So thetheme for Song Lyric Sunday (this week) is to post a song that makes you feel better.
My first choice is this delightful anthem from Cris Williamson. I always feel better after playing this LOUD and singing along with this wonderful choir of women!! I feel so connected! I dare you not to smile at the very end!!
Chris’s voice is so clear and powerful. I LOVE her joyous, sometimes poignant and always and “heartful” singing!
I have used Williamson’s music often in my work. And one time, I had the extreme pleasure of being at a Bonnie Raitt concert (she’s my favorite), when Bonnie invited local treasure, Cris Williamson, up on stage to sing Angel from Montgomery with her!! WOW!!
Song of the Soul
Song of the Soul
(Cris Williamson)
Love of my life I am crying
I am not dying, I am dancing
Dancing along in the madness
There is no sadness
Only the song of the soul
cho: And we'll sing this song
Why don't you sing along
Then we can sing for a long, long time
Why don't you sing this song
Then we can sing along
Then we can sing for a long, long time
What do you do for a living
Are you forgiving, giving shelter
Follow your heart, love will find you
Truth will unbind you
Seek out a song of the soul
Come to your life like a warrior
Nothing will bore yer, you can be happy
Let in the light, it will heal you
And you can feel you
Sing out a song of the soul
Love of my life I am crying
I am not dying, I am dancing
Dancing along in the madness
There is no sadness
Only the song of the soul
Lyrics from http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Song_of_the_Soul.htm
And it triggered the landslide memory of this song from 1971. I remember its profound impact on me when I was just a pup, a budding Flower Child. I had been focused on racial injustice and Civil Right for Blacks, and had already served in VISTA in the Deep South. But I’d truly never even known about our treatment of Native Americans.
This song “blew my mind” as we said back then, and taught me a lot, and inspired me to action!
They took the whole Cherokee nation
Put us on this reservation
Took away our ways of life
The tomahawk and the bow and knife
Took away our native tongue
And taught their English to our young
And all the beads we made by hand
Are nowadays made in Japan
Cherokee people
Cherokee tribe
So proud to live
So proud to die
They took the whole Indian nation
Locked us on this reservation
Though I wear a shirt and tie
I’m still part redman deep inside
Cherokee people
Cherokee tribe
So proud to live
So proud to die
But maybe someday when they learn
Cherokee nation will return, will return
Will return, will return, will return
Choice number two for this week’s Song Lyric theme of Gratitude from Helen Espinosa has to be…
Thank U
by Alanis Morissette
Lyrics by Google Play
How ’bout getting off these antibiotics
How ’bout stopping eating when I’m full up
How ’bout them transparent dangling carrots
How ’bout that ever elusive kudo
Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence
How ’bout me not blaming you for everything
How ’bout me enjoying the moment for once
How ’bout how good it feels to finally forgive you
How ’bout grieving it all one at a time
Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence
The moment I let go of it was the moment
I got more than I could handle
The moment I jumped off of it
Was the moment I touched down
How ’bout no longer being masochistic
How ’bout remembering your divinity
How ’bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out How ’bout not equating death with stopping
Thank you India
Thank you providence
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you nothingness
Thank you clarity
Thank you thank you silence
Well, I think this is a great theme for this Thanksgiving week (and not at all “cheesy” Helen)!
I knew my song immediately…well, my first song anyway.
You know when that question shows up “If you could have ONE album to play while stranded on a desert island, which one would it be?” This comes from my choice. Don Henley’s Inside Job. His opus. His Therapy album. His masterpiece.
This song gave me great comfort when a 25 year long business (and friendship) partnership ended. I had to fight hard to not focus just on the loss, and move into gratitude.
I hope the video works. It is the only one I could find of Don Henley actually singing
A lot of things have happened
Since the last time we spoke
Some of them are funny
Some of ’em ain’t no joke
And I trust you will forgive me
If I lay it on the line
I always thought you were a friend of mine
Sometimes I think about you
I wonder how you’re doing now
And what you’re going through
The last time I saw you
We were playing with fire
We were loaded with passion
And a burning desire
For every breath, for every day of living
And this is my Thanksgiving
Now the trouble with you and me, my friend
Is the trouble with this nation
Too many blessings, too little appreciation
And I know that kind of notion¡ªwell, it just ain’t cool
So send me back to Sunday school
Because I’m tired of waiting for reason to arrive
It’s too long we’ve been living
These unexamined lives
I’ve got great expectations
I’ve got family and friends
I’ve got satisfying work
I’ve got a back that bends
For every breath, for every day of living
This is my Thanksgiving
Have you noticed that an angry man
Can only get so far
Until he reconciles the way he thinks things ought to be
With the way things are
Here in this fragmented world, I still believe
In learning how to give love, and how to receive it
And I would not be among those who abuse this privilege Sometimes you get the best light from a burning bridge
And I don’t mind saying that I still love it all
I wallowed in the springtime
Now I’m welcoming the fall
For every moment of joy
Every hour of fear
For every winding road that brought me here
For every breath, for every day of living
This is my Thanksgiving
For everyone who helped me start
And for everything that broke my heart
For every breath, for every day of living
This is my Thanksgiving
One of my favorite songs for reminding me that no matter how big the “powers that be” are (or think they are), I can ALWAYS tap into my own personal power….
Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 was NOT the biggest of the big pictures…
Ain’t gonna let nobody, turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain’t gonna let nobody, turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Gonna build a brand new world
Ain’t gonna let the administration turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain’t gonna let the administration turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Gonna build a brand new world
Ain’t gonna let no first-strike policy turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain’t gonna let no first-strike policy turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talkin
Gonna build a brand new world
Ain’t gonna let Indira Gandhi turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain’t gonna let Indira Gandhi (how’d she get that name?) ’round
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Gonna build a brand new world.
Ain’t gonna let that Henry Kissenger turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain’t gonna let that killer Kissenger turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a-talking
Gonna build a brand new world.
Ain’t gonna let nobody, turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain’t gonna let nobody, turn me around
Keep on a singing, keep on a swinging
Gonna build a brand new world
When Helen posted this theme I immediately thought of the same song Karuna chose. I LOVE that song. Sly And the Family Stone captured what a whole generation was pleading for the world to get through music!
But my very next choice came quickly to mind. I LOVE this song and it is an anthem in my life, and one I play for others often. Juliet has a lovely voice and this song addresses the theme this week perfectly!
Help Me Understand by Juliet Wyers. (Worth googling for more of her.)
(Lyrics unavailable but mostly understandable if you really listen)
PS We might really need this song after tomorrow….
This week’s challenge– our theme for Song Lyric Sunday is to post a song that helps pull you out of a dark place.
I too am completely affected by music. I believe in its power. I assign music to my clients all the time. I use it myself to calm down, to wake up, to get moving, to release, to exercise, to entertain myself, to love more deeply, to remember my own power, and on and on!
WAY too many songs came to mind when I read this week’s theme but the one that I woke up this morning is below. I had heard this song for a long time without listening to the lyrics and found it just so-so. Then a couple of years ago I had the privilege of attending an “adopted” nephew’s amazing graduation ceremony…and the whole class sang this song!! How perfect for their launch into adulthood.
I have since adopted it as my anthem, a reminder of the blank page of every single day of my life! (It helps me get unblocked when trying to WRITE also!!)
A great one to sing loudly, standing up while looking in a mirror! Hoaky I know, but try it!
It will be hard to remain in the dark if you do!
Lyrics (I LOVE that SEVEN people collaborated to write this song!!)
I am unwritten
Can’t read my mind
I’m undefined
I’m just beginning
The pen’s in my hand
Ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Oh, oh, oh
I break tradition
Sometimes my tries are outside the lines
We’ve been conditioned to not make mistakes
But I can’t live that way
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
Our challenge this week from the wonderful (and generous with her time) Helen is:
” to post a song you fell in love with that you didn’t expect to like. Maybe it’s a type of music you used to turn your nose up at, or maybe it’s a band or singer you prejudged without listening to them first (I’m so guilty of this). I can’t possibly be the only one…”
I think I already did this by confessing the story of my instant dislike of the Goo Goo Dolls just because of their name (and album cover picture). Read more about that one here:
But here’s the song I immediately thought of today. I couldn’t tell you if this song is Rap or Hiphop or whatever but the first time I heard it, I burst into tears. It is the song that made me realize there are whole generations out there, AFTER THE SIXTIES, who still use their music to “protest” and “proclaim” their beliefs. We can’t ignore our children and grandchildren, and even our great grandchildren. They are speaking to us through their music! No matter how much we may not like the forms they are choosing, we still need to listen to them!
My choice is What It’s Like by Everlast the video is blurry but it has some pretty haunting and effective pictures. (WARNING: the lyrics are ALL HERE! This is NOT the blanked out, censored version they play on the radio!)
Lyrics
we’ve all seen a man at the liquor store beggin’ for your change
The hair on his face is dirty, dread-locked and full of mange
He asks a man for what he could spare with shame in his eyes
“Get a job, you fucking slob, ” is all he replies
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to sing the blues
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom that said he was in love
He said, “Don’t worry about a thing, baby doll, I’m the man you’ve been dreaming of.”
But three months later he say he won’t date her or return her call
And she swear, “Goddamn, if I find that man I’m cuttin’ off his balls.”
And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walking through the door
They call her a killer and they call her a sinner and they call her a whore
But God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to have to choose
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
I’ve seen a rich man beg, I’ve seen a good man sin, I’ve seen a tough man cry
I’ve seen a loser win and a sad man grin, I heard an honest man lie
I’ve seen the good side of bad and the downside of up and everything between
I licked the silver spoon, drank from the golden cup, smoked the finest green
I stroked the fattest dimes at least a couple of times before I broke they heart
You know where it ends, yo, it usually depends on where you start
I knew this kid named Max, he used to get fat stacks out on the corner with drugs
He liked to hang out late, he liked to get shit-faced and keep the pace with thugs
Till late one night there was a big gun fight and Max lost his head
He pulled out his chrome .45, talked some shit and wound up dead
Now his wife and his kids are caught in the midst of all of this pain
You know it crumbles that way, at least that’s what they say when you play the game
God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to have to lose
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like to have to lose
One thing that stood out is “The song was also unexpectedly and surprisingly a hit to adult contemporary stations since most rap songs or songs with rap verses cannot be played on the format.”
The theme for today, Nature, instantly made me think of the song Landslide by Fleetwood Mac, but when I looked it up, I found this version by the Dixie Chicks. I chose this video because of all the strange and beautiful images…the house with deep roots (for Helen), all the water (given our WordPress Photo Challenge for H2O this week) and what can more clearly represent Nature than a lovely pregnant woman!?
Nobody sings it quite like Stevie but this is a terrific cover.
I took my love and I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide brought me down
Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life
Uh uh, uh uh, uh uh, oh
Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’
‘Cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
And I’m getting older too
Well
Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’
‘Cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
And I’m getting older too
Well, I’m getting older too
So take this love and take it down
Yeah, and if you climb a mountain and you turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide brought it down
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well maybe, well maybe, well maybe
A landslide will bring you down
Have to thank Helen for this week’s theme. I LOVE it but I was awash with options and it wasn’t until Daily Musings post that I realized who I had to choose, and why.
During my high school years, I was introduced to Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, and the rest. I became a dedicated fan. While all my peers were listening to the Beatles, I immersed myself in folk music. I tried out for my school’s folk singing group, The Dozen Cuzins (I know, I know) and we travelled the South singing in competitions.
I’m telling you right now, Joan Baez may well have saved my life. I could pull myself out of any level of depression (and there were some deep, dark phases) by putting on a Baez album and cranking up the volume!
I followed her for years and have used her music in my therapy practice, assigning different songs to clients, as anthems to learn for their stage of healing. Seriously, if you’ve got a nasty boss or an abusive spouse, try singing along, loudly, with Joan to the song “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around!” Add your own words and you will FEEL the power!
My son is exactly the same age as Joan’s, so when I first heard the song she wrote to her son Gabriel, I was deeply moved. I can’t hear it now without tears and a quick phone call to my son.
Early early in the game
I taught myself to sing and play
And use a little trickery
On kids who never favored me
Those were years of crinoline slips
And cotton skirts and swinging hips
And dangerously painted lips
And stars of stage and screen
Pedal pushers, ankle socks
Padded bras and campus jocks
Who hid their vernal equinox
In pairs of faded jeans
And slept at home resentfully
Coveting their dreams
And often have I wondered
How the years and I survived
I had a mother who sang to me
An honest lullaby
Yellow, brown, and black and white
Our Father bless us all tonight
I bowed my head at the football games
And closed the prayer in Jesus’ name
Lusting after football heroes
Tough Pachuco, little Neroes
Forfeiting my A’s for zeroes
Futures unforeseen
Spending all my energy
In keeping my virginity
And living in a fantasy
In love with Jimmy Dean
If you will be my king, Jimmy, Jimmy,
I will be your queen
And often have I wondered
How the years and I survived
I had a mother who sang to me
An honest lullaby
I travelled all around the world
And knew more than the other girls
Of foreign languages and schools
Paris, Rome and Istanbul
But those things never worked for me
The town was much too small you see
And people have a way of being
Even smaller yet
But all the same though life is hard
And no one promised me a garden
Of roses, so I did okay
I took what I could get
And did the things that I might do
For those less fortunate
And often have I wondered
How the years and I survived
I had a mother who sang to me
An honest lullaby
Now look at you, you must be growing
A quarter of an inch a day
You’ve already lived near half the years
You’ll be when you go away
With your teddy bears and alligators
Enterprise communicators
All the tiny aviators head into the sky
And while the others play with you
I hope to find a way with you
And sometimes spend a day with you
I’ll catch you as you fly
Or if I’m worth a mother’s salt
I’ll wave as you go by
And if you should ever wonder
How the years and you’ll survive
Honey, you’ve got a mother who sings to you
Dances on the strings for you
Opens her heart and brings to you
An honest lullaby
