Still a real world here
Still a real world here
Outside the mesh net of fiber optics
Still a real world here
Still a real world here
Away from the blue glow of my computer screen
Still a real world here
Still a real world here
In the 30 second intervals between satellites passing
Still a real world here
Still a real world here
Between the commercials and the motor-mouth mashing
Seems this world is … fracking up
Spinning out of … synch
I won’t go … cracking up
Slow it down I think

Still a real world here
Still a real world here
In a river so green your mind can unwind
Still a real world here
Still a real world here
In the silence between the car engines’ whine
Still a real world here
Still a real world here
In oceans thrashing and frothing with life
Still a real world here
Still a real world here
In muscle and sinew wielding the knife
Seems this world is … fracking up
Spinning out of … synch
I won’t go … cracking up
Slow it down I think

Still a real world here
Still a real world here
Though invisible shackles are sucking us dry
Still a real world here
Still a real world here
Gotta fight the good fight; it’s a good day to die
Still a real world here
Still a real world here
In real people who push through the cracks
Still a real world here
Still a real world here
In old magic echoing back
REAL MAGIC, OLD MAGIC, ROOT MAGIC
WALK MY TRACK
REAL MAGIC, OLD MAGIC, ROOT MAGIC
COMING BACK
REAL MAGIC, OLD MAGIC, ROOT MAGIC
WALK MY TRACK
REAL MAGIC, OLD MAGIC, ROOT MAGIC
COMING BACK

WHALE SWIMS INTO MY HEART

WHALE, SHE WILL BRING US POWER

FROM ANOTHER WORLD APART

WHALE, WHALE, WHALE

MAGNETIZING AND MAJESTIC

BREATHTAKING, POWERFUL

TAKING BREATH FROM EVERY PERSON

BREATHING POWER TO THEIR SOUL.

She swam up the River, with her baby, who weaned and returned to sea,

Leaving mama whale to circle endlessly

Mormons and tourists, bikers and those who could barely walk, made pilgrimage

Running from side to side across traffic to view mama whale from the bridge

I went three times. Took my folks. They said they would never forget.

She made you feel GOOD as you watched, & you kept that GOOD feeling when you left.

A visitation from another life form. We all grew protective of her.

Why was she doing this? Why couldn’t we drive her

Back to the sea where she’d be safe and free

Magnetizing and majestic

Breathtaking, powerful

Taking breath from every person

Breathing power to their soul.

Was she trying to tell us something?

Was she driven insane

While her baby was calling:

There multiple problems in our oceanic plane

WHALE SWIMS INTO MY BELLY

WHALE SWIMS INTO MY HEART

WHALE, SHE WILL BRING US POWER

FROM ANOTHER WORLD APART

WHALE, WHALE, WHALE

MAGNETIZING AND MAJESTIC

BREATHTAKING, POWERFUL

TAKING BREATH FROM EVERY PERSON

BREATHING POWER TO THEIR SOUL.

In Yurok tradition when a whale’s in the river,

it means: world is out of balance

we all get together, beat our feet on the ground and we pray and we sing and we dance

we tilt the earth back to avert tragedy

and we tilt the earth back the way it is supposed to be

she was trying to tell us something

we are going insane

and her baby is calling:

she’s calling you by your name

WHALE SWIMS INTO MY BELLY

WHALE SWIMS INTO MY HEART

WHALE, SHE WILL BRING US POWER

FROM ANOTHER WORLD APART

WHALE, WHALE, WHALE

MAGNETIZING AND MAJESTIC

BREATHTAKING, POWERFUL

TAKING BREATH FROM EVERY PERSON

BREATHING POWER TO THEIR SOUL.

Magnetizing and majestic

Breathtaking, powerful

Taking breath from every person

Breathing power to our soul.

Do your duties and count your blessings and

Say Hail Mary’s and daily tidings and

Fold your napkin and clean your saucer and

Scan your email and drive your daughter

I want to rise… I want to fly…

I want to know all there is to know of life…

I am the mountain; I am a cell of the earth

I want to swim and wriggle in this cosmic juice for all it’s worth.

And I know life is short this time around.

I’m trying to make my arc last as long as I can.

I know how sweet this nectar of love.

I’m trying with all my heart to understand.

Sew your stitches and do the dishes and

Sweep the kitchen and let the dogs in and

Clean the cat box and call your mother

Conversations negate each other

I want to rise…I want to roll…

I want to dance way out beyond the horizon and rock my soul…

I am the ocean; I am a piece of the sky.

I want to waltz barefoot with that big, bad crescent moon on the rise.

And I know this house will burn down

I’m trying to keep my house in order while I can

I know these walls burn right through

We’ve got to raise our spire and scrub the cobblestone, too.

I want to rise…I want to roll…

I want to stare into your eyes and trust your soul.

I am the fire in your voice.

I am a heart pumping blood through you, because I have no choice.

And I know these walls burn through.

We’ve got to raise our spire and scrub the cobblestone, too

I know these walls burn right through

We’ve got to raise our highest spire and scrub the cobblestone floor, too.

TIES THAT BIND –Joanne Rand 2010

Ties that bind- white and thin

Laced like vines around my skin

Five strands per hand – my closest kin

Five fingers wrapped around my shin

Winged shoes fly me West

Ties that bind yank me abreast.

Father, solemn, standing by

See how I fear to fly

I grab my shoelace in my hand

Here and there I break a strand

Afraid my winged shoes will fail

I have no heart in setting sail

Afraid my family ties will break

I fear these wings are some mistake

Father, solemn, standing by

See how I fear to fly

Father, solemn, standing by

See how I fear to fly

See my hesitance and doubt

Wondering will I find out:

Are ties that bind too weak to hold?

My Southern soul is growing old

Mercurial charm will you prevail…

Free these arms to fly the air?

Prodigal son fly home

Prodigal son fly home

Prodigal son fly home again

While grandmother time is still your friend.

Grandmother time is still your friend

And Madame Gravity will do you in.

JUMP –Joanne Rand 2011

Dogs jump

Frogs jump

Kids jump, too

Cows jump

Over the moon

Bugs jump

Crickets jump

And kangaroo

I jump, you jump

To this tune

Jumparoo – me and you

Jumparee – you and me

Makes me feel like dancing

Makes me want to dance all day

Don’t you want to go spinning a round

Come on let’s jump and play.

BONES AND ALL –Joanne Rand 2010

I am a woman sure and strong

I’ll be traveling far along

No one to weep or worry me, from what I see.

Don’t understand the mind of man

Wreaking havoc on the land

Cannot kill eternity, from what I see.

Set me sail on the open sky

Hold my strings loosely

Take me back to the open sea

Do not confuse me.

I am a woman, wit and will

And wisdom are my backbone

Steady born, steady still

All creation’s my home.

Set me sail on the open sky

Hold my strings loosely

Take me back to the open sea

Do not confuse me.

All you strangers now take warn

There’ll be no stopping hoof or horn

And all that dies will be reborn, from what I see.

All you strangers hear me say

There’ll be no stopping corn or grain

And all that falls shall rise again, from what I see.

From what I see Gaia’s growing

Changes are showing

From what I see Gaia’s rising

Metamorphizing.

Cannot kill eternity

Cannot stop the planted seed

Can’t deny a world in need, from what I see.

So don’t weep or worry me

Do not discourage me

Can’t heal the world with grief, from what I see.

From what I see Gaia’s growing

Changes are showing

From what I see Gaia’s rising

Metamorphizing

From what I see Gaia’s strong

Though we might not last long.

Don’t weep or worry me

Do not discourage me

We can’t heal the world with grief, from what I see.

I am woman strong and sure

And I will endure

I will live, BONES AND ALL, to eternity.

REDWOOD –Joanne Rand 2010

Sing for the redwood,

Breathing in breathing out

Stretch your branches to the sky.

Sing for the redwood,

Mother of all creation,

Touch the sky.

We feel your arms around,

Canopy clan on high.

We feel your magnificent

Cool and peaceful sigh.

Sing for the redwood.

Sing for the forest,

Time on earth

Beyond all knowing.

Sing for the forest,

Height and girth

Beyond all growing.

Most have fallen to the blade,

Got to save you from this

Plunder, madness-made.

Sing for the forest.

Sing for the old ones.

Grow for generations down the line!

Sing for the old ones,

Heart and soul influence mine.

You give me voice,

Compel me to say:

They cannot kill and carry you away.

Sacred rage lead where you may!

Sing for the old ones…

Sing for the forest…

Sing for the redwood

In Richardson Grove

BREATHE -Joanne Rand & Ali Nelson

Breathe in…breathe out

That’s what life is all about.

I was the sweet, innocent, the golden-hearted one

Now I’m so many different things, I cannot name them all

I can’t explain my actions or even claim them all

This all just happened.

It’s just a swirl of color: purple red and black and blue

I don’t know what to do with color paint this song for you

Or paint myself a page…and sacrifice my rage.

This all just happened.

Now this is over, I want change. I’m changing, yes, again.

This time for real. I want to grow to be the best I can.

DON’T WORRY GIRL

THIS IS A MOST CONFUSING WORLD

DON’T WORRY CHILD

IT’S A WILD RIDE, as we…

Breathe in and we breathe out

‘Cause that’s what life is all about.

Breathe in and we breathe out

That’s what life’s about.

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW –Joanne Rand 2009

Thirteen years ago

I never would have thought that this would be so

I’d just said goodbye

To my brother.

Thirteen years ago I was single and scared to let you in

I’d just said goodbye

To my brother

To my best friend

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW

But now we’re here

Where the sun shines

And the butterflies fly by

Now we’re here

Where the waters flow.

Now we’re here

My husband and my child and I

Now we’re here

Where the waters flow.

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW

I will always be there for you, if you want me to.

I will always be beside you.

I will always be there for you, if you want me to.

I will always be beside you.

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW

WHERE THE WATERS FLOW.

HAPPY SONG – Elizabeth Gahm

I like to feel my hair against my face

I like a skirt that is soft against my legs

Make it pink and swirl when I spin

‘Cause that’s the mood I’m in.

I like to drink coffee with my toast

I like to eat dark chocolate the most

Make it sweet and filled with cream

‘Cause that’s the mood I’m in.

Yeah, the happy mood I’m in

Yeah, the happy mood I’m in

I like to dance to listen to the drums and the bass

I like to dance ‘till I’m red in the face

Make that beat bounce my crazy feet

‘Cause that’s the mood I’m in.

I like to warm my friends with my smile

I like to laugh like a foolish child

Spread that joy far and wide

Yeah, the happy mood I’m in

Yeah, the happy mood I’m in

HUSH YE MY BAIRNE –Traditional Gaelic Lullabye, translated by Malcolm MacFarlane

Hush ye, my bairnie

Bonny wee laddie

When you’re a man

you shall follow your daddie.

Lift me a coo,

And a goat and a wether,

Bringing them hame

To your minnie thegither.

Hush ye, my bairnie

Bonny wee lammie

Routh o’ guid things

Ye shall bring to your mammie

Hare frae the meadow

deer frae the mountain

Grouse frae the moorlan’

And trout frae the fountain.

Hush ye, my bairnie

Bonny wee dearie

Sleep! come and close the een

heavy and wearie

Closed are the wearie een

rest ye are takin’

Sound be yer sleepin’

And bright be yer wakin’

HUT BY THE SEA -Joanne Rand 2010

Met a hermit lives in a hut by the sea and he

Carves in his wood all day.

He’s got a single Bunsen burner and one old saucepan

And he doesn’t wash his windows or sweep the dust away.

There’s nary a picture on the wall

And there’s nothing really in his room at all.

I had more on my back than he owns altogether,

But there’s pictures in his head and they come out in his sculpture,

So I asked him what he thinks about all day

And this is what he said to me.

He said: I think about what I’m doing

I don ‘t think about anything else.

He said: I hear the news each morning

Then the radio goes on the shelf.

I told my daughter not to have a child, he said,

Though she didn’t listen to me,

Cause nothing is gonna get better,

‘specially in this country,

But sometimes when the tide’s in

It sweeps around my house.

I’m just waiting for the ocean

To carry me out.

So I sang him a song and I said goodbye

And I trudged on up the hill.

Funniest thing about this guy,

Which I remember still:

Is how little he required

To occupy his mind,

Just a chisel and a radio

And an empty stretch of time…

How little he needed

To make his life complete

Just a chisel and a radio

And a good night’s sleep.

And sometimes when I’m dreaming

The tide sweeps around MY house.

I’m just waiting for the ocean

To carry me out.

I’m just waiting for the ocean

To carry me out.

Do your duties and

Count your blessings and

Say Hail Mary’s and

Daily tidings and

Fold your napkin and

Clean your saucer and

Scan your email and

Drive your daughter

I want to rise…

I want to fly…

I want to know all there is to know of life…

I am the mountain

I am a cell of the earth

I want to swim and wriggle in this cosmic juice

For all it’s worth.

And I know

Life is short

This time around.

I’m trying

To make my arc last as long as I can.

I know

How sweet

This nectar of love.

I’m trying

With all my heart to understand.

Sew your stitches and

Do the dishes and

Sweep the kitchen and

Let the dogs in and

Clean the cat box and

Call your mother

Conversations

Negate each other

I want to rise…

I want to roll…

I want to dance way out beyond the horizon

And rock my soul…

I am the ocean

I am a piece of the sky.

I want to waltz barefoot with that big, bad crescent moon

On the rise.

And I know

This house

Will burn down

I’m trying

To keep my house in order while I can

I know

These walls

Burn right through

We’ve got to raise our spire

And scrub the cobblestone, too.

I want to rise…

I want to roll…

I want to stare into your eyes

And trust your soul.

I am the fire

In your voice.

I am a heart pumping blood through you

Because I have no choice.

And I know

These walls

Burn through.

We’ve got to raise our spire and scrub the cobblestone, too

I know

These walls

Burn right through

We’ve got to raise our highest spire

and scrub the cobblestone floor, too.

Carves in his wood all day.

He’s got a single bunsen burner and one old saucepan

And he doesn’t wash his windows or sweep the dust away.

There’s nary a picture on the wall

And there’s nothing really in his room at all.

I had more on my back than he owns altogether,

But there’s pictures in his head and they come out in his scuplture,

So I asked him what he thinks about all day

And this is what he said to me.

He said: I think about what I’m doing

I don ‘t think about anything else.

He said: I hear the news each morning

Then the radio goes on the shelf.

I told my daughter not to have a child, he said,

Though she didn’t listen to me,

Cause nothing is gonna get better,

‘specially in this country,

But sometimes when the tide’s in

It sweeps around my house.

I’m just waiting for the ocean

To carry me out.

So I sang him a song and I said goodbye

And I trudged on up the hill.

Funniest thing about this guy,

Which I remember still:

Is how little he required

To occupy his mind,

Just a chisel and a radio

And an empty stretch of time…

How little he needed

To make his life complete

Just a chisel and a radio

And a good night’s sleep.

And sometimes when I’m dreaming

The tide sweeps around MY house.

I’m just waiting for the ocean

to carry me out.

I’m just waiting for the ocean

To carry me out.

Ties that bind- white and thin

Laced like vines around my skin,

Five strands per hand – my closest kin,

Five fingers wrapped around my shin.

Father, solemn, standing by

See how I fear to fly.

Winged shoes fly me West,

Ties that bind yank me abreast.

I grab my shoelace in my hand

Here and there I break a strand.

Afraid my winged shoes will fail,

I have no heart in setting sail.

Afraid my family ties will break,

I fear these wings are some mistake.

Father, solemn, standing by

See how I fear to fly.

Frantically tying my mythical shoes,

I’m aware of all I have to lose.

See my hesitance and doubt

Wondering will I find out:

Are ties that bind too loose to hold?

My Southern soul is growing old.

Mercurial charm will you prevail

And free these arms to fly the air?

Prodigal son fly home…

Prodigal son fly home…

Prodigal son fly home again

While grandmother time is still your friend.

Grandmother time is still your friend

And Madame gravity’ll do you in.
]]> http://joannerandmusic.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/prodigal-son/feed/ 1 joannerandmusic http://joannerandmusic.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/bones-and-all/ http://joannerandmusic.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/bones-and-all/#comments Mon, 07 Jun 2010 06:16:10 +0000 joannerandmusic http://joannerandmusic.wordpress.com/?p=57 Continue reading →]]> BONES AND ALL –Joanne Rand 2010

I am a woman sure and strong
I’ll be traveling far along
No one to weep or worry me
from what I see.
Don’t understand the mind of man
Wreaking havoc on the land
Cannot kill eternity
from what I see.
Set me sail on the open sky
Hold my strings loosely
Take me back to the open sea
Do not confuse me.

I am a woman, wit and will
And wisdom are my backbone
Steady born, and steady still
All creation’s my home.
Set me sail on the open sky
Hold my strings loosely
Take me back to the open sea
Do not confuse me.

All you strangers now take warn
There’ll be no stopping hoof or horn
And all that dies will be reborn
from what I see.
All you strangers hear me say
There’ll be no stopping corn or grain
And all that falls shall rise again
from what I see.
From what I see Gaia’s growing
Changes are showing
From what I see Gaia’s rising
Metamorphizing.

Cannot kill eternity
Cannot stop the planted seed
Can’t deny a world in need
from what I see.
So don’t weep or worry me
Do not discourage me
Can’t heal the world with grief
from what I see.
From what I see Gaia’s growing
Changes are showing
From what I see Gaia’s rising
Metamorphizing
From what I see Gaia’s strong
Through our crooked song.

Don’t weep or worry me
Do not discourage me
And don’t hold me back…
from what I see!
I am woman strong and sure
And I will endure
I will live (bones and all) into eternity.

Oh, we got … to be strong …
Though we might not last long …