A Breath of Song

Song: I Will Face the Light/Dark

Music by: Jeri Katherine Howell

Notes: I love this personal mantra of Jeri Katherine Howell's that can be harmony-rich or very simple, and helps me center back into my integrity when I'm trying to be present with opposites -- light and dark, for example. Or, as some of the different listeners who wrote to me with opposite things they're holding -- hope & fear, excitement & dread, bitter & sweet, lies & truth. This song holds it all with breath and presence and calm. We sing it different ways -- unaccompanied, then with some strings, then just a two-part vocal harmony -- maybe you add more harmonies, maybe you have more words? Make this song your own if it sings in you....

Songwriter Info: Jeri Katherine Howell — award-winning singer-songwriter, cultural organizer, songleader and educator — cultivates creative experiences that inspire us to live in complex and caring relationship with one another and the planet. Rooted in the oral traditions of folk, Bluegrass and Appalachian music, Jeri Katherine’s songwriting and songleading style is in relation with the land, in deep listening to the triumphs and struggles of everyday people, and embodies music as a communal act. As a facilitator, Jeri Katherine believes we’re all teachers and every moment is a practice ground for creating the world we want to exist. As a caretaker, Jeri Katherine centers equitable access to the arts and nature to support our individual and collective well-being and resilience. Jeri Katherine loves to collaborate with organizations, small businesses and artists to cultivate joy and healing and build community. Connect at jerikatherinehowell.com.

Sharing Info: Yes -- Please share this song in oral tradition groups, but please contact Jeri for recording and/or performing permission. If you plan to share this song as a songleader, particularly if you are a paid songleader, please consider making a donation. Thank you!

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:20

Start time of reprise: 00:15:24

Links: 

Become a member and get monthly song tutorials and more at https://ko-fi.com/jerikatherinehowell

Donate on Venmo at https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2771302012157952132&created=1771099464

Join Jeri's email list and check out upcoming shows and workshops at https://jerikatherinehowell.com/

Buy original music downloads and merch at https://jerikatherinehowell.bandcamp.com/

Follow Jeri on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerikatherinehowell

Follow Jeri on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeri.katherine

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, unison, optional harmonies

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Song: Cycle Breakers

Music by: Ríomas (with some lyric support from Yesh Salz)

Notes: Ríomas gives us a conversation steeped in joy and acceptance of hard things -- in the middle of doing a hard thing, since we lost a recorded hour of our first conversation due to a tech glitch. We talk about what makes it possible to come back -- how to not get stuck -- and how that applies to breaking cycles, connecting with our ancestors of before and those to come after. I found myself inspired by their description of the culture of song circles as a way "to vision in and dream in what we’re actually trying to create that’s more beautiful and more free and more inclusive.” I was surprised and intrigued by their take on severance from rhythm and how regaining embodied, shared pulse is a resistance practice. Catch the whole interview to learn this song that Minnesota folk created a dance to, and hear how Ríomas found their new name and what it means!

Songwriter Info: Ríomas (RiYo or Río for short, they/them), previously known as Shireen Amini, is a queer, trans masculine, Puerto Rican-Iranian artist and immigrant settler based in Portland, Oregon creating at the intersection of music, healing, and cultural change. Drawing upon pop and folk soul textures, gratefully and respectfully from Black and Afro-Latin lineages, they craft artful, participatory songs that invite realness and transformative energy. Bridging contemporary music mediums with ceremonial ways and resistance efforts, Ríomas creates soulful and joyful community singing experiences that reconnect people to their power and place. In spring 2026, they released their first community song album, Gather Your Resilience: Medicine for Liberation.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition contexts like song circles, but please contact me for permission and rates if interested in teaching this song as part of greater money-making ventures like multi-week choirs, workshops, classes, or performances or if interested in recording this song.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:40

Start time of reprise: 01:32:12

Links:

Liz Digitale Anderson: https://singingforliberation.com/

C. Onyx Li: https://www.instagram.com/pointsoflight_mu/

adrienne maree brown: Pleasure Activism: https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/pleasure-activism/

CIIS San Francisco: https://www.ciis.edu/

Plena music of Puerto Rico : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plena

Vernon Bush: https://www.goodlifeproject.com/podcast/vernon-bush/

Bobby McFerrin’s Circle Singing: https://circlesongs.com/

Vision fast: https://schooloflostborders.org/programs/vision-fast/

Doesn’t Mean by Ríomas ABS Episode 249: https://www.abreathofsong.com/p/249-doesnt-mean

Mountain Song, Te Martin: https://www.lamafoundation.org/mountain-song/

Tracy Robertson: https://www.instagram.com/tracyljrobertson/?hl=en

Sarina Partridge, “I Am of This Earth”: https://sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com/track/of-this-earth

Dark as Night by Nahko And Medicine For The People: https://www.nahko.com/music 

Persian Aush soup – a Samin Nosrat recipe is behind a NYTimes paywall, so here’s another one!: https://www.101cookbooks.com/new-year-noodle-soup/

Los Pleneros de la Cresta: https://losplenerosdelacresta.com/

Riomas’s recent album, “Gather Your Resilience,” on Bandcamp: https://riomas.bandcamp.com/album/gather-your-resilience-medicine-for-liberation

Patreon: https://patreon.com/riomas

Instagram: @riomasmusic

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/riomas

Artist Website: https://shireenamini.com/

Music as Medicine: https://shireenaminimusicmedicine.com/

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, harmonizable song form

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Song: Doesn't Mean

Music by: Ríomas

Notes: What if there are other stories we can tell ourselves, other ways to protect ourselves? What if it doesn't mean what we think it means? The kind of flexibility that asks of us -- the openness to consider that the solution our mind is so neatly presenting might actually not be the most accurate or the most helpful? Wow. It's a game changer when we don't have to hold our stories or our past techniques so tightly -- and Ríomas has given us a song to ask these questions, to remind us that old ways of coping aren't always working so well in the here and now. Next episode, we get a sweet, intense conversation that touches in on navigating change, ancestors, rhythms, and more -- PLUS a new song Ríomas shares that's all about changing patterns...

Songwriter Info: Ríomas (RiYo or Río for short, they/them), previously known as Shireen Amini, is a queer, trans masculine, Puerto Rican-Iranian artist and immigrant settler based in Portland, Oregon creating at the intersection of music, healing, and cultural change. Drawing upon pop and folk soul textures, gratefully and respectfully from Black and Afro-Latin lineages, they craft artful, participatory songs that invite realness and transformative energy. Bridging contemporary music mediums with ceremonial ways and resistance efforts, Ríomas creates soulful and joyful community singing experiences that reconnect people to their power and place. In spring 2026, they released their first community song album, Gather Your Resilience: Medicine for Liberation.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition contexts like song circles, but please contact me for permission and rates if interested in teaching this song as part of greater money-making ventures like multi-week choirs, workshops, classes, or performances or if interested in recording this song.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:20

Start time of reprise: 00:18:24

Links:

Album on Bandcamp: https://riomas.bandcamp.com/album/gather-your-resilience-medicine-for-liberation

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 3 layer with extra harmonies

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Song: Soften

Music by: Patricia Norton

Notes: I caught this song more than a year ago, but it's been back in my brain, claiming space and being a helpmeet -- so I thought I'd share it with you. A reminder to release, to be present -- and that in that very softness is a fierce strength and belonging to help meet whatever moment you're in.

Songwriter Info: You can find out more about me in general here: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/about-patricia.html

Sharing Info: Feel free to sing this song yourself and with your friends and family as often as you please! If you are using this song in a way that is making money for you, please contribute to the A Breath of Song gratitude jar at https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar, and/or send me a note letting me know how the song is helping you, so the song brings us into relationship. Thank you!

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:40

Start time of reprise: 00:16:45

Links:

Flow Singing: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/flow-singing.html

Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, major, 3 part

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Song: Journey Far

Music by: Kate Sutherland

Notes: Kate Sutherland knows how to send people out on a heroic journey -- this song is a staunch supporter and reminder of the love that is carried through a challenging time, whether you sing it to yourself or another loved one. Unusually, I give a little bit of structural things to listen for before teaching so you can see if that helps you internalize the song more quickly. The reprise is a slightly different feel than the original teaching -- same melody, same rhythm -- see what you think!

Songwriter Info: Kate is a multi-creative who feels alive when writing songs and leading community song circles, (re)uniting folks with their creative passions, making art out of the everyday, moving her body, belly laughing and standing in wonder of the natural world. She is a prolific recording artist, song-prayer activist, and warrior for love. She holds black belts in Judo and Kung Fu.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share. This is Kate's part in preventing any blocks to the movement of the song getting to where it needs to go and reaching the ears of those who might benefit from it. AND she always welcome financial and/or networking support when folks are in a position to do so. Your contributions not only support Kate in her continued creation of medicine songs, it also energetically feeds the song itself AND the powerful movement as a whole, to bring more light, love and healing into our beautiful world.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:04

Start time of reprise: 00:16:50

Links:

To listen to Kate's music, purchase albums, learn about song & deep nature connection workshops at my website: https://www.katesutherland.ca

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, 2-layers each harmonized

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Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support.

The Sunday after this episode is released, August 30th, 2026, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!

Lyrics ​& Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.

WHERE AM I GOING TO?

by Patricia Norton

Where am I going to?

What am I walking toward?

(2x)

I’m gonna breathe

into the flow, flow, flowing.

BREATHE EASY

by Karly Loveling

Breathe easy, let it all go.

Rest your body; trust your soul

to guide your way and keep you whole.

Breathe easy, let go.

LOVING KINDNESS

by Wendy Luella Perkins

loving-kindness to my body

loving-kindness to my mind

loving-kindness to each and every joy

and heartbreak of my time

loving-kindness to my spirit

loving-kindness to my soul

loving-kindness to each and every part

loving-kindness to the whole

zipper: your body, our bodies, all bodies 

ANCIENT GREEN

by Kathleen Hannan

1. I lay under a tall oak tree,

asked the Goddess to shelter me.

She wrapped me up in ancient green,

ancient green.

2. All my tears, all my tears,

all my tears, the river’s gonna wash away.

ONE DAY AT A TIME

by Penny Stone

with the Serenity Singers of Edinburgh

One day at a time.

​Keep it simple.

ANDITO NGAYON

by Gérone Pascal 

(with harmonies by Patricia Norton)

Andito ngayon

Sa aking puso

Ang bawat hininga

Maginhawa.

Here now

in my heart

Every breath

Full of ease. 

(Tagalog language from the Pilipinas Islands)

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Song: Glimmer in My Eye

Music by: Jordan Mudd

Notes: Jordan takes us through a journey of listening for a call, listening for our ancestors, listening to the generations to come -- and an exploration of the wild delight of being alive! I felt like so much of what he said is common to the shared experience in song circles where people are “Just singing to sing – and… I didn’t know that was what I’d been looking for…” He said, “It feels like what we are doing in our song circles is an experiment in culture building… that we want to move into the fabric of daily life.” And, “We get to be here making something wildly beautiful – not just our sounds but in the sharing of our souls.” Yes!

Songwriter Info: Jordan Mudd is a songleader, vocal coach, grief tender, and ritualist based in Boston, MA. He co-founded Boston-Area Singing Circles in 2023, where he leads regular community singing gatherings combining oral tradition songs, vocal improv, and ritual, as well as training workshops for aspiring songleaders. He has been catching & leading songs for a decade, and is committed to using song as a tool for personal, collective, and spiritual liberation.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but he always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:32

Start time of reprise: 01:08:48

Links: 

“Gimmer in My Eye” on Bandcamp: https://jordanmuddsings.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-generations-past-future

Boston-Area Singing Circles: https://www.bostonareasingingcircles.com/

Jordan’s website: https://www.jordanmudd.com/

Songleader Training with Jordan + milly roberts: https://www.bostonareasingingcircles.com/songleading-intensive

Emma Thomas Mitchell: https://www.emmathomasmitchell.com/

Sunrise Movement: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/  

A Breath of Song episode from Sunrise Movement: https://www.abreathofsong.com/p/172-dont-go-putting-the-world-on-your-shoulders

“I Send my Hope” https://jordanmuddsings.bandcamp.com/track/i-send-my-hope

Ep 244: “I Am Listening” on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/p/244-i-am-listening

Brandeis University: https://www.brandeis.edu/

Howard Thurman: https://www.bu.edu/thurman/about-us/who-is-howard-thurman/

Jordan’s Songleading Offerings: https://www.jordanmudd.com/songleading

David Ruffin: https://www.davidruffinvoice.com/

David on A Breath of Song (ep 185): https://www.abreathofsong.com/p/185-vocal-improv-with-guest-david-ruffin

David’s GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/780f3ecf6

elena elizabeth hendrick: can be contacted at [email protected]

Ukumbwa Sauti: https://about.me/ukumbwa IG:@ukumbwa

Dagara cosmology: https://www.theafricangourmet.com/2016/07/whats-your-dagara-cosmology-sign.html

Malidoma Somé: https://www.thesunmagazine.org/articles/26930-holding-our-power

Sobonfu Somé: https://www.schoolofintegratedliving.org/grief-forgiveness-ritual-sobonfu-some/

Gaia Music Collective: https://linktr.ee/gaiamusiccollective

Amos Lee: https://www.amoslee.com/

Esperanza Spaulding: 12 Little Spells: https://esperanzaspalding.com/

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, round

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Song: I Am Listening

Music by: Jordan Mudd

Notes: Recording this episode was sheer joy -- I was with a community of vocal improvisors at Back to the Well at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY (see shownotes for links to participate next year!) -- and I shared Jordan's song with a small group of us who were free one afternoon. Please sing with us, letting the song sink in and sing inside you in whatever way is just right today. I love the way this song remembers me into Howard Thurman quote: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Songwriter Info: Jordan Mudd is a songleader, vocal coach, grief tender, and ritualist based in Boston, MA. He co-founded Boston-Area Singing Circles in 2023, where he leads regular community singing gatherings combining oral tradition songs, vocal improv, and ritual, as well as training workshops for aspiring songleaders. He has been catching & leading songs for a decade, and is committed to using song as a tool for personal, collective, and spiritual liberation.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but he always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:04:01

Start time of reprise: 00:18:27

SINGERS:

Back to the Well workshop: https://rhiannonmusic.com/omega-2026

Learn more about songleader training with Jordan + milly roberts: https://www.bostonareasingingcircles.com/songleading-intensive

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, unison with optional harmonies

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Song: Mountain River

Music by: Kjersten Hallin

Notes: I absolutely adore the way this song embodies a river by having a low, slow undercurrent that lasts longer than the bubbling, swirling upper layer -- and the two layers sound different on top of each other in different places. As I sing it, I can feel into being the light sparkle on top and the dark fertile below... both needed. Which part calls to you to sing today?

Songwriter Info:

Kjersten Hallin (Pronounced Shares-ten Ha-leen) is a Community Song Weaver, Artist and Beauty Activist, Grief Tender, Earth Steward, Producer of Cascadia Song Rise, Eco-Edutainer and Youth Outreach Specialist. Kjersten is of Swedish/Norwegian ancestry, born on Lakota/Anishnaabe land (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and currently living/singing/practicing in the unceded Kalapuyan homelands of Champinefu (Corvallis, Oregon).

Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Kjersten always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:19

Start time of reprise: 00:22:16

Links:

Kjersten's Music: https://kjerstenhallin.bandcamp.com/music

Kjersten's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-songs-and-love-flowing-in-corvallis

Kjersten's Instagram: @kj_creatrix https://www.instagram.com/kj_creatrix

Eco-Edutainment: https://nofoodleftbehindcorvallis.org/videos/

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 2-part round with different length parts

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:

Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support.

The Sunday after this episode is released, July 26th, 2026, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!

Lyrics ​& Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.

AN OPEN HEART

by Scott Kalichstein

travelled version (song 2)

I'm gonna let life move me,

I'm gonna let life stir me deep,

I'm gonna let life wake me 

from an ancient sleep.

I'm gonna laugh all my laughter,

I'm gonna cry all my tears.

I'm gonna love the rain as deeply as

the sun when it clears.

BEAUTIFUL RAIN

with singer Rebecca Csuy

mysterious origins

Patricia wrote 2nd part

Rain, rain, rain, rain, 

beautiful rain.

Rain, rain, rain, rain, 

beautiful rain.

Rain falling down on the plains,

On the roofs of our towns,

Beautiful rain.

Rain, rain, rain, rain, 

beautiful rain.

Rain, rain, rain, rain, 

beautiful rain.

Rain falling down on the plains,

Rooftop raindrops, 

rooftop raindrops falling,

Beautiful rain.

THE RIVER

by Coco Love Alcorn

Bass part:

Dum t-ka dum dum dum k

Dum t-ka dum dum dum k

Dum t-ka dum dum dum dum

Dum t-ka dum dum dum k

Melody:

1. The river is a healer, 

the river is a sage.

The river knows no end and 

the river feels no age.

The river is a leader 

every single day,

It's living in the moment and 

it always finds a way.

Chorus:

Water heal my body, 

water heal my soul.

When I go down down to the water,

by the water I feel whole.

2. The river calls me over, 

it's calling out my name

In the day and in the night 

I hear that river all the same.

It's calling me over, 

calling out my pain,

oh a river gathers tears 

just like a river gathers rain.

3. The river is a traveller, 

always on the go

A river never worries 

if it's fast or if it's slow

River take me 

to where I need to go,

Oh and I will just relax 

and let the river flow.

STAND IN THAT RIVER

by Moira Smiley

Chorus: 

Come and stand in that river, 

Current, gentle and slow,

Send your troubles down water, 

Down on that water flow.

Verse: 

When you stand in that river, 

Angels sing in your head.

Secrets beyond every worry. 

Dreams beyond every dread.

AN OPEN HEART

by Scott Kalichstein

original version

I wanna let life touch me, 

wanna let life move me deep, 

Wanna let life stir me,

from an ancient sleep.

May I laugh all my laughter, 

may I cry all my tears, 

may I love the rain as deeply as the sun when it clears.

Living my life with an open heart.

INNER PEACE

by Kate Valentine

I am the deep peace I seek, 

I am, I am,

Look upon the rolling ocean

Look above the sky unfolding

All around the tide is turning

Right here I am standing.

​

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