Nitini, Noyana
Noyana, Pe-Sulu
A Ghanan greeting song, the words mean, "Surely you are the true child of my mother!", A sweet message of inclusion and tegetherness. It was brought to my singing network by Barbara McAfee, who says it is a song that would be sung all afternoon, then they'd eat dinner, then start it back up again!
Nungye-Da
ningye-da ooh
Nungye-da
mma bia
Nungye-da
Teaching tracks
I learned this song when I was nine. It was sung every night at the end of fire circle as the campers at Catoctin Quaker Camp filed off to their cabins, youngest to oldest. Instant glorious harmonies. A powerful classic, adn one to imbue into your lives as a lullaby. An adaptation of a Christian hymn, "Abide with us O lord"...
Lyrics:
Part 1
Everything lives in obligation to everything that lives x2
Part 2 & harmony
Every - everything in all creation everything everything is alive
Part 3
Everything in all creation is alive
This is a lament. Specifically, the song is sung when mourning the loss of a spring that has dried up. A wonderful example of a song that was always meant to be sung to the land itself.
A sweet reflection on our interconnectedness, and our resilience. Sarina Partridge has TONS of awesome songs on Bandcamp, generally about natural cycles and gratitude. She has a particular style, with parts often echoing one another, and long droning bass lines.
I am of this Earth, I am of this sky
and the seasons turn, and so do I
I am made to change, I am made to bend
I am made to break and to grow again...
There are so many awesome morning songs, and I rarely teach them since choir is at night. But this one is so fun, and a go-to for me for years. Just the Soprano and Bass parts make a fun, reverant and yet goofy light hearted duet.
Oh morning, what a joy x3
Walking through you in the sun
At one of the reunions of choir leaders like me who took the CCLT training, there was an exercise in coming up with a song from scratch, and four people produced this wonderfully goofy song in about a half hour, based on the poetry of Dr. Seuss, from Oh the Places You'll Go. Just try to sing this song and be serious. It's impossible.
Teaching Tracks
- I wake up to a new day, and all I love is all around me
- North, South, East, West, Go which direction feels the best
-You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes
you can steer yourself any direction you choose!
This song is from a collection of music called "Friday Afternoons" made for a school choir, composed in 1932. Recently popularized by the Wes Anderson film Moonrise Kingdom. Based on an old nursery rhyme, the lyrics and layers of sound create a creepy nostalgic feeling and image of this person who has passed on. Both lyrically and musically, this is a great example of doing a lot with a little.
Old Abram Brown is dead and gone
you'll never see him more
He used to wear a long brown coat that buttoned down before
A haunting operatic-sounding, yet simple song. Great for beginner song leaders! The three parts are all different lengths so loop at different rates, which is part of why this song gives a lot out of a little, so to speak.
Featured in the film We Are Together, This one comes from the vibrant choral traditions of South Africa. The words mean "Thuli, you are so beautiful, every time we walk together, people say you look like a peacock!" Another translation I've heard is that it more subtly implies that Thuli is vain like a peacock. Either way, it's a beautiful song, and the song itself transforms into a peacock, as all the parts replace their words with "tee wee wee" . Very fun to sing!
Teaching Tracks
Nawe Thuli
Nawe Thuli
Nawe Thuli
ubizwa ipigogo
solo:
UMangi hamba nawe Thuli
ubizwa ipigogo
Heather Pierson wrote this song in the Spring of 2022. A rousing chant that twitters about and then coalesces magnificently in a tight harmony. I love the concept of growing all our relationships as agriculture.
Melody: Plant the seeds of yourself, wherever you may go
and may the wind and water make you stronger as you grow.
And may the Earth bring flowers from the seeds that you sow.
And where there is need plant a seed!
Low: Plant the seeds of love
Plant the seeds of joy
Plant the seeds of peace
And where there is need plant a seed
High: Plant the seeds of love and of joy and peace
Plant the seeds of love and of joy and peace
Plant the seeds of love and of joy and peace
And where there is need plant a seed
One of my favorites from Lindsey Scott's new album Well Held. Lindsey self-describes her music as the nexus of prayerful, sexy, and childlike, and I totally agree. This one is a prayer to the universe to be a vessel for divine music to flow through, with the most fun "thank you" layer that is a good earworm to get! Here's to gratitude!
Please, please Universal soul practice some song through me
please, please, universal soul, sing a song x2
- When I ask, I ask Believing, when I ask I already Have
when I ask, I ask receiving, when I ask, I already have.
Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Such a sweet song! A blessing song with straightforward harmonies that gives everything you would want in such a song. soaring highs, rich, thick harmony, intuitiveness, and positivity. Fun to sing!
May the pool of love we have gathered here
spread its wings and fly, far and near
from the depths of our hearts
to the farthest star
may our love bless everyone
may our love bless everyone
Yo yo yo we are
remembering who we are, we are
remembering why we're here, we are
remembering we are one
x2
we are
Bass: we are remembering x7
one
Yet another amazing river song. This is an instant classic. It works with free, open space for folks to crate their own harmonies, and to add in three-syllable things for the "zipper".
I'm gonna lead with peace today,
yeah, I'm gonna lead with peace today.
I'm gonna lead with peace today,
and see it rise!
I'm gonna get down to the river,
gonna take up the revival
I'm gonna lead with peace, lead with peace today!
Low Part - Riding my bike, riding my bike, riding my bike to work and back
Middle Part - Ooo I like to ride my bike, ride it to work, and back
High Part - I can hear the birds, I can feel the breeze
I can smell the blossoms on the trees
I can feel my body growing strong
It just makes me want to sing this song
This reassuring and seriously groovy tune speaks to the sentiment of acceptance and moving with the "crazy world" we live in, to ride the wave of what surrounds us rather than bemoan it. Good thoughts, and a really fun and catchy sing!
Practice Tracks
Melody:
I believe that I'm in the right place at the right time,
This wave is crashing down and it's the one for me to ride.
Low:
Ebb and flow, rising falling
High:
Crazy world, crazy time. Gonna let go of what ought to be, and hang on for the ride.
I found the album "the book of rounds" by the October Project years ago, but never really noticed this one until some songleader friends sang it with me this year. Another Mary Poppins gem. Sometimes a song doesn't pop in recorded form and it's worth singing songs with friends to see how it sounds in reality.
As the sun is rising to shine
over the ocean into the sky
the whole world, ancient and new
holds the beauty inside you
An old classic fire circle song. Great as a three part round, though you can accomplish eight parts and create a cacophonous experience! Here I recorded it on the fly with a four part version. For a more beautiful rendering check out Libana's version. It's originally "show to us..." but commonly sung "bring to us, or "give to us",
Rise up o flame
by thy light glowing
give to us beauty
vision and joy
I recently met Debbie Nargi-Brown at Song Village and she has a whole bunch of awesome, rhythmic songs. She teaches West African style drumming, and is an extremely embodied songleader. A force of nature. Here is her website. She has a few albums of music, much of which is singalong friendly. This song resonated with me as a kind of internal pep-talk, whenever I start to think in absolutes, imagining failing and giving up, whether about minor or major things in life. It takes faith and hope to move through these feelings.
Part One: This is a roadblock, not the end of the road. When I get knocked down, I get back up again.
Part Two: I don't care what you've been told, now is the time to take back control. This is not the end of your dreams. Life is not what it seems.
Part Three: Faith, Hope, to believe. Faith, Hope, to receive.
We'll Roll the ol' chariot along,
We'll Roll the ol' chariot along,
We'll Roll the ol' chariot along,
And we'll all hang on behind!
A pot of Irish stew
Wouldn't do us any Harm x3
...And we'll all hang on behind!
We'll Roll... Etc.
A classic capstan shanty. African American in origin, there are early records of it being sung at corn shuckings and log rollings in the Dismal Swamp area of Georgia. The words come from a Salvation Army Hymn, and the tune is a Scottish reel. In some versions, the biblical "golden wheel" replaces the chariot. The verse about Nelson's blood is making reference to the aftermath of the battle of Trafalgar, (1805) in which Admiral Lord Nelson died, and his body was placed in a barrel of rum. The crew was said to have drunk grog in honor of Nelson, out of that very barrel, and from thereon grog was sometimes known as "Nelson's Blood".
Another old haunting round, popularized by Libana. Here is their (again way more professional) recording. I've also heard this song, or a very similar version, attributed to being a Jewish Nigun, it could very well be all of these things.
Sacred Space Song by Saro Lynch-Thomason
Part 1:
Oh we are whole again
We raise our wards again
In union with our kin
Oh we are safe
Part 2:
I wade deep, deep in the mystery
Seeking, sensing, reveling
Part 3:
We, we stand between the earth and
Earth and the sky
We fold together time and space
In the Winter, things quiet down a lot. This song reflects Gretchen's experience of being 'sanctified by silence' inside a cave. The words mean "Harmonize me with silence" and "Fill me with sacred silence"
Practice Tracks
Santo silencio llena me de...
Harmoniza me con silencio
A warmup song by The Polish Group Laboratorium Piesne. The words are not signifiers of specific meanings. Once I heard a description of this song that I liked, where the droning low part is the earth, our bodies, change, and the ever-present universality. The melody is our lives, our ups and downs, the slow churn of our dramas and our stories as individuals. And the high part is those rare moments of ecstasy breakthrough, that the rest of our lives refer back to or bear the markings of.
This three part chant can help us carry the famous serenity prayer, originally written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. Great insta-song that I greatly encourage you to learn all the parts of and try teaching!
Teaching Tracks
-Grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change
-Give me courage to change the things I can
-Wisdom, be mine, that I may know the difference
Show Me the Way by Karly Loveling
Part 1
Show me the way I need to get going
Show me the way back to my heart
I need to grieve and believe
that love will come again
Part 2
Take time for your tears
Hold yourself and your fears
Love is here so
Harmonies 1 & 2
Love is always here
Love is ever near
Annie Zylstra Is a weaver of willow and song based in the driftless region of the midwest. She writes lovely and depthful songs of earth praise and human reflection, as well as some wonderfully irreverent and goofy ones. Check out her website for lots of great songs! I'll let her speak for herself in describing Sing the Way:
"Sing the Way is a 4-part answer to the question: What can we do to be of service in these times of social unraveling, cultural upheaval, and unprecedented degradation of natural systems? Overwhelm and despair can easily overtake a person wishing to remain present and engaged in the mass collective grief of this moment in human history. And there is so much we don't yet know about what the future holds. In a container of uncertainty with despair in one direction and apathy in another, what else is there do but arm ourselves with curiosity and just get down to doing what we know how to do as alively as we can? For me, it means singing our way through whatever comes and whatever is in the meantime. We make the road by walking. What we love is the question and the answer. It is all we have. Let's sing the way together! "
1 Oh where are we going to? And how do we belong?
For now I'll just be here with you; make a home inside this song
2 If we don't know we'll take our songs, and sing the way together inside this song
3 Don't know where to go, or how to belong. For now I'm here with you, inside this song.
4. Sing the way!
Also known as "Now Let Us Sing." A traditional gospel song, the original words are "Sing till the power of the Lord comes down." This arrangement takes it to new heights! Classic irresistible gospel. A quick youtube search will reveal that the song is almost never sung the same way. There are zillions of different arrangements.
Practice Tracks
Now Let us Sing
Sing till the power of love comes down
Sing Your Song by Jonah and Yuri Woodstock
Bass
If you’re longing for a song
Find a friend to sing along
You’ll be singing all day long
Sing it sing it
Soprano
Let it flow everyday and night if you’re living
Alto
Go on x4
Tenor
Go on sing it
Go on sing it
Go on sing your song
The big hit by Natural Voice Network's Sophia Efthimiou that welcomes and challenges us to be home in our bodies and in our unique and present song. Here is a ted talk where she teaches part of it, where you can get a taste of her energy. Finding home, at every level, I believe is one of the biggest challenges of our era.
Teaching Tracks
This is home, where I belong
In this breath, in this heart
This is home, where I belong
In this Voice, in this song!
My friend and CCLT alum Arnae Batson arranged this version of a gospel hymn "So glad I'm here in Jesus's Name" from her church. She credits Dr. Bernice Johnson with this lyric version, and musicologist Nolan Williams Jr. with being instrumental in rearranging and reintroducing songs like this into the modern lexicon. As with so many songs in the Black American Sacred Music tradition, the author(s) were often uncredited and unfortunately, nameless. This song plays with the contrast of major and minor keys in the same song. The words can be changed to other fun things like "I shout out my name!" or "I can't humble down!" or "love has brought me here"
This song comes from Bend, OR songleader Ian Carrick, who wrote this song on a solo bikepacking trip. His father offered to drive him out to the wilderness and just hang out for a few days camping solo himself to facilitate the trip, and Ian wrote this song about the experience.
-We all need a little time alone; solitude is deeper than alone
- Soul, I see you shining through, doing how you do. Honoring your truth. Do not play it small. Your gift is leading me home.
-Thank you for giving me the space to call myself home.
An instant classic chant, levity, fun. It brings to mind the image of surrendering to the goodness coming to you.
Lift up your hands
Open your heart
Stand in the light as it shines on you
Soprano: love my whole body shakes ahhhh
I stand here in…
Alto: love breathe in breathe out you’re alive beating beating beating
your strength stand here in..
Tenor: the storm surges inside
my whole body shakes
I want to hide but I stand here
Bass: keep your heart inside
so alive beating beating beating your strength as you stand here
The triumphant chorus to Helen Yeoman's longer composition, Stronger. I imagine this could be a pretty powerful protest song. Here is a sweet rendition inside a huge cathedral.
I believe it's stronger.
I believe that love is stronger!
I believe that love is stronger!
I believe that love is stronger!
Teaching Tracks
Perhaps the most catchy ear worm of all time. This sweet and heartwarming epic song was introduced in winter '18/'19 at the CCLT reunion, and taught to about fifty song leaders and choir directors, and for the whole week long convention, we would break out into this song randomly and it was impossible not to sing along. Ellen is from the Midwest, where winter is no joke. People have always had to come together to support one another in the face of extremely harsh conditions. It has (gasp!) verses, so will be a different kind of song than Hark usually does. The tracks below go through the parts in a boiled-down way. Here is a pretty casual performance of it that Winter.
This is my Summer song I sing in winter
helps me remember not to feel bitter
when all my travelling gets to unraveling
plans I made weeks ahead turn into flu in bed
that's when I turn to you, wondering what to do
you start to sing this song and I start to sing along...
Yesterday's news was rough, then there's the weather
but we have light enough when we're together
the days they are shorter now, years they are flying
here's how we save it all, there's no denying...
This is our Summer song, sing to remember
the light here inside of us, fearless and tender
there will be darker times, there will be lighter
but here we are tonight, what could be brighter?
Shireen is another powerhouse song leader from the West coast. This song is a joyous anthem to the sun. "Giving me life" is a term for anything that gives you great excitement, like, "that outfit is giving me life!" so there are some layers there.
-The sun is giving me life, giving me life
the sun is giving me life giving me life
-Ooh the sun is lifting, lifting me up, out of the darkness, into the light Ohh!
A powerful and chilling ode to the Winter Solstice, death and rebirth. Another one from the Natural Voice Network and one of my favorite composers ever.
Teaching Tracks
Sun arise, sun arise
As the earth Turns 'round,
all is still, without sound
hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah
As we pick the manifold seeds this Autumn from the massive heads of sunflowers, let's enjoy this round by Sam Long that keeps geing higher, higher, and higher, in honor of the tall bright giants than look lovingly down upon us.
Sunflower open,
underneath you have only begun,
yellow and bright, you are among
so many like flowers in sun
so stand tall!
My new favorite round. I learned this one from Kira Seto of the Open Hub singing community in Bend OR. I love the way the parts echo each other, great back pocket round for bed time.
Sweet rest
sweet rest descend to all
good night good night
time sends a warning call, sweet rest descend to all
time, time sends a warning call.
An epic round and great reminder to learn from our experiences in life. The "let go" part should overlap directly on top of itself, creating a chord that makes its way around the circle. Quite fun and a nice intermediate challenge as a song leader. Give it a shot!
For all that has been, take lesson and be grateful.
Let go, let go, let go, let go, let go and move, move on, move on.
Here is a classic Natural Voice Network move. Take a heartfelt singer/songwriter anthem, and arrange it for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass. Take a look at the original, and you’ll get more out of the meaning here. It’s a song about the power of the Love within us to bear us through life’s difficulties. Who can’t relate to that?
This love will carry
this love will carry me
I know this love will carry me
love will carry me...
Teaching Tracks
A heartwarming slow, longer round that is reminiscent of my childhood, a throwback to 90's children's songs, and ultimately an epic, beautiful round. (Same composer who did the Wheel of the Water song.)
This pretty planet, spinning through space
your garden, your harbor, your holy place
golden sun goin down
gentle blue giant, spin us around
all through the night,
safe till the morning light.
This can be a fun and joyous reminder to keep afloat in a world that runs on love. The recording is more subdued to convey the notes and timing.
Part 1 (3 Part Round) : "This Sky Where we live is no place to lose our wings, so love, love love.
Part 2: "The Beating, The beating, the beating of my wings completes me, completes me ... and carries me across the sea of separation, to the land of deep connection."
These words are from a poem published in 1868 by Sarah Williams called The Old Astronomer. The original words are "Loved the stars too truly" though many people have learned the song as "fondly". There are many entry points for this round, which can be split up into eighths, sixteenths, etc. This is my favorite way to round it. Keep it slow, meld with the other singers. Note the off-beat on "...I Have" and the length of the pause at the end
Though my soul may set in darkness it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night
fearful of the night
This is a magical song with a magical lineage. It is an old Christian hymn that means, roughly, "To you we are singing, we are blessing you. We thank God and pray to you, Lord our God." And I encourage taking lightly the somewhat staunch translation that has been passed down. This is a song of ultimate praise and gratitude for life, and its harmonies are out of this world. It was passed to me by Laurence Cole, who received it from one of his mentors, Siobhan Robinsong, who received it from one of the founders of the Natural Voice Network, Nick Prater. There is a story that Laurence's choir sang it at an old folks' home in Port Townsend, and on their way out, a nurse with a Russian accent came rushing out, "Please, please, come sing it again to my father! He cannot leave his room, but when he heard this song from his childhood there were tears streaming down his eyes! He wants to hear it again." So they came back and did a bedside rendition to the nurse's father, who was a resident there. This is an encouraging example of how cultural appropriation can sometimes shelter and transport a potency and depth, even when in foreign hands, to eager ears. The man hadn't heard the song in something like fifty years...
Tibyeh pieyom
tibyeh blagoslovim
tibyeh blagodarim
go spo di
ee molim tibyeh bojanash x3
go spo di
a men x3
Ilana Lowe is a friend of mine, and a wellspring of joyous celebratory songs. I sang Laurence Cole's "I am seeing you" song, and she said, "well, here is the response to that" and sang this quick-teach round.
-Oh to be known, to be seen
oh to be known to be seen!
Oh what a joy, oh what a thing,
Oh to be known to be seen
"The truth is proper and beautiful at all times and in all cases"
-Frederick Douglas
An autumn round from a Hark singer, Jess Kaufman
Lyrics:
Treetops kissed
With yellow all around
The fall is settling settling down
The heavy fog the grasses browning
Turning inward nesting down
Underneath the Sun by Helen Yeomans
Lyrics:
Soprano:
Won’t you come sing
Under the sun
Won’t you come sing
Under the sun
Won’t you come sing
Underneath the sun
Sing with me
Alto & Tenor:
Eh won’t you sing
With me
Underneath the sun
Sing with me
Bass:
Won’t ya come sing with me
Under the sun
Won’t you come sing with me
Under the sun
Won’t you come sing with me
Underneath the sun
Sing with me
A Hark community choir classic way back from the beginning, Unto this Land is a marriage vow to the earth. A great example of Natural Voice Network style, a call and response, parts joining and branching apart, animist sensibility.
Unto this land, my heart I seal,
to always love and cherish as my own
and through my veins her crystal waters flow
to the ocean of my soul.
Unto this land, I shall return
when all my days upon this earth are done
and in her arms, I lay my body down
and my heart will have found its home.
A traditional Bulgarian song, arranged in the 20th century by Philip Kutev. into a 3-part choral piece. This one presents an interesting story around cultural appropriation. Kutev was interested in "preserving" traditional Eastern European music, and succeeded, while simultaneously changing it to fit the modern, western-competing Soviet ear. Everything we touch, we change. Here is a great article that goes into these issues.
In a nutshell, the whole song is a repetitive back-and-forth between Mari and Rada. "Vecherai Rado...Murivomka iezleza" is Bulgarian for "Have supper Rada, outside with Mari" And the conversation says, " Have you heard...Rada? people have been talking about me...Rada....saying I've been knocking..... on doors, Rada....on your door....Rada..." Pretty funny actually. No resolution. Is it true?
The harmonies are classically Bulgarian and full of droning magic...
Vecherai rado x3
Muri vomka izlisa
Da si ta pitam x3
muri ti chula li si
za men da gulchot x3
Rado, po tselo selo
Full lyrics here
Teaching Tracks
This groovy piece is about honoring the divine gift that is our wonderful, resilient, loving, healing body.
Part 1:
My body is a vehicle of soul.
I will honor it with love,
I will learn to make it whole.
Part 2:
My mind is a. vehicle of soul,
I will strengthen it to make it whole.
Part 3:
Heal yourself, that you may heal those around you.
This song has been described as a song in which Ivan is courting Maria, and her response is somewhat lukewarm. There is definitely a contrast in the two parts of the song, that is super fun to accentuate, speeding up the "vodo" part, and slowing down, (and making very operatic,) the "Mari" part.
Part One
Low: Vodo, vodo Ivanishki, vodo, vodo, Ivanish
High: Ishvatah Ishvatah, vodo Ivanishki, Ishvatah Ishvatah, Vodo Ivanish
Part Two
Low: Mari, Maria, Mari, Maria, Mari Mariushkayah
High: Mari, Maria, Mari Mariushkayah
Walking Through the Myst by Jonah and Yuri Woodstock
Low & Middle Engine
Walking through the myst keep it up
Keep it up until you get there
Harmony 1 & 2
Water water everywhere x4
“There is water” part
There is water in the air
There is water everywhere x2
A mesmerizing meditation on the nature of water, inherent to life and death. At the end of the track above I experiment with some harmonies on the "hold me water" part. Fun to layer. Composed by one of our own, song historian Saro Lynch Thomason.
-The water has carried me here, here.
the water will carry me home, home.
-Ho-o-old me, wa-a-a-ter
-Only she can have my body.
The epic gospel chorus of a longer song, a powerful reminder to let go. And endlessly goosebump-inducing juicy harmonies!
We let the love wash over us
we let,
we let it be
We let the (joy) etc...
Teaching Tracks
This classic anthem from the Natural Voice Network of the UK hits the sweet spot for four-part harmonies. Singing this song is like dessert. An important reminder that we do in fact have everything within ourselves that we need to meet the challenges and rewards of our days and lives.
We've got all the love,
all that we need
to change our world, halleluia!
We've got all the love
all that we need
blessed be.
Teaching Tracks
Weave a Prayer by Helen Yeomans
Early in the mornin when the sun has arisen* x2
I say a prayer x2
A song of love
Of hopes and dreams
Shall weave it’s way to you
*/as the world is turnin’ and the winds of change are blowin x2
/when the day is over and the sun is a’ sleepin’
Based on the Rumi poem "the Guesthouse". This song is an expression of gratitude to all our varying emotions that may come through. It is common to resist the less pleasant ones, but this song entreats them and validates them.
- Every emotion that arises has a right to be
- Come one, come all, come many. There are no locks upon this gate. There's room for all there's plenty. Time to grieve and celebrate!
-I feel a ripple in my heart, I feel an opening, singin welcome, welcome, welcome!
A holistic reflection on our actions by Ubuntu choir director Tom Tyre. Slower is better on this one, and drones tuning on that opening note are also a wonderful addition!
What goes around
comes round again
comes round again
that we might mend
This is a Gullah song shared with a fellow choir leader by Ysaye Barnwell. It is an example of a song that could be used as a "Ring Shout", a style of singing and praying and dancing in a circle common among slaves in the west Indies. A type of Ecstatic prayer. Here is an excellent video about this kind of music.
Oh When I get there,
Oh When I get there,
Oh When I get there,
Amen!
Teaching Tracks
The source of this website's name, and a reminder to shine bright with your gifts in the world, because it makes you a permissionary for those around you. Laurence wrote it when he was training to become a choir leader, and it resonated with me when I was in the same place. It's a great simple round to carry with you, and good words to live by.
Oh when we come into our calling
We become bells
Calling to everyone else:
Oh come, come into your calling!
Unknown author, fun little lilting melody that speaks of this exact time of both flowers and ice.
When Winter is passing I long for the Spring.
The days now grow longer, the sun it grows stronger, and down in the valley I hear the birds sing!
This sweet little round came to Ellison in a dream. A good one to sing to yourself first thing!
When you wake up
may the day embrace you
Laurence Cole wrote this song about the reality that just about everything we love in this life, all our food that nourishes us, every animal and plant, flower and ecosystem, is only possible because of photosynthesis, which humans see as the color green. We're literally seeing sunlight being turned into sugars that feed the plants that feed the animals all of which feed us and make our lives possible and our love possible.
One of my favorite rounds! High energy - turning the singers into a workshop of elves... It is one of four seasonal rounds John Krumm composed on his album of nothing but rounds. There are places to add claps that adds an extra element.
When the Winter comes we gather,
to dance and sing together
When the winter comes we gather,
to dance our cares away.
Everybody clap hands, Everybody sing now
Sing a song of gladness, sing a song of joy
Winter, cold Winter, blows hard upon my windowpane
dance 'round the fire, till springtime comes again!
This song can strike instant resonance for a lot of people. It was introduced to me by Laurence Cole, who simplified this arrangement. The original is very specifically Christian, though the message of fully saying "yes!" to something is a powerful one, no matter how it lands in your own heart.
Based on the words of environmentalist writer Winona LaDuke, this song is a gentle but powerful reminder that we are responsible for our part in the care taking of this living breathing earth we are a part of.
You and I
drink this water
You and I
breathe this air
you andI
walk this holy ground.
You and I
Live here
You and the sea by Katy Rose Bennett
I don’t know where I’m going but I know just what I need
A soft wind, the shelter of the forest, birdsong
You and the sea
Lyrics:
Zoryushka weiczerniaja
Zoryushka weiczerniaja
Oj, liuli, liuli, zoryushka weiczerniaja