Songs
WE SING
(2018-2019)
This song is originally from Cameroon in West Africa. The words, "Bele Mama," mean, "Call Mamma."
My teacher learned this song from her teacher Dr. Ysaÿe M. Barnwell. This song comes from the African American spiritual tradition.
A beautiful, multi-layer fire song by Laurence Cole. The lyrics to the soprano part: "This fire brings purification. This fire is healing the nations. This fire is love." Find more of his music here.
I learned this song from a fellow participant in a Stone Age Immersion program. Origins of song are are attributed to the T'Jen while at the Wilderness Awareness School.
This song is by Curtis Burrell, arrangement inspired by Reverend James Cleveland, a.k.a. The King of Gospel.
The title is also the first line of the song. The group Mary Mary recorded a song which shares a very similar chorus, called, "Can't Give Up Now."
This song came through Valerie while going through a period of heartache. It intends to honor the healing and tenderness that can be born through pain.
A song I learned during the solstice time while living in the community of Findhorn in Scotland. Origins currently unknown.
Known as the Angel Wash, this song is written by Aimee Ringle and Aimee Kelley. It is used in the closing ceremony for a gathering called Singing Alive.
Native American. Contemporary gift from the Seneca language. Neesa translates to "the winter moon in January" and Gaiweo means, "honoring the creator who is the creation" or "the good word."
This is a song by Meredith Buck. The story goes that the song came when she was in a wilderness retreat where the participants were blindfolded and then asked to cross a river following nothing but the sound of a drummer on the other side.
This song was brought into this world by Anna Fritz and introduced to our group by her brother Ian Fritz. Find more of Anna's inspiring and heartening music here. This audio is roughly clipped together from our group learning the song, but it has all the parts and also the song with parts woven together at the end. Happy learning!
Taught to me by the wonderful Lyndsey Scott. Taught to Lyndsey by her friend Ian. Originally written by Aphieme.
Composed by Wendy Tuck in 1974 based on a poem by Wendell Berry. When asked, Wendell Berry said he heard these words from an old Buddhist mantra. I found a longer version recorded by Thich Nhat Hanh's community. Additional verses and bridge by Joseph Emet at Plum Village.
This song is originally came to Valerie while camping through a gentle winter storm on the north side of the Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona.
This song is the chorus of a larger song written and composed by Laurence Cole. You can watch a video of it here.
This is a 3 part layer song by Sarah Dan Jones. The words are by Thich Nhat Hanh.
by Christoph Praetorius (16th Century Germany) - a song shared for many generations in Girl Scouts.
The lyrics of this song are attributed to be a Native American Saying. The melody and arrangement I learned while in the Stone Age Project.
Call and response women's working song from Ghana.
A Mexican lullaby taught to me by a young man whose grandmother used to sing it to him.
The lyrics to this song are popular at Rainbow Gatherings, song circles, and in many communities world-wide. The origins are unknown to me. The melody recorded here was gifted to us and led by Geneva Hickey.
This song is a gift from Melanie DeMore. Here is a video of her teaching it in all its simplicity! To find out more about this awesome artist click here.
Notes from Valerie: The origins of this song are unknown to me. I learned this version at a primitive skills gathering. There are a few versions of it recorded on the Singing Alive website.
Update: We discovered that this song was written by Emily Mabry, in connection with Wilderness Awareness School. There are many recordings of melodies out there, but we haven't yet found the original.
A song created by Thrive Street Choir located in the East Bay of San Fran. This choir was "born to sing the music of the revolution, to sing in the Great Turning."
"Freedom Song" by Beautiful Chorus can be found in it's original beautiful form on Beautiful Chorus' Bandcamp page here.
An inspiring song by Laurence Cole! Find more of his music here.