…A walking song, which came to me while hiking, inviting presence and prayer to weave through every step, every moment, every day.
My soul is a song from Spirit,
My body is a gift of the Earth,
I listen to her voice and I hear it,
As I walk each step a prayer upon the Earth,
As I walk each step a prayer upon the Earth.
CHORUS:
Every breath a prayer
Every step a prayer
Every day and every where
Walking every step a prayer,
Every a breath prayer
Each moment along the way,
Each moment along the way
v.2. … I listen for God’s voice and I hear it…
v.3 … I listen to my heart, I hear it…
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – lead vocals, high vocal harmonies, Tibetan bells, bowls
Ani Williams – Celtic Harp
Richard Williams – Guitar, drum, pan pipes, Tibetan bowls and bells
Patricia Maureen O’Scannell – Recorder, pennywhistle
Kelly Botak – vocal harmonies
Arranged by Nancy Bloom, Ani Williams, Richard Williams
…This song, echoing the spirit of Gypsy, Jewish, Eastern European, Spanish and Middle Eastern music, honors all people, for we are all Children of the Sun, the Winds, the Earth and the Waters.
We are children of the sun,
We are songs being sung,
We are children of the wind,
We’re from where its’ breath begins,
We are waters flowing free,
We are streams of destiny,
We are children of the earth,
In us her dreams are birthed.
Nous sommes les enfants du soleil
En nous ses chansons sont chantes
Nous sommes les enfants du vent,
D’ou son soufle commence,
Nous sommes les eaux courants,
Des rivieres du destin,
Nous sommes les enfants de la terre,
En nous elle reve ses reves.
We are children of the sun…
(chant continues in English, and vocaleze for the remainder of the song)
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – vocals
Richard Williams – vocals, Middle Eastern instruments
Lila Sklar – violin
Olaf Soderback – lead accordion
Helois Lochman- rhythm accordion
Arranged by Nancy Bloom and Richard Williams
…Honoring the lives and the prophecies of the Old Ones, reverberating in our world today, inviting us to live the Sacred Dream.
Chief Joseph, Chief Seattle, Wovoka, Crazy Horse,
Geronimo, Red Cloud and all those chiefs whose names are lost.
Elders, Grandmothers, Guardians of the tribes,
Their love like no other beyond all time survives,
Servants of the people, wise hearts and brave,
Warriors, wisdom keepers,
Whose words and ways,..
Still reverberate
In the 1800s a long time ago
A chief on Turtle Island said
This is what I know.
Our people have lived here in harmony
For thousands of years with all that lives and breathes.
With winged ones, four legged ones, swimmers, and trees,
With rock and cloud, Mother Earth and Father Sky.
And all was in balance and together they all thrived
And we thought these ways would endure, that they would never die.
Yes we thought these ways would endure that they would never die.”
Then a cold bitter wind blew from the East,
Its icy snows blanketed the land balance ceased.
And rivers of life froze and many, many died,
And the hearts of the people weighed heavy inside.
They blew out the flames of our songs,
Stamped out our ancient ways,
They said in our own land we no longer belong,
They marched us far, far away.
Living in the open we were easy prey,
Like the buffalo slaughtered each and every day
Then chiefs of peace became chiefs of war,
Fighting for the people, til they could fight no more,
Fighting for the people, til they could fight no more.
Thunder rolling down the mountain – wo -oh
Thunder rolling down the mountain
Yet one day we shall return in whirlwind disguise,
We’ll be looking at you through your children’s eyes.
We shall return in the bodies of your children,
And bring back the old forgotten ways
We shall return in the bodies of your children
And our beloved land we shall reclaim
We shall return in the bodies of your children
And our sacred songs we’ll sing again
Thunder rolling down the mountain, wo – oh
Thunder rolling down the mountain
Thunder rolling down the mountain, Wo-oh,
Thunder rolling down the mountain
“Grandmother of the people, what will we do?
Your medicine, your wisdom will be lost with you.”
Heh – eh heyeh, eh yeh ehh
In the 1840’s I was born free,
Healing was my calling, yet loss my destiny.
And I died a captive, in a new century.
As I lay on my death bed, my last day alive,
Visions of our journey appeared before my eyes.
And I cried:
” You have imprisoned my people, many you have killed,
But you will not break our spirits, you cannot crush our will.
One day we shall return and we’ll be in disguise
We’ll be looking at you through our children’s eyes.
We shall return in the bodies of your children,
And this land, our land we’ll love again,
We shall return in the bodies of your children,
And embrace the old forgotten ways,
We shall return in the bodies of your children,
And through us the Sacred Hoop will live again.
And reweave the Sacred Hoop again.
Then facing the grey wall, I shed my last tears,
Departing from the people I had held so dear,
As the grieving cries rose up in sorrow all around,
My spirit flew from this holy ground
Singing:
“We shall return in the bodies of your children,
We shall return in the bodies of your children,
We shall return in the bodies of your children.”
Who – hooo-ooo -ooo.
We have returned in the bodies of your children,
And this land, our land we love again.
We have returned in the bodies of your children
And we embrace the old forgotten ways
We are here now in the bodies of your children,
The Sacred Hoop grows strong again.
We are here now in the bodies of your children
And we dance the Sacred Dream Way
Thunder rolling down the mountain wo-oh
Thunder rolling down the mountain
Thunder rolling down the mountain, wo-oh
Thunder rolling down the mountain
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – Lead vocals, vocal harmonies and vocables, rattles
Sam Kurz – Native American flutes, Native American drum, music stand
Richard Williams – Piano, synthesizer, guitars, Native American drums, rattles, bass, and background vocals
G. Valmont Thomas – male vocals
Halia Davis – Baby vocals
Clatsop – Native American vocals and spoken word
Background vocals/chorus – Kelly Botak, Arian Goodwin, Heather Hutton,David Gabriel
Thunder by Earth and Spirit
Arranged by Nancy Bloom and Richard Williams
…A simple song that arose at a pivotal time in my life, reflecting simple truths and the universal wisdom of all the indigenous and migratory peoples from whom all of us are ultimately descended: (to follow the guidance of Nature, the deepest Truth , and the Song of the Soul).
Follow the Path of the Sun
Follow the Path of the Sun
Follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow the Path of the Sun
Follow the Way of the Moon…
Follow the Rivers and the Streams…
Follow your Visions and your Dreams…
Follow the Truth you deeply know…
Follow the Song within your Soul…
Follow the Path of the Sun…
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – vocals
Ani Williams – Vocal harmonies
David Akash Spring – Dunbek
Richard Williams – Kaval, overtone chanting, rattles
Arranged by Nancy Bloom, Ani Williams, Richard Williams
…A re-interpretation of a Bengali devotional song by a 16th century mystic. I fell in love with its’ melody years ago, and eventually wrote lyrics to reflect the yearning, at-onement and spiritual ecstacy I felt listening to it, retaining a Bengali phrase in the chorus and a line of direct translation.
I longed for Spirit night and day,
My Home so far away,
When through this dream I heard,
Spirit’s Words:
“I am always here with you,
Forever near you,
I am always here with you,
Forever near you,
For in truth I dwell deep in the heart of you,
For in truth I dwell deep in the heart of you.
This life is so brief,
A dew drop trembling on a lotus leaf,
Rainbow hued in the dawn,
Gone with the morning sun.
I’ll let my one life shine
Walking this path of mine.,
Always at one with You,
Through all I do.
Now I walk with Spirit night and day,
Let love guide my way
In Grace always at home,
Wherever I roam. ”
Aaahh –
Nancy Bloom – vocals, zither, Tibetan bells and bowls
Benjy Wertheimer – Tablas, tabla tarang
Lila Sklar – violin
Russ Appleyard – tanboura, def
Richard Williams – Sarod, Tibetan bowls and bells
Arranged by Nancy Bloom and Richard Williams
…A song that came to me as a musical epiphany, expressing the sweetness of the Spirit.
Sweet Sacred Mystery, sweet Sacred Mystery
Sweet Sacred Mystery, I feel You surrounding meSweet Sacred Mystery, sweet Sacred Mystery
Sweet Sacred Mystery, I feel You empowering me
Sweet Sacred Mystery, sweet Sacred Mystery
Sweet Sacred Mystery, You’re shining through all things I see
Sweet Sacred Mystery, sweet Sacred Mystery
Sweet Sacred Mystery, I hear You calling me,
I hear You calling me…
Sweet Sacred Mystery……..I feel You inside of me
Sweet Sacred Mystery……..I know You are guiding me
Sweet Sacred Mystery…….I feel You in the heart of me
I feel You in the heart of me, I feel You in the heart of me.
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – unison vocals
Ani Williams – Celtic harp, unison vocals
Patricia Maureen O’Scannell – Recorder, pennywhistle, viola da gamba
Richard Williams – Drum,
Arranged by Nancy Bloom, Ani Williams, Richard Williams
…A song that arose from my solo Wilderness Quest of 4 and 1/2 days in the Inyo mountains, it reverberates with voices of the land, the spirits and the Spirit inviting us to awaken and live in a Sacred Way.
*Fire in the desert seen from afar
Winged ones approach, sisters to the stars
Alone in firelight I see the faces of the night
Faces of now and faces of then
I hear the old ones, spirit ones, singing once again.
I hear elders’ voices carried on the wind.
Heya who eh ya who eh ya who oh
“We’re here to tell you of our old ways
Long before the dawn of your present day
When all things lived together in a sacred way
First there was the corn, mother of us all
And her stalks grew green and lush and tall
Winged ones filled the skies with songs and flight
The standing people the trees lived in dignity and might.
Silver swimmers aplenty flowed inall our streams
And Great Mystery’s visions fed our dreams
The people lived in harmony with all under the sun
And no one was alone then, for all lived as one.
Yet a sad ending came to all that had been blessed,
The people warred amongst themselves and there was unrest,
As strange invaders swept the land,
a plague from East to West.
All harmony was lost then, now to be regained
The people in deep sleep too long have lain,
Yet now the dawn star rises on a whole new day
And they must awaken again
**And you, yes you, must wake the dream of the dawn
And you, yes you, must quest to journey on
And you, yes you, must wake the dream of the dawn
And you, yes you, must quest to lead them on
You’re like a fire in the desert lit by the dawn
A fire in the desert to light their pathway on
A fire in the desert to bring the people home
A fire in the desert to warm their cold, cold bones.
Repeat *
All harmony was lost then, now to be regained,
Your soul long asleep has lain
Yet now the dawn star rises on a whole new day
And you must awaken and live it in a sacred way
And you must awaken and live it in a sacred way
And you must awaken and live in a sacred way
Repeat **
You’re like a fire in the desert lit by the dawn
A fire in the desert to light their pathway on
A fire in the desert to bring the people home
A fire in the desert to warm their cold, cold bones…
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – all vocals
Sam Kurz – Native American flutes, Native American drum, music stand
Richard Williams – guitars, bass, piano, synthesizer, rattles, Native
American drums
Arranged by Nancy Bloom and Richard Williams
…A song that arose in response to my son’s Vision Fast, and from listening to the stories of each of the young people from 16-20 years of age who quested solo during that time for 3 and 1/2 days in the desert. It honors the time honored rites of passage of young people becoming adults.
I went up on the mountain
To hear the Silence ring
I crossed the roaring river’s swells
To learn the song of myself
To learn the song of myself
My son, he’s been a child before
Yet soon he’ll be a man
My son, has been a child before
Yet soon he’ll be a man
Goin’ up on the mountain
Gonna face my fears alone
Goin’ up on the mountain
And bring my manhood down
My daughter, she’s been a child
Yet soon she’ll be a woman
My daughter’s been a child
Yet soon she’ll be a woman
Goin’ down by the stream today
Gonna search my soul alone
Goin’down by the stream today
To make my life my own.
To make my life my own.
Goin’ up on the mountain
To hear the silence ring
I’ll cross the roaring river’s swells
To learn the song of myself
To learn the song of myself
My son he was a child before
And now he is a man
My son he was a child before
And now he is a man
He let go of his pain that day
Let go his fear the next
Then he let go of his spearateness
And returned to us most blessed
And returned to us most blessed.
My daughter she was a child bfore
And now she is a woman
My daughter was a child before
And now she is a woman
She let go of her hurt that day
Her terror on the next
Then she gathered her forgiveness
And laid the past to rest
And laid the past to rest
I went up on the mountain
To hear the silence ring
I crossed the roaring river’s swells
To learn the song of myself
To learn the song of myself
I listened to my own heart
In the silence of the night
I was soothed by the sounds of my own breath
When there was no more light
Everything I see now is a Mystery now
I’m just one living creature in Earth’s great family,
I’m just one living creature in Earth’s great family.
I went up on the mountain
And heard the silence ring,
I crossed the roaring river’s swells
And learned the song of myself
And learned the song
And learned the song
And learned the song of myself.
Nancy Bloom — vocals
Richard Williams – guitar, vocals, pan pipes, shakuhachi, rattles
Arranged by Nancy Bloom and Richard Williams
…While improvising vocals with Arian Goodwin’s experimental guitar chords, this beautiful Middleastern-style melody came to me, along with the simple words you hear. Arranging it with Ani Williams and Richard Williams was a joy!
Walking in a sacred way, every moment,
Every breath, every day
Walking in a sacred way, Every moment,
every breath, every day
Uu Allah, uu Allah,
Uu Allah, uu Allah
Uu Allah, uu Allah
Uu Allah – ah -ah…
Living In a Sacred Way, everywhere, in everything
I feel Your Grace
Living In a Sacred Way everywhere, in everything
I feel Your Grace
Eloha, Eloha
Eloha, Eloha
Eloha, Eloha
Eloha – ah -ah…
Living in my heart,
I feel at one with the Great Heart of All
Living in my heart,
I feel at one with the Great Heart of All
Halleluiah, Halleluiah
Halleluiah, Hallelu,
Halleluiah, Halleluiah,
Hallelujaahaaa.
Walking in a sacred way,
Every moment, every breath, every day
Walking in a sacred way, every moment,
Every breath, every day
Uu Allah, uu Allah,
Uu Allah, uu Allah
Uu Allah, uu Allah
Uu Allah – ah -ah
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – vocals
Ani Williams – Celtic Harp
Richard Williams – Drum, bells, Tibetan bowls and bells
Patricia Maureen O’Scannell – Recorder, pennywhistle
Olaf Soderback – Dilruba
Arranged by Nancy Bloom and Richard Williams
…This haunting melody, in the style of Native American vocable chants, along with the sounds of crickets and flowing water, sets the stage for what could be a magic night around the fire for story telling… about the Irogquois Holy Man, Deganaweda in the next song
Melody by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – vocals
Night sounds by crickets
flowing waters by Earth and Spirit
Arranged by Nancy Bloom
Deganaweda
(dedicated to all peacemakers throughout all time)
… The story of Deganaweda, the Iroquois Holy Man, who brought Peace to the Northeast Indian nations of his time, a Peace that lasted for hundreds of years, through a truly democraticsystem of government after which our founding fathers patterned our own.
In the forests of the fierce Northeast, many centuries ago,
A man walked through war-torn lands all alone
Deganaweda was a true Peacekeeper
He came straight from the Creator as a Peacemaker.
Little older than a youth, armed only with the truth
He walked among raging tribes at war,
Stood alone for the tree of life,
Facing armed angry warriors in the firelight,
His words a waterfall on a blazing fire,
“We don’t need to kill each other anymore,
There’s a greater purpose for which we were born,
We can raise our sites higher,
we must raise our souls higher.”
And he carried his message
from the forest to the shore
“For we are all children of our Mother the Earth,
It’s she who sustains us, she who gave us birth,
And we are all children of The Eternal One,
We are all his daughters, we are all his sons,
We are all one great family, let’s live and be as one.
Deganaweda, Peacekeeper,
Deganaweda, Peacekeeper
He came straight from the Creator as a Peacemaker.
Travelling the rivers in a stone canoe,
To distant villages speaking his truth
“All for one, one for all, together we will rise
Where apart we used to fall”
“Put aside your judgements,
hear the Truth of Breath Maker
To have a world at peace, become its creator,
To have a world at peace, become its creator.
Let all of our tribes become One Great Tribe,.
All of our tribes….One Great Tribe.Then the tribes they gathered,
Left behind their ways of war
Joined as one great nation,
They claimed a deeper power,
stronger than before.
And this tribal confederacy
Joined in peaceful autonomy
Inspired our democracy
But we must make it work now, you and me
Caring and fairness must spread throught the land
For our nation’s just as strong and free
As the justice and love we command.
Deganaweda, Peacekeeper
Deganaweda, Peacekeeper
Coming straight from the Creator as a Peacemaker
Well, they say he’s coming back now,
That his mission isn’t done,
“Til we bring the ways of peace, somehow
To each and everyone,
To each and everyone.
Stop the warring and the hate!
Keep all the children safe!
Again, once more, it’s not too late!
Our world and our lives are trembling in our hands,
Let love and peace spread throughout all lands,
Where once there were enemies, let there now be friends,
So a world at peace may continue without end,
Yes, a world at peace will continue without end.
Deganaweda, Peacekeeper,
Deganaweda, Peacekeeper,
Coming straight from the Creator as a Peacemaker.
Deganaweda, Peacekeeper
Deganaweda, Peacekeeper
Blessed are the peacemakers,
Blessed are the peacemakers…
Deganaweda, Peacekeeper…
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – vocals
Sam Kurz – Native American flutes, rainstick
Richard Williams – Guitar, bass, Native American drum, rattles, tom tom
G. Valmont Thomas – vocals, spoken word, breath and vocal percussion
Background vocals – Richard Williams, Kelly Botak, Heather Hutton, David Gabriel
Arranged by Nancy Bloom and Richard Williams
…A Chant consisting simply of the word for Peace in four languages: Arabic, Hebrew, English and Sanskrit. It is interesting to note that the word for Peace (Salaam in Arabic, Shalom in Hebrew) is considered to be one of the names of God in both Islam and Judaism.
Salaam, Shalom, Shanti, Peace
(Chant: The word for Peace in Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit and English)
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – Vocals, Tibetan bowls and bells
Ani Williams – Celtic Harp, vocals
Patricia Maureen O’Scannell- Recorder, pennywhistle
Richard Williams – x Bells, drums, tibetan bowls and bells x
Background vocals – G. Valmont Thomas, Richard Williams,
Kelly Botak, Arian Goodwin
Arranged by Nancy Bloom, Ani Williams, Richard Williams
…A wordless, haunting melodic journey of the Kaval flute, native to Eastern Europe, and the voice responding to it, hinting at the beautiful mystery of Sacred Springs.
Improvised by Nancy Bloom and Richard Williams
Nancy Bloom – vocals
Richard Williams – Kaval
Arranged by Nancy Bloom, Richard Williams and Ron Davis
…The journey comes full circle, with the reprise of the essence of Every Breath a Prayer, with elegant simplicity in Spanish guitar and voice.
My soul is a song from Spirit,
My body is a gift of the Earth,
I listen to my heart and I hear it,
As I walk each step a prayer upon the Earth,
As I walk each step a prayer upon the Earth.
Every breath a prayer
Every step a prayer
Every day and every where
Walking every step a prayer,
Every a breath prayer
Each moment along the way,
Each moment along the way.
Music and lyrics by Nancy Bloom
Nancy Bloom – Vocals
Richard Williams -Spanish Guitar
Arranged by Nancy Bloom and Richard Williams