Song: Got It Goin' On

Music by: Patricia Norton

Notes: Thanks to Liz Rog, I'm sharing this relatively new song (she requested it after hearing me sing it briefly on the road trip when we were exchanging songs.) I wrote it for my fabulous songleaders in training as we were tackling sometimes intimidating skills and breaking them apart into what we could actually try next. Singing it this week has been encouraging to me as I grapple with elevated pain levels, trying different next things to see what can help my body find more ease. I sing it, I get out of breath, I start laughing, I have to dig in a bit to keep it rolling -- by the time I was done recording, I was grinning and felt energized and like it was worth trying another thing! I hope it's a lift for you, too...

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: 00:03:14

Start time of reprise: 00:13:59

Links:

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

Nuts & Bolts: 15:8, minor, 6-part round

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, June 21st, 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.

​

169. We Are the Door

by Lyndsey Scott

(second half inspired by Rainier Maria Rilke)

​We are the door that's blowing wide open

We are the path that's winding down

We don't know where…

Enter me!

Embody me.

Give me your hand --

Make big shadows I can move in

133. There Is Only Now

by Steph Drouin

1. There is only now,

there is only this.

Don’t you look behind

or you will miss it!

There is only now,

there is only this.

Don’t you look ahead

or you will miss it!

2. There’s only now.

There’s only this.

Blink, and you

will miss it.

with your feet firmly planted

right here, right now

is all there is!

4. Bring your full self

into this moment.

One breath

is all it takes.

51. I Release Control

by Alexa Sunshine Rose

I release control

and surrender to the flow

of love, that will heal me.

7. Spiral

by Patricia Norton

1. I’m letting myself move in a spiral,

I’m flexing and I’m swaying

and I’m bending with the wind.

2. I’m coming down

to where I need to be.

3. Gonna let it go,

gonna let me go;

you know,

I’ve got to grow.

83. Creature Teacher

by Hannah Jeffery

Am I tired, am I hungry?

Do I need to take a break now

And rest?

Am I tired, am I hungry?

​Do I need to take a breath?

We are responsible for tending these creatures

Let the growls and the howls and the cries and the whines

​Be our teachers.

196. I Am Blessed

by Desirée Dawson

I am blessed, yeah, I am blessed

Even when I′m here feeling like a mess

This life has shown me all kinds of stress

And also opened up my heart like the greatest treasure chest

I have grown

Yes, I have grown

And I'm finding my way home

Yes, I have grown

And I′m finding my way home

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

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Notes: Singing a song of my own with my long-time mentor and vocal coach was a huge honor... and brought out some vulnerable moments around my own history of working with my voice. I also made some mistakes, which is funny, since I chose these words and notes myself... but can't always come up with them in the moment!!! But Judi and I have fun settling into this song about constant change -- hope you do, too!

Song: Earth and Sky

Words by: Patricia Norton

Music by: Patricia Norton

Songwriter Info:

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

Or the whole team that puts this podcast out here: https://www.abreathofsong.com/about.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 of teaching: 00:03:34

Start of reprise: 00:27:12

Links:

Judi Vinar –

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 2-part round

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

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Notes: It was both an honor and illumination to meet with Sarina Partridge and Annie Schlaefer to talk about Singing Resistance (they were both in it at inception…) and learn two of the songs in the Singing Resistance Songbook – and I left feeling so much encouragement for community and relationship. Annie said, “People want to come to the streets if we’re singing together.” Sarina shared her slogan: “More song circles than gas stations!” We talked about weaving the learning from one event into the next crisis you face – the wisdom of long-standing organizers who help grass-roots eco-systems evolve. The role of singing in building community, showing people what we are FOR and welcoming them in, dispelling the belief that we are powerless and isolated, easing numbness, creating a container of beauty we can be in together during these times. And these songs – soooo beautiful!

Song 1: We Belong To Each Other

Words by: Nikita Gill

Music by: Annie Schlaefer

Songwriter Info: Annie Schlaefer (she/her), a community song-leader, has been collecting songs and facilitating song circles for 13 years in various communities (Northern Minnesota, Maine, Wisconsin) and has more recently been co-facilitating a weekly local community song circle in Minneapolis with a dear friend, Linnea Champ, for nearly 5 years. She continues to be awed by the beautiful ways that singing together brings connection and community. She learned about this style of singing in 2012 in Decorah, Iowa from a local song-leader and now mentor, Liz Rog. 

Sharing Info: Annie says: "Please freely share this song in community gathering spaces. If you want to share this song and are making a bunch of money, I would appreciate some of these funds to come my way in the form of a one-time venmo donation @Annie-Schlaefer, or by joining my Patreon as a monthly subscriber. Thank you!"

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start of teaching: 00:03:10

Start of reprise: 00:51:46

Links:

Annie's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/AnnieSchlaefer 

Nikita Gill: https://www.instagram.com/nikita_gill/ 

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, round, major

Song 2: Grief and Love

Music by: Sarina Partridge

Songwriter Info: Sarina Partridge is a musician, songleader, educator, and activist in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs. Sarina sings with a wide variety of music projects: community song-leading; harmony-rich original music with folk trio Heartwood; and performing and teaching of Eastern European and Yiddish song.  Sarina has a passion for connecting people with their own creativity and with community, and uses singing as a modality to help folks develop a sense of wonder and belonging in this wild world

Sharing Info: Sarina says: "Please sing the song with your group! You can buy sheet music for it through my website (link below). If you’d like to have tracks of the separated harmony layers, please contact me. One meaningful way to support me is to join me on patreon for whatever monthly donation amount feels right to you. I post a new song - with separated out tracks for harmony parts, lyrics, the story of the song - on patreon every other week. Thank you!"

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start of teaching: 00:11:05

Start of reprise: 00:49:36

Links:

Sarina's website: www.SarinaPartridge.com 

Sarina's Patreon: www.patreon.com/sarinapartridge 

Sarina's Bandcamp: www.sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com 

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2; 3-layer, minor

Extra links: 

Barbara McAfee ABS episode: https://www.abreathofsong.com/p/195-get-up-with-guest-barbara-mcafee 

Lia Falls: https://marinemillsfolkschool.org/lia-falls/ 

Liz Rog: https://marinemillsfolkschool.org/liz-rog/ 

Linnea Champ - Sing As You Are: https://www.patreon.com/cw/SingAsYouAre 

Sara Thomsen: “Hearts awakened are unstoppable.”: https://www.echoesofpeace.org/vision 

Frankie Armstrong: Founder of Natural Voice Network in England (NVN): https://www.naturalvoice.net/about/history-of-the-network/ 

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

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Vocal improv by: Angela Gabriel, Pam Blevins Hinkle, and Patricia Norton

Notes: I love patterns -- mandalas, fractals, tesseracts, pieced quilts, Fair Isle knitting -- and singing! In Bloomington, Indiana, on this fabulous road trip, I got to pattern-make with Angela Gabriel and Pam Blevins Hinkle... and we had so much fun imagining you singing with us. We leave space for you, building up soundbeds that you might want to add a pattern to, too, or maybe you feel a soaring line that weaves through the space? Maybe words come from deep in your body, needing to be said or sung? Maybe you sing along with one of us, letting the pattern sit down in? After the experience of singing together, we felt incredibly close -- please come join our closeness and let yourself play with us.

Songwriter Info:

Angela still identifies as a performer, teacher, facilitator, and lifelong learner, even though disabilities have forced her to retire. Living with multiple invisible illnesses, some of them breathing-related, she has learned firsthand the life-saving power of song and breath. This has only amplified her mission in life, which is to spread joy through creative experiences and to encourage folks of any age and background to replace judgement with curiosity and open themselves to their unique voice. In fact, it has made it even more precious when she does have opportunities to engage with others. 

Pam Blevins Hinkle is a composer, song leader, ritual artist, tree-lover, and kazoo fanatic. She creates participatory, song-centered experiences that invite people to show up as they are and make beauty together. Whether singing knee-deep in rivers, inside prison walls, or at company retreats, she aims to spark aliveness, joy, and shared humanity while practicing skills that support resilient living: collaboration, risk-taking, adaptability, vulnerability, and deep listening. Her current projects include SongSquad Indianapolis, SongSquad Inside-Outside @ Indiana Women's Prison, Indy Singing Resistance, Indy Winter Solstice Celebration, Rooted, Resilient & Reaching (community singing and documentary songwriting in partnership with Aspire House), and Artist-in-Residence at Castleton UMC.

Links:

Angela's website: www.AngelaGabriel.me

Pam's website: www.pamblevinshinkle.com 

SongSquad Indy: www.songsquadindy.com 

Velma Frye’s The Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_qQ8khgXto 

Nuts & Bolts: patterned vocal improv, loops

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, May 17th, 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.

​

75. Easy Does It

by Heather Houston

Easy does it now

Slow it down

Feel the sound

As you breathe, sing, freely now

Tune, croon, swoon…

97. Settle Like A Pebble

by Laura Walker

Settle, settle like a pebble.

Settle, settle like a pebble.

Settle like a pebble on a riverbed.

Drift like a feather on a stream.

You can travel with the flow, if you just let go,

and close your eyes and be.

Drift, and settle gently.

You can travel with the flow, if you just let go.

The water flow will wash you clean.

109. This Is It

by Maggie Wheeler

This is it.

This is it!

This is the place you wanna be (x2)

Don't wait until tomorrow to let yourself be free

This is it

This is the place you wanna be

2. This is the song you wanna sing 

Don't wait until tomorrow to let your voices ring

3. This is the love you wanna feel

Don't wait until tomorrow to let your love be real

4. The world is calling out to you 

Don't wait until tomorrow for what you came to do

125. Dahil Mahal Kita

by Gérone Pascal

Dahil mahal kita

dahil mahal na mahal kita

dahil mahal kita

ibibigay ko ang lahat

Because I love you so much,

Because I love you so much, so much, so much

Because I Iove you so much,

I give you all of my heart.

165. Heaven Above, Earth Below

by Becky Graber

​Heaven above, Earth below,

And I the path between,

Making my way through fields of ever rolling green,

Making my way through fields of ever rolling green.

Heaven above, Earth below,

And in between am I,

Finding a path with heart and spirit, earth and sky,

Finding a path with heart and spirit, earth and sky.

Ah dah dah, ah dah dah, ah dah dah dah.

Ah dah dah, ah dah dah, ah dah dah, Ah.

Heaven above, Earth below,

And I the two reveal,

Shining through me the light of Spirit that can heal,

Shining through me the light of Spirit that can heal.

Heaven above, Earth below,

And I the path between.

200. Don't Give Up

by Becky Reardon

Don't give up; give a little kindness to yourself.

Put a little flex -- put a little flex in your plan.

Find another way -- like a river!

Flow -- may you never stop flowing.

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

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Song: Love Wears the Crown

Music by: Maggie Wheeler

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start of teaching: 00:03:19

Start of reprise: 00:27:13

Notes: I'm visiting Carol Bardenstein and TatiAnah Thunberg, and Carol shares a song by Maggie Wheeler. "Love Wears the Crown" felt to Carol like the perfect song for a No Kings march, and as she teaches it to us, she talks a little about the ways she adapted it for singing in crowds without time to learn nuance... and TatiAnah and I learn it on the spot. I play with harmonies (some more successfully than others, natch!) -- and we reprise it with Carol's whole song circle, so if you're ready to join a crowd, it's time! I loved hearing about the ways these two songleaders are being led by love into interweaving their work and including folk in their circles. There's bounty here!

Songwriter Info:

Maggie Wheeler is best known in the U.S and internationally for her extensive work as an actress in film, television, and voice-over and most notably as the character of Janice on NBC’s hit series Friends. Maggie is a passionate singer, songwriter, choir director and workshop facilitator, teaching her vocal workshop Singing In The Stream for over 30 years. It is Maggie’s belief and experience that by singing together we build community, counteract loneliness, become inspired and energized and feel more deeply connected to others and to ourselves. Maggie is a prolific songwriter with a catalog of powerful and timely songs that have been sung by choirs and singing communities worldwide.

Carol Bardenstein is a beloved local song-catcher and song leader of numerous community song-circles and singing workshops/retreats, based in Ann Arbor, sharing her singing there, elsewhere in Southeast Michigan, and beyond! She also facilitates song circles for meaningful life-cycle events and milestones, as well as song healing for bedside, and hospice singing. More recently, she has become very involved in local iterations of the Singing Resistance movement bubbling up from the streets of Minneapolis, inspired to help facilitate the emerging synergy between community singing and singing resistance in rising to meet these times in heartful and empowering ways.

Carol discovered heart-centered singing with others as a deep and transformative spirit portal some 15 years ago, and she’s been singing her heart out and in with others, facilitating many different kinds of song circles ever since! Grief, joy and everything in between, and all that you are, are warmly invited into her song circles, for expression, connection and communion in heart and song.  

Contact Carol for information about her offerings via email at [email protected].

TatiAnah Thunberg, LMSW (she/hers) is a somatic psychotherapist, singer, song catcher, expressive and improvisational artist, and a seasoned experiential facilitator with more than thirty years of experience guiding transformative group practice. Her work centers the voice as a path to belonging—an embodied, relational exploration of presence, creativity, and communal care.

She is the founder of Spirit Moves LLC and co-founder of the Vocal Wilds Collective, Supper & Sing Community Jam, Ensemble Night, the Vocal Lab, Creatrix Lab, and TAZ, all circles of artists dedicated to the art of embodied improvisation in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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

Links:

https://www.goldenbridgechoir.com

https://maggiewheeler.bandcamp.com/album/the-crow-calls 

https://maggiewheeler.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-is-turning 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/walk-with-me/1441718449 

SongFest with Maggie Wheeler in 2026: https://www.eomega.org/workshops/songfest 

Maggie says: "This song was inspired by a talk given by cultural historian Josh Kun. He spoke about a composition for 50 trumpets titled 'Walls Will Fall - The 49 Trumpets of Jericho' by Mazen Kerbaj. 

This story and this work deeply inspired me. I wrote LOVE WEARS THE CROWN  to invoke the power of music, the power of voices gathered to dissolve barriers, and to dismantle the walls of hatred and injustice."

https://mazenkerbaj.bandcamp.com/album/walls-will-fall-the-49-trumpets-of-jericho 

TatiAnah's websites:

https://www.VocalWilds.com

https://www.SpiritMoves.Us

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, unison with call and response section, optional harmonies

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

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Notes: Our first road trip stop is Kingston, Ontario in Canada, where I got to meet up with three delightful songleaders – and we sang SO many good songs over the weekend! It was impossible to narrow down to one, so this episode is a three-fer, and you get three very different songs, one from each songleader. You hear us playing; making up harmonies on the spot, trying to get the words in the right order – this is an unrehearsed, “what-can-happen-when-you-put-four-people-who-love-songs-into-one-room?” kind of moment. We had such a good time doing it and hope you get to catch our joy as you sing with us.

Song 1: Lifted

Music by: Wendy Luella Perkins

Songwriter Info: Wendy Luella Perkins founded SOULFUL SINGING (singing meditation for all) in 2002. An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, she shares "short-on-words, long-on-meaning; easy-to-learn, hard-to-forget" songs in the oral tradition. Soulful Singing fosters depth and uplift, resonance and healing, connection and community. 

Enjoy singing in community? Had a fourth grade teacher who told you to mouth the words? Dedicated shower singer? Shy about singing out loud? Love to belt it out? Committed chorister? Everyone is warmly welcomed into the circle of song. Wendy Luella strongly believes that connecting with our singing voices has beneficial effects on many, many areas of life, including enhancing our capacities to trust ourselves and to learn and grow with others. 

Back in March 2020, Wendy Luella, who is based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada responded to the call of our times by taking Soulful Singing online "for a couple of weeks until this whole pandemic thing blew over". She has been singing via zoom every single morning at 9am, and Thursdays at 6pm (ET) since then. EVERYONE is welcome to attend these gatherings. More than 200 of her original Soulful Singing songs are available on tiktok @wendyluellaperkins. She is also working on an online song library of her original songs. Find out more at [email protected]. 

Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Wendy for recording and/or performing permission. When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Wendy for permission and rates.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Intro: 00:04:42

Start of teaching: 00:09:40

Start of reprise: 00:47:37

Links:

Wendy's website: www.wendyluellaperkins.com

Soulful Singing with Wendy Luella: [email protected]

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

Song 2: Present Moment, Sacred Moment

Music by: Steph Drouin

Songwriter Info: Steph Drouin (she/her) is a community song leader, singer, songwriter, and Expressive Arts Therapist based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. For over a decade, she has guided people of all abilities into easeful, joyful, and healing singing experiences. She has helped sow the seeds of community singing throughout Toronto and across Ontario with groups such as Sing for Joy, and in 2019 founded her own social enterprise, Fiercely OK.

Through Fiercely OK, Steph offers weekly in‑person and online song circles with her partner, Paul Barton, as well as special events with visiting artists such as Coco Love Alcorn and Luke Wallace - all in the spirit of nourishing a vibrant, connected singing community. Her most recent project includes co‑creating Kingston Pop Choir with Paul.

Informed by a lifelong relationship with anxiety, Steph writes and teaches songs that help people embrace their full, messy humanity and stay connected to their sense of being OK. She is known for her warm, playful presence and her ability to create spaces where people feel safe to show up exactly as they are.

Steph completed the Community Choir Leadership Training program and Lisa Littlebird’s Flight School in 2018, and is a graduate of the three‑year Expressive Arts Therapy program at the CREATE Institute. In 2024, she moved back to Kingston to be closer to family and to share her gifts with her home community.

Sharing Info: Steph says:

"I encourage (and am trying to remember to practice) a slow culture of learning and sharing songs - taking time to embody the notes, rhythms, and stories behind them, and to build relationships with the people who wrote them. Please take your time and enjoy singing this song, and if you feel moved to share it, please do. You have my permission! 

Keep it as close to the original as you can to start. If your group wants to play with adding other layers or harmonies later, this is most welcome. This songs invites being in the present moment; whatever comes out being in the moment while singing this song belongs in it! I just ask that the song be taught first as it came to me (and my nephew). If you would like to teach it differently from what you heard on A Breath of Song, please reach out.

I encourage forms of reciprocity that align with your gifts and context. Here are some I love:

- Tell me or show me what it was like to share the song with your community. It's fun to see how songs travel! 

- Come sing with us (Paul and me), in person or online. Learn the songs directly from us and hear their stories. This feels important - it means so much when folks carry the songs with an intimate sense of their origins and intricacies.

- Song swaps! If you also write songlets, let’s exchange. I love being in meaningful song‑sharing relationships with other song leaders. This kind of reciprocity feels alive and good.

- Financial reciprocity. If you have room in your budget or are making oodles of money (more than a living wage), we'd love for you to send a little our way. For non-performing groups, folks generally send $25-50 per song or $1 per singer (whichever is greater). Performing or recording rates would be a little higher. For Canadians, e‑transfer works well; otherwise, Wise is my preferred option.

- Follow and share our work. Join the Fiercely OK mailing list, follow us on social media, and help spread the word to folks who would enjoy what we offer.

- Patreon. I’ll be adding my songs to Patreon this year, and I’d love for you to join me there as a monthly patron.

If you have any other ideas, send them my way!"

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Intro: 00:14:01

Start of teaching: 00:20:03

Start of reprise: 00:48:30

Links:

Join the Fiercely OK Mailing List!

Website: https://www.fiercelyok.ca/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephdrouin3973 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiercelyok/ & https://www.instagram.com/therestlessinchoirer/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiercelyOK/ 

Join our online song circles! The next series begins May 11th, 2026.

If you're ever in the Kingston-Toronto area, come sing with us in person! We offer weekly song circles and a monthly pop choir in Kingston, and occasional workshops in Toronto.

I'll be getting my songs up on Patreon this year. There's nothing up there yet, but you can be the first to get updates here:

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, mixolydian, 3-layer song

Song 3: I Am Grateful Deep Down

Music by: Paul Barton

Songwriter Info: Known by some as a musical “wizard,” Paul makes clever use of his education in Jazz guitar and experience as a professional musician to help song circles run seamlessly. His songs, infused with his passions for the environment, community, and mental health, are among the most requested songs in the Fiercely OK singing community. His simple melodies carry deep truths right to the heart.

Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Paul always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. The best way to support Paul's songwriting is on Patreon.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Intro: 00:31:56

Start of teaching: 00:32:45

Start of reprise: 00:49:04

Links:

Paul's website: https://www.paulbarton.ca/ 

Paul's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/paulbartonmusic 

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, harmonized

Extra links: 

Lone Wolf by Steph Drouin and Aimee Ringle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SFrSkZ-0Hs 

Thich Nhat Hanh: “Present moment, wonderful moment” https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/710946/present-moment-wonderful-moment-revised-edition-by-thich-nhat-hanh/9781952692239 

500 Days in the Wild https://tctrail.ca/dianne-whelan-documentary/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21899380530&gbraid=0AAAAABzGiwLd2QCJzToHLUN4HbIpFlKx_&gclid=CjwKCAjwtcHPBhADEiwAWo3sJpemebM5-j0FsOefQ1hxcS4-spp7nBB2-QlQnybCRxiX9UxcfU5bQxoCO68QAvD_BwE

Present Moment, Sacred Moment movement video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZedwiqraNQ

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.

Song: Great Turning

Music by: Joanna Colwell

Notes: It seems fitting that Grace Oedel, who tells us she is “Not doing any of this alone," brings us a song caught by a friend of hers, Joanna Colwell... and that this song references the mentor and teacher Joanna Macy, who helped so many folk seek reconnection. Grace and I are joined by Rebecca Csuy to learn this three part song, and then we dive into a laughter-filled conversation that visits some hard questions and nourishing responses. Grace is doing vital work in the world in many different arenas, seeking ways to help us get comfortable with the enormous changes we are facing, hospicing modernity -- but she points out, “I eat chocolate chips in bed… I am not a holier-than-thou person!”  "We're all in it together," like the song says... "we are turning it around."

Songwriter Info: Joanna Colwell is a yoga teacher and song leader in MIddlebury, Vermont. She started the Yoga Equity Project and can generally be found tearing down the patriarchy with art, song, ritual, and good cheer.

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

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:03

Start time of reprise: 01:08:19

Links:

Grace's Substack: https://graceoedel.substack.com/ 

Joanna Colwell – Middlebury yoga teacher:

Joanna Macy – The Work that Reconnects: https://workthatreconnects.org/ 

Octavia Butler: "Kindness eases change." "God is change.": https://www.octaviabutler.com/ 

Moira Smiley on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/39-stand-in-that-river#/ , https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/40-render-a-remedy-with-moira-smiley#/ 

Heidi Wilson on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/139-bend-and-rebound#/ , https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/140-the-feast-with-guest-heidi-wilson#/ , https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/228-all-call-this-home#/ 

Singing Resistance: https://linktr.ee/singingresistance 

Kairos Center with Songs in the Key of Resistance: https://kairoscenter.org/projects/songs-in-the-key-of-resistance/ 

NOFA – Long-Handled Spoon Dinners: https://www.nofavt.org/about/blog/announcing-new-long-handled-spoons-dinners 

L’Chaim Jewish collective leadership in Burlington: https://www.lchaimcollective.org/ 

Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst, UVM professor: https://www.uvm.edu/cas/religion/profile/ilyse-morgenstein-fuerst 

Elise Witt on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/21-song-deep-in-your-bones#/ , https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/211-set-us-free#/ 

Nero’s Expedition Up the Nile by Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpUIzHWB_zc 

James Baldwin “The children are always ours.”: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/notes-house-bondage/ 

Aylie Baker – wayfinding in Micronesia: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/wave-patterns/ 

Indigo Girls: https://www.indigogirls.com/ 

Batya Levine on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/166-breathe#/ 

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

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Song: We Will Not Stand Down

Music by: Grace Oedel

Notes: This song came directly out of protective action, as Grace was asking herself how to develop a chant into a song -- it's got a groove, it's alive, and it's adaptable. Sing it with only a few words, or add some lyrics. Get people moving on the parts they resonate with and help them hear the collective pulse that underlies it all. Add what feels good in your body and voice -- and next week, join Grace and me for a wide-ranging conversation that asks questions about how can we keep showing up with and for each other for the long haul? How can we use rage as a fuel that doesn't burn us out, but helps us to not stand down, to not go home, to do what scares us because love is underneath that rage, moving us on!

Songwriter Info: Grace is a doula for change and an enthusiast for collective action. She's an ordained rabbi who organizes with the L'Chaim Collective and serves as the executive director of NOFA-VT, building power for a just and delicious future. She sits on the boards of Rights and Democracy, Milk with Dignity, National Family Farm Coalition, National Sustainable Ag Coalition, the Better Selves Fellowship, and is an affiliate for the Institute for Agroecology. She leads a monthly community sing for resistance and hope that is a real banger, is a fan of desserts, and is mama to three little ones. 

Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups - use it anywhere it can be helpful! - but please contact Grace for recording and/or performing permission.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:44

Start time of reprise: 00:15:29

Links:

Grace's Substack: https://graceoedel.substack.com/ 

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-layers

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.