was made one evening at Bodies, Voices & Spirit Chorus.
© Nur Julie Purcell
Ya Rachman Ya Rahim
The Sun and Moon of Love
Ya Ra-uf Ya Rahim
The deepest Love within
Ya Hayyo Ya Quayuum
Love is what remains
Kathleen Hannan |
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This recording of Nur Julie Purcell's beautiful Love's Song was made one evening at Bodies, Voices & Spirit Chorus. Love's Song © Nur Julie Purcell Ya Rachman Ya Rahim The Sun and Moon of Love Ya Ra-uf Ya Rahim The deepest Love within Ya Hayyo Ya Quayuum Love is what remains Plum Fiesta Fabric Millefiori Heart by Meg Hannan
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Photo © Lorie Hollar Lately with the pandemic and the other big changes in our country, impermanence has been on my mind quite a bit, as I am sure it is for many of us. And reading the wonderful book In Love With The World: A Monk's Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying by Tibetan Monk Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche for the second time, I am more in love than ever with a phrase he uses to describe impermanence: the continuity of change. Hearing the word "impermanence" my attention tends to go to what I don't want to lose. With "continuity of change" we see the truth of the world....that life is a river of always new always new always new again. And Yongey Mingyur points out that it is in seeing the impermanence of every "thing", including our thoughts, emotions, and bodies, we can notice that which is not a thing. That which does not change at all. The pristine empty awareness that is our true nature. I dedicate this song to the Buddhist tradition, and to Rinpoche Yongey Mingyur for the beautiful teachings he passes on in his book, especially that magical phrase, which I have of course included in the song. Die Before You Die
© K Hannan 2020 Mutu Qabla Anta Mutu - Islamic phrase meaning Die Before You Die La Illaha Il Allah - There is only one God, God Mutu Qabla Anta Mutu Mutu Qabla Anta Mutu Mutu Qabla Anta Mutu La Illaha Il Allah Mmmm Hmmm Die before your body dies Leave all thoughts about yourself behind In silence watch the continuity of change La Illaha Il Allah Mmmm Hmmm La Illaha Il Allah La Illaha Il Allah La Illaha Il Allah Die before you die Die before you die The Tao Te Ching is my favorite book, and Stephen Mitchell's is my favorite translation. There is no run-around with Lao Tzu. He goes straight to the essentials. And of all his verses I think this one is my favorite; it sums up the truth so succinctly. See The World As Yourself
lyrics Lao Tzu from translation by Stephen Mitchell melody © K Hannan See the world as yourself Have faith in the way things are See the world as yourself Have faith in the way things are Love the world as yourself Love the world as yourself Loving the world as you love Love itself See how you shine in everything Now you can care for all things Now you can care for all things I wrote this song in 1994 after hearing a South African man and woman being interviewed on the radio. They were standing in line waiting to vote in the first free South African elections. The man said, "That this has finally happened in my lifetime, I am filled with joy, like a dreaming child." The woman followed, "We only know what has gone before, we can't say what's coming now." I was struck by the balance between the visionary and the practical, even skeptical. Perhaps that balance is what is needed to create change. June 13, 2020 In the Georgia primaries this week people stood for 4, 5, 6 hours, many of them wearing masks, to cast their votes during the pandemic. And Republicans in Iowa want to rescind universal voting by mail after the highest ever primary turnout thanks to universal voting by mail. It seems like it's time to sing this song again. May we vote out the people who do not want everyone to vote, towards the day when we will finally have truly democratic elections in the USA. Love, Kathleen Count My Heart
© K Hannan 1994 "That this should finally happen in my lifetime, I am filled with joy, like a dreaming child." "We only know what has gone before, can't say what is coming now." But this has finally happened in our lifetime We are filled with joy, like the mountainside So we stand in line Thousands at a time To be counted Count my heart, which is beating Count my eyes, which are open Count my children, my sisters, my brothers whose hearts were once beating Their voices once sang with us Their spirits will always sing Their spirits will always sing Freedom is coming.... Freedom is coming Freedom is coming.... Freedom is coming Freedom is coming we paid with our lives Because no one gives freedom away Freedom is coming.... Freedom is coming Freedom is coming.... Freedom is coming Freedom is coming, we're coming to take it 'Cause no one gives freedom away Because no one gives freedom way I wrote this song in 1979 in Hinesburg, Vermont, and sang it in a band called Witch One. Then in 1993, bandmates Deb Venn and Organa met me in Maryland to make this recording. The photos are from 2017 in Hillsborough, NC. I still love snow peas, and I still love this song, but I do sing it a bit slower now! . Blessings to you and to your gardens. Love, Kathleen Peas © K Hannan 1979 Well I know life isn't easy And I've heard love doesn't last Still I'm lookin' for some answers As my days go rollin' past It was late last Friday afternoon I was down on my hands and knees... Found the truth temporarily In the garden pickin' peas chorus In the garden pickin' peas By the twos and fours and threes I found a sign in the grand design Of the tendrils and the leaves We'll steam some up for dinner There'll be plenty left to freeze Meantime I've found peace of mind Pickin' edible pod snow peas Well it's hard to explain what happened As I crawled along that day Mosquitos buzzed around my head Stingin' nettles got in my way And I wasn't thinkin' bout all that much When it was suddenly clear to me That hangin' there was a sweet truth In each edible pod snow pea chorus Well I guess truth isn't permanent And visions fade away Cause where I once saw answers There are only peas today But I'm keepin' my eyes wide open And I'm tryin' to be aware Cause next month the watermelon's gettin' ripe And there's bound to be some answers there chorus Yeah next month the watermelon's gettin' ripe And there's bound...... to be some answers there! One more story about this song. In 1980 I think it was, or 1979, Witch One played at a music festival called Getting To The Same Place. It was in New Hampshire as I recall, and Organa got us booked by telling the organizers that they did not have any Lesbian band booked yet, and they needed one. To their credit, they booked us, despite our lack of fame. So we were booked at the last minute and shared the stages with Paul Winter, Ram Dass and others. At the time I didn't know who Ram Dass was. I was pretty much a nervous wreck after we played our four song set on an outdoor stage, and I put on a poncho and a hat to try and disguise myself. Moments later, Ram Dass walked right up to me in the crowd and thanked me for the Peas song. He said that it was a match for where he was at, trying to see the sacred in everyday things like doing the dishes. Of course, finding the sacred in a patch of snow peas is quite a bit easier than in doing dishes, but I knew what he meant. And I was grateful for his kindness, which took the edge off my fear.
Om Mane Pehme Hung
Om Mane Pehme Hung Om Mane Pehme Hung Om Mane Pehme Hung This particular melody for the most well beloved chant in Tibetan Buddhism was taught to Darvesha MacDonald, one of the Sufis in the Dances of Universal Peace leadership, by a Tibetan monk named Lama Ngawang Tashi Bapu. He told her that when he was a child, his village would keep chanting this melody for days during festival times. Then when he went to join a monastery, at a young age, he felt lonely until soon after he arrived, when the monks all gathered and sang this same melody that he knew in his village. Then he knew he was at home. The chant translates as "The Jewel is in the Lotus". The awakened heart of the buddha is present in all of us. I have read that in some Buddhist traditions people envision a tiny little Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of Compassion) in their heart as they sing this. This recording is available on my CD, Seen & Unseen, Songs from the Light of Midlife. You can order/purchase that CD here. The moon was full tonight, which reminded me of this song. I wrote it in Philly when I was a nanny for Max and Ben, and then I sang it with Erdin from when she was younger than she is in the picture. We signed in ASL as we sang it, which makes the song extra beautiful. Then I sang it with my nieces, and lots of kids in preschool music classes. The song took on a new meaning for me years later, when I learned that in many Eastern traditions, the moon represents Consciousness. The Moon Shines Over
© K Hannan circa 1990 The moon shines over the houses The moon shines over the trees Sometimes the moon gets very small Sometimes the moon is round like a ball Sometimes I can't even see the moon at all But the moon always comes back.....to me! The Midst of Spring © K Hannan 2020 (A couple of words have changed since I recorded this... but I love the birds on this recording, so I am leaving it as is. The lyrics below are the way I sing it now. ) Down by the creekside, in the midst of spring We hear a little bird, lift her voice and sing Lift her voice and lift her voice Lift her voice and sing We hear a little bird Lift her voice and sing Out by the roadside, bright sun upon their lace Flowers of the Dogwood, sing Amazing Grace Sing amazing sing amazing, sing Amazing Grace Flowers of the Dogwood Sing Amazing Grace Love in the beginning, Love in the end Love is the center, all of life's our friend All of life and all of life, all of life's our friend Love in the center All of Life's our friend Love in the center All of Life's our friend This song came through on an evening when I fell into a triggered emotional state in which I was angry at someone else, angry at myself, and I felt very lost. When the friends who had been at my house went home, I went out and lay down on the ground to meditate, and to connect to my body, to the earth, to the night. In a very short timeless few moments, the feelings overflowed, the thoughts moved on, and I opened my eyes to see the brilliance of Orion above me in the sky, with Mars following close behind. The emotional turmoil was completely gone, and I felt deeply at peace. I went indoors to my piano, and within another few moments, this song had been born. Now, many years later, the song is a reminder that thoughts and feelings are always just passing through, and that just a few moments of turning inside can be profoundly liberating. Like A Ruby
© K Hannan 2003 Sometimes I get lost and Sometimes I can't see and Sometimes I get lonely I get lonely, and Sometimes I forget and Sometimes I can't feel and Sometimes I get lonely Still get lonely but Sometimes I remember to Fall down on the ground and Watch Mars, shine like a ruby Orion comin' up Sorrow gone, gone Sorrow gone These two songs were created a decade apart, but they became very good friends and are always sung together now. Sometime after hearing Joseph Campbell say that we should create new myths, I noticed that Orion looks to me like a woman belly dancing, and that Canis Major with it's bright star Sirius, is a little girl dancing with her mother, and the Orion song was born. Perhaps Sirius is the ringing of finger cymbals that the little girl is playing! And Out Of The Dark, written ten years earlier, comes out of my love of the night, and of the creativity, music and joy that over, over and over comes out of the silence of the dark. Orion © K Hannan 1997 I will trade these chains for wings across the hills I'll fly I will trade these chains for wings across these hills I'll fly Orion reaches out her arms to me Orion reaches out to dance with me We are the lovers of the dark We are the keepers of the night We are the lovers of the dark Keeping time in the winter sky Keeping time in the winter sky Keeping time in the winter sky Keeping time Orion and I Out Of The Dark
© K Hannan 1987 Out of the dark, the dancers come Each one alone, we dance as One Through all the changes, still we come Dance into the morning! Bird on the wing was born to fly She will not stay, though we may cry She sings a song up in the sky Dance into the morning! Sorrowful tears I cry today Far from my home and I've lost my way Somehow a voice inside will say Dance into the morning! In every land, by a different name, There is a dance, One Dance the same Leave all the reasons for fear and blame You can dance into the morning! Out of the dark the dancers come Each one alone, we dance as One Through all the change, change, change, change Dance into the morning Dance into the morning Dance into the mor...........................ning! |
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