Om Shanti November 2020
 I learned this song in around 1990 in a Goddess circle in Philadelphia. I didn't know the songwriter, Susan Arrow's name till many years later, thanks to the internet. Thanks so much to Susan for this wonderful song, which we sing in chorus both to call the elements and also to express our deep gratitude for Gaia, our Earth Mother. The recording is of a rehearsal for an interfaith celebreation a few years ago with Raymond Smith - guitar, Jude Casseday - tamborine, Xopher Thurston - bass, Diantha Rau - flute and myself. That was in the days when people had rehearsals in a room together! May those days come again before too long. Thank You Mother Earth
© Susan Arrow Thank you Mother Earth Thank you Sister Water Thank you for our birth From your sons and daughters Thank you Brother Sun Thank you Air in motion Thank you everyone Earth, Wind, Fire and Ocean  This song was born as fires burn throughout the western US and Canada, in a year that has been, as my partner and I like to say,
one pandemic after another. I know I am not alone in feeling a great deal of heartache, as well as a tremendous love for all beings on earth living through this challenging time. This song is dedicated to all of us, that we may meet our many feelings from our own compassionate heart. And get out the vote. Love, Kathleen River Of Tears © K Hannan 2020 Will I drown in this river? River of tears, oh the tears I have found there's no way out of here And now I fall on the ground And wait for the strength To weep, and weep, and weep Oh will I burn in this fire? Fire of hate, oh the hate And we have found there's no way out of here And now we fall on the ground And find the strength To breathe, and breathe and breathe And will I die in this ocean? Ocean of love, oh the Love For I have found there's no way out of here And now I fall on the ground And rest in the strength Of love, of love, of love And now we fall on the ground And rest in the strength Of love, of love, of love  There is a youtube recording of the composer, Carolyn McDade, leading this song here. During 25 years of singing it, I have inadvertantly changed a note or two, and a bit of the timing, so please check this out for accuracy and to hear the feeling and timing of Carolyn leading the song. I learned this powerful and healing song at a workshop with Carolyn McDade in North Carolina many years ago...probably 1995 or thereabouts. As I recall, the workshop consisted mostly of gathering around a piano and singing together for two or three days. A beautiful experience. Carolyn told us the story of when this Serpent of Life song arrived. She was at a meditation retreat on Cape Cod, and one day had not been comfortable sitting for a session. Instead Carolyn walked her meditation through the silence of a very foggy misty day. I have a vivid memory of imagining the scrub oaks and pines of Cape Cod brushing her face, and that she could barely stay on the path, it was so hard to see the ground. And suddenly she found herself singing this song, which arrived with no conscious work on her part. It came whole, out of the mist. At least that's the way I remember it these 25 years later; but of course I was not there in the mist with her. But that is the power of a story and a song! To learn more about Carolyn's work in spiritual feminist community song, please check out her website. I love moving as a snake or panther moves as I sing this song, and for me "her only garment" is fear. I just found a recording of this song from 7 years ago, with Carolyn playing the keyboard and a group of women singing it. I realize listening that I had made some errors in a couple of notes...I sang it for so many years, I can understand how that could happen. But do listen to these women if you'd like to hear the subtle difference in the notes from my recording. The song is labeled Serpent Song on that recording, but I am keeping the name that I love for the song too. Serpent Song (Serpent of Life) © Carolyn McDade In the places that reek of impossiblity The Serpent of Life coils She crawls upon the swollen stone Crawls upon the swollen stone Crawls upon the swollen stone And loosens her only garment  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
 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. |
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