The words of this song - "love flowers best in openness and freedom" - comes from Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire." It came through me on the final day of a 2-month journey as I was making the final stretch of highway back to my home in Austin, Texas after 9,000 miles of travel. It was the perfect musical medicine for the moment as I grappled with some familiar but unwelcome fear around a newfound love.

Love Flowers Best (Joshua Blaine)

"Everything flows on and on like this river, without pause day and night."
Words by Confucius
Melody/arrangement by Josh Blaine

This song came through while standing beside the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon at night about midway through a 21-day rafting trip. The river's presence was felt day and night, hardly ever out of ear shot of the river's song.

Finding Our Voice

Everything Flows On and On (Joshua Blaine)

This song came through while taking a 1,000 mile detour on a road trip through the mid-west to see a lover. I was feeling vulnerable and uncertain about the risk I was taking and caught this healing song to help me move through my insecurities and arrive more centered and grounded in myself and the beauty of my unique story. It was a moment of epiphany that each of us - with all of our infinitesimally small moments of experience added up over our lifetime - create a singularly unique expression of human life, never to be recreated again.  

Part I:
I am the only me there will ever be for eternity. 

Part II:
Be kind to yourself, be kind to yourself. 

Part III:
Embrace the beauty of your history, mystery.

Be Kind To Yourself (Joshua Blaine)

River flows endlessly
Gurgling, whispering
Secrets of timelessness
Known by no one but the stars
Distant by light
Near by sight. 

Words and music by Josh Blaine

River Flows Endlessly (Joshua Blaine)

Paul Barton (Toronto) brought this song with a humble yet powerful presence to the Village Fire 2018 gathering. He explained in the midst of teaching it that he was crafting the harmony parts on the spot. Suffice to say, the 100 or so of us around the fire with him were floored by the beauty of the song.  

This recording is from the Texas State Capitol rotunda, where about thirty of us gathered on the first Monday of the month (as we do - also on the last Monday of the month) lead by community song leader, Josh Blaine, to sing songs of connection and courage.

Song posted with permission of Paul Barton. To hear more of his music, check out: http://www.paulbartonmusic.com/community-songs.html

8.6.18 Rotunda Sing

I Am Me (Paul Barton) - Live in the Rotunda

A bit about the song from the song catcher:

"Written after a night of dancing ecstatically, and while contemplating my conditioning around romantic relationships. This is a song to myself, to my partner(s) and friends, to the universe, and to whoever you feel called to sing it to ❤" -Jesse French (https://soundcloud.com/yetifree)

Recorded live at a Finding Our Voice community sing in the Texas State Capitol rotunda on 1.28.2019.

Slowly (Jesse French) - Live in the Rotunda

This original 3-part layer song by Gillian Spangler came through while she was biking along one of her favorite trails in Austin. She was inspired by some words of Jon Kabat-Zinn that she heard in an On Being podcast episode: "What if we lived as if each moment mattered." The other lines of the song are inspired by how the experience of singing can bring us into an embodied place of presence. 
PartI:
What if we lived as if each moment mattered
We lived as if we were here.
What if we lived as if each moment mattered
We lived as if time was dear.

Part II:
Can you listen to the wind
Can you feel it in your heart?
Do you know how to give in
To the moment as it parts?

Part III:
Be here, be here now
Be here, in this sound. 

When Gillian first taught this song at one of the FOV first/last Monday rotunda sings about a year ago, she stepped into the center of the circle with such confidence and competence, I (and many others) were sure she'd done this before. But in fact it was her first time leading a song! Since then, she's caught and lead many songs in the rotunda and elsewhere. This recording comes from her final (for now) community sing with us in Austin (which she lead as the night's guest song leader) before she launched on a sojourn to travel and farm along the West Coast. You can follow Gillian's adventures on her blog here: https://www.vaguelyveganvoyager.com/

Live in the Rotunda

Be Here Now (Gillian Spangler) - Live in the Rotunda

To skip the intro/story: https://soundcloud.com/findingourvoice/gandalfs-blessing-live#t=1:00

This song came through at the outset of a journey of my own, so it's meant to be a traveler's blessing of sorts. The words are Gandalf's from "The Hobbit." He says to the eagles after they've rescued the dwarves and Bilbo from the burning tree tops (wolves and goblins below!), "May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks." 

The third line comes from Lord of the Rings poem, "All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter": 

All that is gold does not glitter
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

This recording is from a community sing at Let My People Sing! 2019 at the Isabella Freedman Center in CT: https://www.letmypeoplesing.org/

I invite those who wish to carry and teach this song to tell the story of Gandalf, Bilbo and the dwarves in your introduction - let's hear those Gandalf impressions! 

Singing begins at 1:00

Part I:
May the wind, may the wind, may the wind
Under your wings
Bear you where, bear you wear, the sun sails
And the moonwalks. 

Part II:
May the wind, under your wings
The sun sails, and the moon walks. 

Part III:
Not all who wander are lost
Not all who wander are lost.

Gandalf's Blessing (Joshua Blaine) - Live @ LMPS '19

Nanny's Niggun is an ode to the incredible resiliency of my grandmother, "Nanny" Dorothy. A Holocaust survivor, she endured unimaginable horror and summoned untold strength and endurance to survive four different concentration camps over the course of 18 months as a Hungarian Jewish teenager. 

I caught the initial threads of this niggun (Hebrew for a "wordless melody") while singing with/to her about a year before her passing. It's my attempt to honor her story in all of its pain and profound triumph while reminding me to remain committed to ending oppression for all - no matter the creed, gender, sexual orientation, or color. 

"Nanny's Niggun" was one of the last songs I sang to my grandmother at her bedside before she drew her final breaths in mid-October 2019. This is a recording of me teaching it to a group of about thirty-five community singers in the rotunda of the Texas State Capitol on 11.18.2019, a one month after her burial. 

This song is yours to carry if it helps you connect to your own resiliency and your own commitment to fighting the grave injustices of our time.

To read a more in-depth backstory of this song, become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/posts/35685709

Nanny's Niggun (Joshua Blaine) - Live in the Rotunda

The words of this song come from a poem by kelly-chava called, "whisper me home," that I first heard while floating in a kayak on a still, prayerful morning the day after it was written. As new lovers and quarantine-mates in these unprecedented times, we've been faced with immense challenges grappling with trauma, grief, dynamics of power, and intimacy. I was so moved by her words, which she offered as an olive branch of connection after so much standing between us, that I had already woven some of it into song by the time I returned to shore. 

This song is meant to honor both the pain and courage of survivors of sexual violence and to call those of us with privilege - especially cismen - to be in sacred witness to this pain and righteous accountability to addressing the causes rooted in patriarchy and misogyny. It is also an ode to the mystical, feminine Jewish wisdom that kelly-chava summons in the four elements of earth, water, fire & air. ~Josh Blaine

whisper me home 
by kelly-chava

this is a memory that lingers in the air 
heavy with the scent of cedar
this is a constriction that wraps around throat
sometimes sharpening language, prepared for battle
sometimes the shaking of body, the pulsing of memory 
sometimes the tendrils of compression squeeze so tight
so caging
that there is no sound at all
only weeping and whimpering
vibrating to the piercing pitch of grief
a screech that rips into body 
and still
only an emptiness that drips of longing
a longing to be full
free

fire
ignite pulsing back into body
water
flow grief into grace
earth
root love into bones
air
whisper me home 

this is an emptiness that shatters into a fragile fullness
this is a fullness that contracts into a self emptying

still, the hollow echo of the emptying vibrates loud against ribs 
and yet
the vibration throbs against the fullness of lungs
the weave of breath and body 
a reverberating resonance that is 
reverence
___________

Part I: 
pulsing back into body
grief into grace
love into bones
whisper me home 

Part II:
Ignite / flow / root / whisper me home

Part III:
Fire / water / earth / air / whisper me home

whisper me home (Joshua Blaine) - Full Song

**teaching track for part 2**

Part II:
Ignite / flow / root / whisper me home

For full song: https://soundcloud.com/findingourvoice/whisper-me-home

The words of this song come from a poem by kelly-chava called, "whisper me home," that I first heard while floating in a kayak on a still, prayerful morning the day after it was written. As new lovers and quarantine-mates in these unprecedented times, we've been faced with immense challenges grappling with trauma, grief, dynamics of power, and intimacy. I was so moved by her words, which she offered as an olive branch of connection after so much standing between us, that I had already woven some of it into song by the time I returned to shore. 

This song is meant to honor both the pain and courage of survivors of sexual violence and to call those of us with privilege - especially cismen - to be in sacred witness to this pain and righteous accountability to addressing the causes rooted in patriarchy and misogyny. It is also an ode to the mystical, feminine Jewish wisdom that kelly-chava summons in the four elements of earth, water, fire & air. ~Josh Blaine

whisper me home 
by kelly-chava

this is a memory that lingers in the air 
heavy with the scent of cedar
this is a constriction that wraps around throat
sometimes sharpening language, prepared for battle
sometimes the shaking of body, the pulsing of memory 
sometimes the tendrils of compression squeeze so tight
so caging
that there is no sound at all
only weeping and whimpering
vibrating to the piercing pitch of grief
a screech that rips into body 
and still
only an emptiness that drips of longing
a longing to be full
free

fire
ignite pulsing back into body
water
flow grief into grace
earth
root love into bones
air
whisper me home 

this is an emptiness that shatters into a fragile fullness
this is a fullness that contracts into a self emptying

still, the hollow echo of the emptying vibrates loud against ribs 
and yet
the vibration throbs against the fullness of lungs
the weave of breath and body 
a reverberating resonance that is 
reverence
___________

Part I: 
pulsing back into body
grief into grace
love into bones
whisper me home 

Part II:
Ignite / flow / root / whisper me home

Part III:
Fire / water / earth / air / whisper me home

whisper me home (Joshua Blaine) - Teaching Track - Part 2

**teaching track for part 3**

Part III:
Fire / water / earth / air
whisper me home

For full song: https://soundcloud.com/findingourvoice/whisper-me-home

The words of this song come from a poem by kelly-chava called, "whisper me home," that I first heard while floating in a kayak on a still, prayerful morning the day after it was written. As new lovers and quarantine-mates in these unprecedented times, we've been faced with immense challenges grappling with trauma, grief, dynamics of power, and intimacy. I was so moved by her words, which she offered as an olive branch of connection after so much standing between us, that I had already woven some of it into song by the time I returned to shore. 

This song is meant to honor both the pain and courage of survivors of sexual violence and to call those of us with privilege - especially cismen - to be in sacred witness to this pain and righteous accountability to addressing the causes rooted in patriarchy and misogyny. It is also an ode to the mystical, feminine Jewish wisdom that kelly-chava summons in the four elements of earth, water, fire & air. ~Josh Blaine

whisper me home 
by kelly-chava

this is a memory that lingers in the air 
heavy with the scent of cedar
this is a constriction that wraps around throat
sometimes sharpening language, prepared for battle
sometimes the shaking of body, the pulsing of memory 
sometimes the tendrils of compression squeeze so tight
so caging
that there is no sound at all
only weeping and whimpering
vibrating to the piercing pitch of grief
a screech that rips into body 
and still
only an emptiness that drips of longing
a longing to be full
free

fire
ignite pulsing back into body
water
flow grief into grace
earth
root love into bones
air
whisper me home 

this is an emptiness that shatters into a fragile fullness
this is a fullness that contracts into a self emptying

still, the hollow echo of the emptying vibrates loud against ribs 
and yet
the vibration throbs against the fullness of lungs
the weave of breath and body 
a reverberating resonance that is 
reverence
___________

Part I: 
pulsing back into body
grief into grace
love into bones
whisper me home 

Part II:
Ignite / flow / root / whisper me home

Part III:
Fire / water / earth / air / whisper me home

whisper me home (Joshua Blaine) - Teaching Track - Part 3

"Olam haba" is a concept in Jewish thought that translates to "the world to come." This song emerged from a weave of inspirations but began as a niggun (wordless melody) that came through me in the early days of quarantine after some beautiful ritual with my beloved to honor the closing of Shabbat. 

Shabbat offers a respite from time itself, a gift of ancestral wisdom that invites us to dream into the world we long to know. The song is a meditation on that dream, one of "such great love" (ahava raba) where we can sing our praises for all that is Holy and be in deep, inter-relational connection with one another and with the Earth. 

The other inspirations for this song were Rebekah Erev & nomy lamm's "Golden Dreams of Olam Haba" 5781 Jewish calendar and Lisa Littlebird's call for songs for the "The World We Are Dreaming" Fall 2020 Playlist (links to both below). 

LYRICS:
olam haba עולם הבא / ahava raba אהבה רבה
Hallel הלל‎ / Halleluyah  הַלְלוּיָהּ

The world we're dreaming of
One of such great love
Sing out, sing out in praise 2x

LINKS:
Golden Dreams of Olam Haba Calender: https://rebekaherevstudio.com/all/golden-dreams-of-olam-haba-the-world-to-come-5781-magical-planner
The World We Are Dreaming playlist: https://thebirdsings.com/fall2020-playlist/

Dreaming the World to Come (Joshua Blaine)

Song by Batya Levine (https://soundcloud.com/batyalevine & https://batyalevine.bandcamp.com/)

Recording by Finding Our Voice 
@joshuaharrisblaine leading a group in the Texas Capitol Rotunda 
12/3/2018

LYRICS
All the leaves have fallen down, fallen down

I am the water, earth, fire, and wind
Dig deep my roots and return again
I am the water, earth, fire, and wind
Return again.

Rotunda Sings

All the Leaves (Batya Levine) - Live in the Rotunda

Recorded live in the Texas Capitol Rotunda on 9/30/2019. 
 @JoshuaHBlaine leading about 80 people at the bi-monthly Finding Our Voice community sing, including members of the Just Worship conference. 
Song by Abbi Spinner McBride. 

LYRICS:
Sing through my voice
Play through my hands
Let the way
Be open

Let the Way Be Open (Abbi Spinner Mcbride) - Live in the Rotunda

Finding Our Voice is a project created and tended by Joshua Blaine (@joshuahblaine), a community song leader and organizer currently living on Narraganset land along the Atlantic Ocean. His songs are inspired by some of his favorite teachings and landscapes, from John O'Donohue to the Grand Canyon to mystical Jewish wisdom. Pre-COVID, he lead regularly community sings in the glorious domed rotunda of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, TX, where he lived for 8 years. Now, he continues to write and lead song in the virtual realm in service of collective liberation and systemic transformational justice and peace. You can support and follow his work more closely by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/findingourvox and stay in the loop about his virtual song circles and other offerings on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/findingourvoiceproject/ or by joining his newsletter at http://findingourvoice.net

Finding Our Voice

Popular tracks