A Breath of Song

Song: The Net

Notes: The Hindu teacher, Sri Nisargadatta, said, "The real world is beyond our thoughts and ideas; we see it through the net of our desires... To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do so, for the net is full of holes." I began singing this song to myself in the summer of '24, reminding me that what I thought was an immutable barrier might actually be a net of holes, and if I found fluidity, I could slip right by it. As events unfolded, the song grew and took on layers of meaning for me. What if the net were my safety net, and I felt myself slipping through? Can I be at peace with recognizing that there is no safety, no guarantee -- but there is a truth grounded beyond all of my desires, and like water, I can fall down through to that. Patty gave us a beautiful visual of the freedom in that fall... this song has been a great resource to me.

Songwriter Info: Patricia is excited to be developing an in-person community program called Flow Singing in Burlington, Vermont. You can find more details about that at the Juneberry Music site. Patricia believes in singing as a resource for vibrant well-being, experiencing wholeness, courage, connection and joy along with brokenness, fear, loneliness, and despair... the whole messy catastrophe. She lives with her long-time beloved husband, Tom, in a small townhouse close to their daughter's family (the better to play with their granddaugher!) Patricia reads widely, and also spends time exploring the natural world on these Abenaki lands, knitting, and reluctantly strength-training.

Sharing Info: The song is free to share in the oral tradition; please contribute to A Breath of Song as a fair exchange if you are earning money at an event using this song.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Links:

Patricia's website: https://www.juneberrymusic.com

Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, major, 3-part with harmonies

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

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The Sunday after this episode is released, November 10th, 2024, 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.

64. Mourning Dove 

by Wendy Luella Perkins

I awoke to the coos 

of a mourning dove

a mourning dove, 

a mourning dove;

and her sad, sweet song 

drifted down from above

drifted down from above, 

drifted down from above​.

106. Don’t Numb to This 

by Abigail Bengson

Don’t numb to this, 

don’t numb it out.

Let it all flow in and out.

​You’re strong enough 

to feel it all,

​and keep your heart alive.

Stay soft to this, 

don’t numb it out.

​Let yourself breathe in and out.

You’re strong enough 

to feel it all,

and keep your heart alive. ​I said,

Don’t numb to this, 

don’t numb it out,

Let yourself breathe in and out,

You’re strong enough 

to feel it all

and it’ll keep your heart alive. I said,

Don’t numb to this, 

don’t block it out,

Let it all flow in and out,

You’re strong enough 

to feel it all,

and it’ll keep your heart alive.

145. Hold On 

with guest Aaron Johnson

By Rev. Cleophus Robinson, Jr., 1980

Hold on (sing on, love on, march on)

​just a little while longer

​Everything will be all right

10. I Trust My Roots 

with guest Samara Jade 

I trust my roots

*to know where to go* (3x)

I trust my roots

*to know where to go*

down, down into the earth.

Chorus:

Down, down into the earth, 

intertwining with all beings,

I'm seeing in every direction; 

going down, down into the earth,

I'll send a message on the 

world-wide-web of interconnection.

*to anchor me deep*

*to reach what I need*

*to share what I got*

*to lead me to love*

*to connect us as one* ("our" roots)

93. Breathe Along with Life 

by Chloe Vispap-Rich

Mark out your golden lines

Create your golden times

Breathe along with life

Away you go.

Away you go,

Away you go,

Breathe along with life

Away you go.

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Song: Breathe

Notes: This was the song I needed to sing to help myself through the pre-election moment... building trust in myself to navigate whatever comes next, tap into the energy to work up to the last moment to effect the change I hope for. Batya Levine is an incredibly heart-sourced song composer, and they'll be releasing a new album in December... check out their website and get on the list to know when it appears -- it's sure to be wonderful, and "Breathe" will be on it -- and you'll know it!

Songwriter Info: Batya Levine (they/them) uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer. Batya is a co-founder and Director of Programs at Let My People Sing!, and they compose original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith). Batya is releasing their second album, Yivarechecha, in December 2024 through Rising Song Records.

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

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Links:

Batya's website: https://www.batyalevine.com

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 3-layer

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Song: Heaven Above, Earth Below

Notes: Becky Graber let her unconscious speak during our conversation, and when I asked what she knows about herself right now, she said, "I am a breath of air on the earth" -- and then laughed a little in surprise and delight. The song she teaches also came from delighted awareness of the place of the body between heaven and earth -- plus a little tai-chi. Becky and I share a wonderfully rambly conversation about shedding old identities and making space, wanting to allow things to bloom rather than push them, and threshold times. We also take a lot of time with this three verse song, including playing with harmonies. You'll hear me making mistakes as I learn and play with harmonies -- but hopefully you won't notice it too much, because you'll be singing right along, too! The goal of this podcast is to encourage you to keep stepping into the power and beauty of your own voice, something Becky Graber has many years of experience at helping people do...

Songwriter Info: Becky Graber has lived her life professionally centered around music and storytelling, teaching and performing, and a heart-drive towards healing and coming to centered generosity. She is the founder and director of the Brattleboro (VT) Women's Chorus.

Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Becky for recording and/or performing permission.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Links:

Becky's website: www.beckygraber.com

Brattleboro Women's Chorus website: www.brattleborowomenschorus.org 

Psychospiritual paths like psychosynthesis – Roberto Assagioli: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosynthesis 

The Diamond Approach – H.M. Almaas: https://www.diamondapproach.org/ 

Helen Yeomans: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/156-we-got-all-the-love

Natural Voices Network: https://www.naturalvoice.net/ 

Lisa Littlebird’s library: https://thebirdsings.com/song-library/ 

Velma Frye: https://www.velmafryemusic.com/ 

Song “Take Heart, Take Part, with lyrics “Participation is gonna save the human race” – Pete Seeger quote set by Becky Reardon: https://beckyreardonmusic.com/product/take-heart-take-part/

“Spes” by Mia Makaroff – Latin & Sami: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKeikhsVynM 

Gaia Music Collective in NYC: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/gaia-music-collective-44369305153 

Choir! Choir! Choir!: https://choirchoirchoir.com/

Gareth Malone with “The Choir” on BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008y125 

Ry Cooder “Jazz” album with red cover and black letters: https://open.spotify.com/album/3Z6RuwMcmDMgBJsZ01Ouhf 

Buena Vista Social Club: https://www.buenavistasocialclub.com/ 

Bobby McFerrin: https://bobbymcferrin.com/ 

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Major (Ionian), 3 verses

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Song: Fly Away

Notes: Becky Graber really captured that feeling I get sometimes when I'm so uncomfortable, I want to simply fly away... when you are seeking something that feels trustworthy, and it feels elusive. I taught this in an unusual way for A Breath of Song, using solfege to identify the very different ranges of each of the four parts... you may find that useful, or not -- let go of anything doesn't serve you! Next week, Becky and I get to dig into a conversation with both of us here in my basement workspace... newsletter subscribers will see the pairsie (what do you really call a selfie with two?) As a songleader who started a chorus that has felt like mutual nourishment for almost 30 years, Becky has a perspective on group singing that is unique, and I really enjoyed exploring this experience with her.

Songwriter Info: Becky Graber has lived her life professionally centered around music and storytelling, teaching and performing, and a heart-drive towards healing and coming to centered generosity. She is the founder and director of the Brattleboro (VT) Women's Chorus.

Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Becky for recording and/or performing permission.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Links:

Becky's website: www.beckygraber.com

Brattleboro Women's Chorus website: www.brattleborowomenschorus.org 

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Major (Ionian), 4 part layer

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Song: Radiate

Notes: Going epic this week -- we learn the chorus to Lisa Piccirillo's song, Radiate, with just me and the piano...and then when we're feeling solid, blow our socks off by singing along with her huge soundtrack! If you love the song, then there are links to find it in Bandcamp, etc, just below! I particularly love the way the word "radiate" is the most intimate in the entire chorus -- it feels like a world of confidence and self-connection right there... Enjoy -- I certainly did!!

Songwriter Info: Lisa Piccirillo almost gave up on songwriting, but the muse wouldn’t let her. The inspiration for her latest record came to her as a vision: the silhouette of a woman, backlit by the sun, alongside the word RADIATE. Fueled by this idea and the desire to reclaim her creative identity, Lisa devoted herself to daily songwriting sessions at sunrise and the new record was born. An unapologetically loud follow-up to her mellow and folky 2008 debut (momentum), RADIATE chronicles Lisa’s vast emotional landscape with her signature blend of vulnerable songwriting and powerhouse vocals.

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

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Links:

Website: www.lisapmusic.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/lisapiccirillo

Tickets for Radiate Release Event Oct 19th 2024: https://tinyurl.com/48t8dna7

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7GJmGSN3Era6CJspcpMMY4?si=PFoGHPmUTQOVLYSJv0UlNg

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lisa-piccirillo/289758509

Bandcamp: https://lisapiccirillo.bandcamp.com/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lisapiccirillo

YouTube: www.youtube.com/lisapmusic

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisapmusic

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, unison

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, September 29th, 2024, 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.

Note: Angela Gabriel has made a melody change (which she can, right? Her song!) to We Were Made for These Times -- I made a new recording for this ribbon of songs, reflecting this update. If you click here, it will go to a teaching youtube video she created (which wonderfully includes the full lyrics...) https://youtu.be/kZfD7YbZJew?feature=shared

2. Put Your Roots Down

by Molly Hartwell

Put your roots down,

put your feet on the ground,

can you hear what she says

when you listen?

(2x)

‘Cause the

sound of the river,

as it moves across the stone

is the

same sound as the

blood in your body

as it moves across your bones.

Are you listening?

99. Turning Wheel

by Lisa Littlebird

There’s a wheel that is turning, 

calling me into my power.

There’s a wheel that is turning, 

calling me into my voice.

It’s turning, we’re learning 

to stand inside our hearts.

It’s turning, we’re learning 

to stand in love.

I will not be silent.

121. Make Good Trouble

by Elizabeth Melvin

words inspired by John Lewis

Stand up and make good trouble

Speak up and make good trouble

Get up and make good trouble

Rise up and make good trouble

Never, ever be afraid

to make some noise, make some noise

This is the struggle,

the struggle of a lifetime

(Make good trouble)

86. We Were Made For These Times

text by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

music by Angela Gabriel

Don’t lose heart,

We were made for these times.

(3x)

Show your soul, 

it shines like gold in these dark times.

Don’t lose hope….

Don’t give up….

46. We Are The Way

by Christine Kick

Celebrate the difference, celebrate the distance,

celebrate the love, celebrate this brand new

way. We are the way.

We are the way… we are the way!!!

All night and every day

we bring the love, we bring the love.

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Song: Good Friend

Notes: Both harbor and freedom, connection and release, seasons and timelessness. Jan Harmon's song, written in 1985, has generous space for harmonies, and impels us singers forward, as though we were the sail catching the wind. I love the feeling of holding and letting go as I sing this song -- it helps me grieve, helps rejoice, helps me open, helps me curl up... I wonder what you will experience as you sing it with me?

Songwriter Info: Jan Harmon (1940-1993) was a published poet, a writer of short stories and biographical non-fiction, as well as a prolific composer of choral music, topical songs, ballads, rounds, musicals, and instrumental pieces. She was born in Saginaw, Michigan and lived in many places from southern California to Maine.

Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Scott at Harmon Publishing for permission and rates: https://harmonpublishing.com/contact.php

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Links:

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, round

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Song: (O Spirit) Guide Me to Those I Need

Notes: If you've run across Aimée Ringle's work, you know her wicked musical skills, her exuberant, high-energy presence, her huge heart and desire to be of service... and you may not yet know how she grew into her voice, the questions she asks herself around how best to contribute to songcircles, her deep desire for village community, and questions about how to make that real in the here and now. We dig a little into one of the hard conversations in songcircles or any group situation where people bring varying skill levels -- how can people of varying skill levels feel welcome and find space and satisfaction as they are? We talk about what Aimée finds she needs to be able to let songs come through and more! Aimée shares the story of how O Spirit came through and we sing it both with guitar and in an up-close and personal way. It's a big episode because we let our conversation spread out, enjoying the end of summer and a sense of expansiveness. I hope you, too, find that pleasure of connection when you join us.

Songwriter Info: Aimée Ringle is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, song-leader, and storyteller. She has an invigorating teaching style that is enriched by her capable percussion and guitar skills. Aimée’s work as a song-leader and storyteller have woven her into an ever widening community of cultural shifters around the country in the realms of sustainable agriculture, alternative education, community living, healing, creativity, and spiritual exploration ~ all of which are reflected in the songs she carries. As a song-leader, Aimée’s work and example have become a valued part of several Ancestral skills gatherings including Winter Count, Spirit Weavers and Sharpening Stone.

Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Aimée for recording and/or performing permission. She says: "For now, the song is just the chorus, but I am paying attention to its evolution and leaving space for the possibility of verses, etc. But this will not be a group process and I'm not inviting unsolicited creative ideas in this process."

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Links:

Aimée's website: www.aimeeringlemusic.com 

Aimée's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AiméeRingle

Aimée's O Spirit video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8wzISTpTsh

Aimée's Bandcamp: https://aimeeringle.bandcamp.com

Earth Practice: https://www.instagram.com/earthpracticemusic/

Tone Home by Elijah Ray: https://soundcloud.com/entheo/tone-home?in=l29rjc61w9os/sets/the-upload-1

I'm My Own Walkman by Bobby McFerrin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8DUi9RCTiQ

Samara Jade: https://www.instagram.com/samara_jade_music/

Three Wheels Turning: https://threewheelsturning.com/

"We are what we repeatedly do." Aristotle interpreted by Will Durant: https://blogs.umb.edu/quoteunquote/2012/05/08/its-a-much-more-effective-quotation-to-attribute-it-to-aristotle-rather-than-to-will-durant/

The Sharpening Stone: https://www.instagram.com/thesharpeningstone/

Laurence Cole: https://www.laurencecole.com/

Liz Rog: https://www.facebook.com/liz.rog1/

Shireen Amini: https://shireenamini.com/music

Song Village: https://www.songvillage.net/

Emergent Strategy and Holding Change by Adrienne Maree Brown: https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/emergent-strategy/, https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/holding-change-2/

Billie Eilish: https://www.instagram.com/billieeilish/

Ganavya: https://www.instagram.com/ganavya 

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, unison chant

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Song: The Ambulance Song

Notes: We live on a busy road, not far from a fire station -- an ambulance is not an unusual sight -- and thanks to Aimée Ringle, I have the perfect song to wish the people involved well... and now you do, too! Next week, Aimée and I talk about the tender place music is able to open up, how someone with considerable musical skills and experience finds how they, too, can be included in community singing... how we are what we repeatedly do, and what that means for Aimée. She is generous, vulnerable, clear-sighted, and willing to name her own challenges. I hope you can join us... but before that, please enjoy adding this song to your personal repertoire!

Songwriter Info: Aimée Ringle is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, song-leader, and storyteller. She has an invigorating teaching style that is enriched by her capable percussion and guitar skills. Aimée’s work as a song-leader and storyteller have woven her into an ever widening community of cultural shifters around the country in the realms of sustainable agriculture, alternative education, community living, healing, creativity, and spiritual exploration ~ all of which are reflected in the songs she carries. As a song-leader, Aimée’s work and example have become a valued part of several Ancestral skills gatherings including Winter Count, Spirit Weavers and Sharpening Stone.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Aimée for recording and/or performing permission.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Links:

Aimée's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AiméeRingle

The Ambulance Song video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b6WxqtlIbo 

Aimée's Bandcamp: https://aimeeringle.bandcamp.com

Laurence Cole's website: https://www.laurencecole.com

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Aeolian, 4-part

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