A song for troubled times. For Julian of Norwich it was the Black Death (bubonic plague),  all the conditions that led to the Peasants' Revolt and whatever vision of a higher and lovelier world for a woman of her gifts it was that made it desirable for Mother Julian to choose to be walled up in a cell attached to a church and have the burial service read over her, spending the rest of her long life meditating on her 16 visions of May 8 1373, and writing the first book written by a woman in English: her 'Divine Shewings' or 'Revelations of Divine Love.' 

“He said not 'Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be dis-eased'; but he said, 'Thou shalt not be overcome…’
‘All shall be well al shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.’

They buried me alive in here,
The dead they’ll never raise
The maid a parish came to love,
A movement came to praise.

No motion has she now, her course
Is inward, grave and still;
The church behind her every move,
The tomb her anchored will.

‘’So, Julie, can I ask-’ A hush.
It’s ‘Julian’ she sighs.
‘You after some big bishopric?’
‘I need no name that dies.’

‘I’m out of here if that’s your tale,
My column talks the town.
I’ll lose my pitch, my job, my mind,
I’ve got to nail this down.’

‘O frightened child, just run to Him,’
I’m not like you – you’re dead!
‘Dead to the world yet still attached,
All shall be well,’ she said.

‘He showed into my mind a nut.’
I’m seeing one, I grin.
‘In it we seek its maker, rest
Where there no rest is in.’

‘You saw Eternity last May
Through Death’s wedged-open door?’
‘This crucifix - like rain from eaves,
I saw its hot blood pour.’

‘I saw in sixteen shewings how
We must – we can - abide
Dis-ease, travail and storm, for we’re
The thorn in God’s soft side.

‘Which side is that?’ ‘His female side’
‘The Trinity has another?’
‘Christ bears us all upon His breast,
His wound’s our womb and mother.

‘O frightened child, just run to him,’
I’m not like you – you’re dead!
‘Dead to the world yet still attached,
All shall be well,’ she said.

© Gareth Calway 2015 published in the Poppyland volume "Doin Different" https://www.poppyland.co.uk/products/B79622
credits
from Done Different, released March 11, 2024
The direct quotations at the beginning and the sense (and many of the words) of Mother Julian's dialogue in the song are from her "Shewings/Revelations of Divine Love."

The tune is by Andy Wall. (Both he and I believe this is the best thing we've written/composed together).

The Ballad of Julian Of Norwich

A rock song written during a very long day at work

Whispers in the sky .mp3

The road is cracked the signs are gone
I keep on walking though I’m all alone
A shadow whispers where do you belong
But the answer’s stuck in a broken song

I turn the key but the lock won’t spin
I knock and knock but no one lets me in

No way home .wav

Lyrics:

nothing is scarier
 than facing myself

peeling off the layers
 like fruit on a shelf

monsters crawling out 
from under my shell

and no one seems to hear me 
when i cry for help

but i’m taking  all the darkness 
that was woven  into me 
and turning it  into something 
greater

 i want to laugh  'til my ribs explode
i want to feel every crack  in my bones
i want a ring from my baby
 i want to forget  all about new york

 i want to laugh  'til my ribs explode
i want to feel every crack  in my bones
i want a ring from my baby
 i want to forget  all about new york

 i want to laugh  'til my ribs explode
i want to feel every crack  in my bones
i want a ring from my baby
 i want to forget  all about new york

i glamorized my sadness
 like decor on a wall

tears dripping down my cheeks 
tsunamis flooding the hall

but i’ve met what’s underneath 
and i greet it with grace

i’ve got people who would take me in 
when i can’t find my place

but i’m taking  all the darkness 
that was woven  into me 
and turning it  into something 
greater

 i want to laugh  'til my ribs explode
i want to feel every crack  in my bones
i want a ring from my baby
 i want to forget  all about new york

 i want to laugh  'til my ribs explode
i want to feel every crack  in my bones
i want a ring from my baby
 i want to forget  all about new york

 i want to laugh  'til my ribs explode
i want to feel every crack  in my bones
i want a ring from my baby
 i want to forget  all about new york

i don’t want the past to haunt me
 i was born with so much light
 before something 
died inside

but i found this superpower 
of flipping things around 
when life gives me lemons
i smoke them to the ground


LEMONS (Demo)

     Howdy everyone and I hope everyone had a great Labor Day, without laboring of course!😂 This is another of my instrumentals, which actually had lyrics but the vocals were not recorded too well so I made it into an instrumental. It's about having that Las Vegas experience which I'm sure nobody can afford anymore with this economy unless you're a billionaire! I've been to Vegas many times and most times I've lost, hence the title "Lost Wages"! I'm not a gambler, so when I lose a couple of hundred dollars I start sweating profusely!!😂 It's a fast paced song and I played like a boogie-woogie synthesizer on it and a rock guitar. Charlie played a groovy harmonica on it too! I've decided to drop an instrumental and a cover song every month from now on besides my normal songs and videos. The video is the high-light so please check it out on YouTube.

VIDEO - https://youtu.be/DwZ-ISbz2g0

     The video was a lot of fun to put together and it's all about Las Vegas, the gambling, the show girls, the drinking, the excesses, pretty decadent stuff! There's is a lot of eye-candy here for the grown-ups to enjoy! It drops tomorrow on YouTube! The original song with lyrics was called "My Neck Of The Woods" so if Charlie and I rerecord the vocals, I'll make a video of it as well. I hope everyone enjoys this song and video and remember, don't gamble unless you can afford to lose a ton of money and are rich because it is an addiction! Last time we went to Las Vegas, back before the pandemic, it was for about a week and all we saw were the shows and never gambled, that was my favorite trip because I didn't lose a dime! But guess what? We're going back to Las Vegas in December 2025 to watch the new "Wizard Of Oz" spectacular in The Sphere! Check out the clips on YouTube, it's really mind-blowing! No gambling!! Take care and good luck! 😎✌🏼

"LOST WAGES" (Inst) [Video - https://youtu.be/DwZ-ISbz2g0]

PIPI DANS LE JARDIN
UN CHIEN QUI ABOIE AU LOIN
LA LUNE POUR TÉMOIN PAS MOINS
MOI JE FAIS PIPI DANS LE JARDIN

PIPI DANS LE JARDIN
DEPUIS QUE TOUT GAMIN
MAMAN M’A DIT PIPI AU LIT C’EST PAS BIEN
MOI JE FAIS PIPI DANS LE JARDIN

PIPI DANS LE JARDIN
ARROSER LA ROSÉE DU MATIN
JE SAIS ÇA PISSE PAS LOIN
MAIS C’EST BON PIPI DANS LE JARDIN

PIPI DANS LE JARDIN
JE N’IRAI PAS PLUS LOIN
CAR ICI COMMENCE LE DÉBUT DE LA FIN
LES HUILES SONT AU PARFUM
LE MONDE SENT LE SAPIN
ET PUISQU’ON N’Y PEUT RIEN DE RIEN
MOI JE FAIS PIPI DANS LE JARDIN

PIPI DANS LE JARDIN (Lyrics)

Error enthralls in the bonds of iniquity
Flattering tongues love a lie
Misleading minds love denying reality
Injustice rules every mind 

Soothing false smiles all around, no integrity
Everywhere blind leading blind                
Carelessly living in mindless prosperity
All living on borrowed time 
  
The watchmen are blind 
The shepherds are weak 
The dogs never made a sound        
Their lives are facades and hearts never seek
Then I heard the lion’s roar 
       
God’s dawn breaks, he’s drawing nigh
Improve your time each moment
Build up his kingdom within you
Receive his blessings promised

People are pleasing themselves and each other
Think kindness is flattering tongues
Draped in facades no one sees who they really are
He’ll not know them when he comes

Fire of reality strikes at security
Piercing the clouds with it’s might
Comfort is gone truth will strike at impurity
Darkness cannot stand God’s light
        
The watchmen are blind 
The shepherds are weak 
The dogs never made a sound     
Their lives are facades and hearts never seek
Then they heard the lion’s roar 
         
Wolves soothe peace, peace, but there is no peace
And they speak with bowed tongues
God says cease, cease from iniquity
Be clean, for the Lion comes
       
God’s dawn breaks, he’s drawing nigh
Improve your time each moment
Build up his kingdom within you
Receive his blessings promised
              
Turn from your sins; do them no more for
God’s mercy is here for a time
Through Christ our Lord be forgiven, be justified
Sinless, become sanctified

Improve your time while you can night is drawing nigh
Value the truth and God’s fire
When justice comes there is no time to work or cry out
For you’ll hear his roar
                 
The watchmen are blind 
The shepherds are weak 
The dogs never made a sound       
Their lives are facades and hearts never seek
Then we heard the lion’s roar 
      
God’s dawn breaks, he’s drawing nigh
Improve your time each moment
Build up his kingdom within you
Receive his blessings promised

Music/Lyrics/Vocals/Instrumentals by Layna Glantz

Isa. 56:10-11
1 Ne. 15:30
Luke 17:20
https://upwardthought.org/media/917?t=62735

The Lion's Roar

So, our friend (assuming he really is our friend) is no longer alone at home. The work week is over, it’s been a hard one. Maybe for both of them: for him, and for the woman now leaning out the window. There’s a touch of unease in the air, and it’s not necessarily connected to how things are going between them. Maybe something is about to happen. Or maybe not. The only sure thing is that they’re not interested in finding out.

This is the fourth in a series of eight easy, acoustic, rather short, and deliberately inconclusive tracks, assembled by combining new ideas with reworked older material, adding parts and sounds along the way. This time I struggled to make it to the end, adding and removing, changing and restoring and working to the mix. I probably messed things up a bit (thirty recorded tracks, twenty of them muted...), but never mind.

Part 1 here: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/in-case-nothing-happens-part-1-night
Part 2 here: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/in-case-nothing-happens-part-2-dawn
Part 3 here: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/in-case-nothing-happens-part-3-noon

Composed by Michele Ansani (2025).
All the ambient noises are taken from public sound archives. Saxophone is courtesy by Diamond Hues. Male vocals are mine, female by Spitfire Labs.
Posted on SoundCloud: 2025, September 19.

In case nothing happens - part 4 (late afternoon)*

Song about emotional breakup. This song was recorded by Annie first then me. Both versions are on here to emphasise the different emotions felt in both songs ! Enjoy

End of the road ( Male perspective) .mp3

Some more present day planetary observations and musings with the help of the Original Star Trek episode The Return of the Archons.
                                                     
When I was a kid
I struggled and I hid
Preteen horde, tuned out, ignored
Those moments on their grid

My obsessions turned confession
All conform and compromise 
The follows and suggestions
Accept and actualize 

And now it feels the same
They are checking, counting names
The ones who don't fit in 
Expose, extort and grin

Neighbour against neighbour
Grandpa's gun up on the roof
Galaxy of gangsters
Grade school bullies after you

Aaahh you're not of the Body
You be shabby, sick and shoddy
They say, “Desist, Deplane and Deport”
Aaahh you're not of the Body
We like the golden, gloss and gaudy
Not you…You will be absorbed

When I was a lad
I was labeled brash and bad
Schoolyard brawls, slurs etched on walls
Their ugly ironclad

And now it feels the same
Angst and anger, bringing blame
Time to pick a side, patriotic pride
A dangerous children's game

Aaahh you're not of the Body 
We want the hero and the haughty 
To fight, fight, fight… go to war
Aaahh you're not of the Body 
Let's keep the nice but not the naughty 
And you…you will be absorbed 

                      The medium's the message
                      The message is clear
                      Red hour, purging power
                      The Festival Fear
                      School day selections
                     Still in front of me
                     Reddits and Podcasts
                      Theaters of hate
                      Forecasting of futures 
                       The marches to great
                       A planet fantastic 
                      Sponge job soliloquy 

Aaahh you're not of the Body 
The fratty feel and glitterati 
Behind the prayers and shares, lies the sword
Aaahh you're not of the Body 
Wish I could get beamed up now by Scotty
Before they say, “ You will be absorbed"

             


You Will Be Absorbed

lovely days in portland

A marriage (and we are actually married, 45 years so far) of melody and rhythm. We do folk, indie, Americana, Norfolk noir, beat poems &  ghazals. Traditional tunes with contemporary beats. Music videos  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb8wV0-DNiFs1R5G2VSytBQ
Maz lead & harmony vocals, acoustic guitar. Gaz vocals, voice, bass, drums & percussion, harmonium, recorders, lyre harp, field recordings.

The Ballad of Julian Of Norwich

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