For the moments we need to feel held, connect, sink in and feel resourced. I use the lyrics earth, sea, tree, sky, stars, but please use as a zipper song and ask your participants to bring their ideas in to the mix. 

Lyrics: 

The earth holds me
so I can hold others,
yes I can hold others,
these arms are strong.

In this version I add in:
Sea, tree, sky, stars, sun, etc...

© Heather Houston
02/2021
All rights reserved
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com

Heather Houston's Album

The Earth Holds Me - Heather Houston, All Parts

A fun, rhythmic, layered song inviting us to listen deeply to the rhythm of the Earth and the sound of the river. 

Lyrics:

Part 1: Put your roots down, put your feet on the ground, can you hear what she says when you listen?

Part 2: Cause the sound of the river as it moves across the stone is the same sound as the blood in your body as it moves across your bones.

by Molly Hartwell

To learn the individual parts to this song, please visit my Public Song Library:
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/sisters-in-harmony-song-library/

Root Down - Molly Hartwell

Received on the morning of the Fall Equinox of 2021 at sunrise. A hauntingly beautiful layer song! 

Lyrics:

Part 1: 
Honoring the darkness,
Honoring the light, 
Honoring the day, 
Honoring the night. 

Part 2:
All things find their way 
into balance

Part 3:
Suspended in time

Part 4: 
Shadows and light

Part 5:
Suspended in time

© Heather Houston
September 21, 2021
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com

Equinox Blessing (Shadows and Light) - Heather Houston - All Parts

Offered in utter devotion to our Mother Waters. This one poured through me as I knelt down at the banks the Tuolumne River to express my gratitude. To be sung with reverence and devotion. 

Lyrics:

Oh Mother Waters
Thank you for your healing song
Oh Mother Waters
Here I know 
that I belong

Heather Houston
© August 2021

Mother Waters - Heather Houston, All Parts

A fun greeting song created for my Song Village community - and for everyone to enjoy. Once my participants get the hang of it, I invite them to walk around and sing one whole round to one person, then to another, and so on and so forth. Harmonies can be improvised. All for fun!

Lyrics:

You belong here in this place
You belong here in this place
Oh I see you
And I see you seeing me to

I belong here in this place
I belong here in this place
Oh I see you
And I see you seeing me too

I belong here in this place - repeat 3 or 4 times

Heather Houston
© June 2022

You Belong Here - Heather Houston

A beautiful reminder to tune INTO our voices - pure enjoyment, pure bliss, pure pleasure. 

Lyrics:
Easy does it now
Slow it down
Feel the sound
As you breathe, sing, freely now
Tune, croon, swoon...

Heather Houston
© June 2022

Easy Does it Now - Heather Houston

This one came through for myself and my retreat participants. Let's surround ourselves in love as we move through the world - like a protective ball of energy. Lets feel it moving through us, in us, as us...

Lyrics:
The energy of love surrounds me
The energy of love moves through me
Guiding my way in all I do and say
Yes the energy of love surrounds me

Heather Houston
© 07/2022

The Energy of Love Surrounds Me - Heather Houston

This song came through right after our first big Sisters in Harmony Retreat in the Summer of 2022. I was feeling so tender and expanded and wanted to remain in that post retreat bliss bubble for longer. The "shoulds" were beginning to creep in... "I should unpack my car, I should start some laundry, I should go jump in the ocean, I should...." But all I really wanted to do was lie in the shade on my deck and feel it all, to integrate it all, to stay connected to the powerful energy of love in my heart. I imagined that some of the women from the retreat were having a similar experience. When I tuned in to the community, this song started emerging for us. "Be gentle with yourself." Give yourself total permission to do whatever you desire... just for the rest of the day at least.  ;)

For harmony practice tracks, please go here: https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/song/be-gentle-heather-houston/

Lyrics:
Be gentle with yourself 
Please be gentle with yourself

Heather Houston
© 07/2022

Be Gentle - Heather Houston

Written in response to the divisiveness we are experiencing in our nation, this song is a call for those who have the consciousness and heart to see beyond our differences and hold all the parts of this being human. I see all you love warriors out there!!

Warriors of Love

Warriors of Love - Heather Houston

A request for the elementals to hold us as we move through our deepest sorrows, our deepest griefs. It's in the ask that the request is answered. We have only to open and receive. 

This one came through in one of my Singing as Sanctuary classes as I was processing some of my own personal grief, and the more I chanted it, the more it became about the collective grief. The more I sang, the more supported I felt, the more I was able to let go and cry. 

Earth hold me as I sing
Air fill me as I breathe
Water flow through me
Fire transform the grief

Heather Houston
© 04/2023

Earth Hold Me - Heather Houston

Oh the power of gratitude! This one is so fun to do with a group of folks as we walk around and sing to each other!

Thank You Song - All parts

Thank You Song - Melody (midrange voice)

Thank You Song - High Harmony

Thank You Song - Low Harmony

A beautiful Yoruban chant to the Goddess Oshun of the river and fresh waters. Inspiring in us to embody our femininity, sensuality, sweetness, beauty, love and overflowing joy!

Taught to me by my incredible teacher Alba Lirio. 

www.heatherhoustonmusic.com

Prayers For The Water

Chant To Oshun

A song for these uncertain times. Inspired by one of Joanna Macy's talks at a Bioneers Conference.

© Heather Houston
All rights reserved

To learn the individual parts to this song, please visit my Public Song Library:
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/sisters-in-harmony-song-library/

Lyrics:
And we will care for each other
As the world around us unravels
And we will tend to the spark
of hope that lives within our grieving hearts
And we are here now, in this present moment
Lifting our voices and hearts
And we are here now, we have come together
We are tending the spark hope
Oh may it grow
And we will care for each other

Tending the Spark by Heather Houston

Bele Mama - From Cameroon, in West Africa

This is a great ice-breaker of a song! The perfect opener. It gets your group singing in harmony in a matter of minutes. Possible meaning is "Mama come out and play!" When I first learned this, I learned that it was from the Torres Straight Islands and that it meant "Beautiful Earth." The more research I do, the more I find that it's actually from West Africa and has traveled and traveled far and wide. Enjoy!

This song is in the public domain
Arrangement by Heather Houston

To learn the individual parts to this song, please visit my Public Song Library:
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/sisters-in-harmony-song-library/

Lyrics:

Bele mama, bele mama ee ay
Bele mama, bele mama ee ay
Bele mama, bele mama, bele mama, bele mama,
Bele mama, bele mama ee eh

Bele Mama - All Parts

Put Your Roots Down - Molly Hartwell - All Parts

Re-Wild My Soul by Heather Houston

This beautiful chant poured through me one morning in a meditation on my sister's land in Northern WA. With Mt. Baker above me, Canyon Creek below me, sunshine, wind, eagles, vast sky and forest all around me, I went into a deep state of communion with the land and allowed this song to move through. It doesn't make grammatical sense entirely, but it's easier to teach this way. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

Oh river, re-wild my soul Help me let go of control Show my heart how to flow with ease again I am ready, take me in.

Oh mountain, re-wild my soul Help me let go of control Show my heart how to lift mine eyes again I am ready, take me in.

Oh eagle, re-wild my soul Help me let go of control Show my heart how to fly so free again I am ready, take me in.

Oh vast sky, re-wild my soul Help me let go of control Show my heart how to be spaciousness again I am ready, take me in.

Oh soft wind, re-wild my soul Help me let go of control Show my heart how to be clear and cleansed again I am ready, take me in.

Oh sunshine, re-wild my soul Help me let go of control Show my heart how to shine with warmth again I am ready, take me in.

Oh forest, re-wild my soul Help me let go of control Show my heart how to trust this path again I am ready, take me in.

Oh mama, re-wild my soul Help me let go of control Show my heart how to beat with yours again I am ready, take me in.

To learn the individual parts to this song, please visit my Public Song Library:
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/sisters-in-harmony-song-library/

©Heather Houston
All rights reserved

Re-Wild My Soul - All Parts

One of my favorite morning chants from the Vedic tradition

Om Bhur Bhuvah Swaha, 
Tat Savitur Varenyam 
Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi, 
Dhiyo Yo Nah Pracho Dayat

Meaning and History:

A prayer to the Divine Light Traditionally chanted in the morning as the sun is rising

The Gayatri mantra first appeared in the Rig Veda, an early Vedic text written between 1800 and 1500 BCE

Translation:

The eternal, earth, air, heaven
That glory, that resplendence of the sun
May we contemplate on the brilliance of that light
May the sun inspire our minds

https://heatherhoustonmusic.com

Gayatri Mantra - Key of B flat

This beautiful chant from Nigeria is sung in the Yoruba language. A favorite to sing with my Shruti box layering in harmonies as we go. 

Arrangement by Heather Houston
To learn the individual parts to this song, please visit my Public Song Library:
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/sisters-in-harmony-song-library/

This song is in the public domain.

Meaning: 
God's good work will never be destroyed. I like to think of it as the Creator's beautiful work lives on for eternity.

Lyrics:

Ise oluwa
Kole baje oh
Ise oluwa
Kole baje oh
Kole baje oh
Kole baje oh
Ise oluwa
Kole baje oh

Ise Oluwa - All Parts - Key of B flat

Evening Rise - Composer Unknown
Sung here in the key of B flat

As far as I can tell, this song is in the public domain. I have not been able to track down the composer. Please let me know if you have any information. 

To learn the individual parts to this song, please visit my Public Song Library:
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/sisters-in-harmony-song-library/

An absolute favorite in my song circles and in my choir. The harmonies are hauntingly beautiful and easy enough to learn. It's very satisfying for everyone once they get all of the parts.

Evening Rise - All Parts - Key of B flat

The ethereal voices of Yala Lati meet the colorful voice of Heather Houston for a rainbow of sonic delight! Calling you home to the sacred circle of sisterhood, this album is a symphony for the innermost tendrils of the heart. 

We are sisters of the moon 
And daughters of the sun
We are mothers of the world
Our voices they are one
We are lovers of the earth 
and guardians of the land
We are weavers of the dream 
Together we are standing

For parts to these songs, please visit Heather's public song library at:
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/sisters-in-harmony-song-library/

15 - You Are So Loved

12 - Re - Wild My Soul

11 - Divine Mystery

10 - Full Moon Chant

Sisters of the Moon

05 - Tending the Spark

Bird of Light - Heather Houston

I offer this chant as a powerful practice of presencing. In the dark, difficult and uncertain times, one of the most powerful tools I've found is to chant mantra. Mantra, that which protects the mind, helps us to enter into a one pointed concentration, thus quieting the looping stories and the fears. 

Choose one part and stick to it throughout, and notice how you feel afterward. For practice parts, please go to: https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/song/bird-of-light-heather-houston/ 

Hamsa so hum translates as "I Am That" in Sanskrit. In Vedic philosophy, it means identifying oneself with the universe or ultimate reality. The Soham mantra has been called the universal mantra because of the fact that its vibration is already a part of the breath, and everybody breathes. Sooooo... is the sound of inhalation, and Hummmm... is the sound of exhalation.

Hamsa means white swan. The swan, of course, is an ancient symbol of spiritual grace and purity. The mantra is called White Swan because when the in-breath and out-breath are freed and purified, they are like the wings of a swan helping our spirits to soar. The Hamsa mantra helps us find the grace within and carries us beyond our limited concepts. 

Hamsa so hum, hamsa so hum

I am that I am that I am, I am that I am that I am

So hum, so hum, so hum, so hum

I am this breath, I am this voice

I am a bird of light, I am a bird in flight

© November 2019
Heather Houston
All rights reserved

Bird of Light by Heather Houston

Sung here in the key of B flat

Shiva is a Hindu God, destroyer who ends the cycle of time which, in turn, begins a new Creation. At the highest level, Lord Shiva is regarded as limitless, formless,transcendent, and unchanging. This chant reminds us that Shiva (the energy of destruction and regeneration) is always accompanied by the eternal Mother of the Universe.

Lyrics:

Sa Amba Sada Shiva
Sa Amba Shiva Om
Sa Amba Sada Shiva
Sa Amba Shiva Om

Om Mata, Om Mata
Om shri Mata Jagadumba 
Om Mata, Om Mata
Om shri Mata Jagadumba 
 
Translation:

The ever auspicious Lord Shiva is one with the Divine Mother
Oh Mother, Oh Mother
Radiant Mother, Mother of the Universe

Music composer unknown

Songs of Spirit

Sa Amba Sadha Shiva - Sanskrit Mantra - Key of B flat

A Navajo prayer, put to music by Gregg Smith. Made popular by Libana. This is a sweet round with a big vocal range. Be sure that you are nice and warmed up before you sing it. 

Lyrics:

Now I walk in beauty
Beauty is before me
Beauty is behind me
Above and below me

Now I Walk In Beauty - A Navajo Prayer

An elegant, mystical, circular song flowed through me for the Winter Solstice of 2020, inviting us to trust the wisdom of our own hearts. Enjoy! 

Sung here in the Key of B flat (if you use a Shruti) The singing bowl is in D

You are welcome to share this song with others. Recording is not permitted. Thank you. 

Lyrics:

The answer lies within me
Deep within my heart
The wisdom I am seeking
Divine love will impart
Listen
Listen
Listen
Listen

© Heather Houston
12/20/2020
All rights reserved 

www.heatherhoustonmusic.com

Listen — Heather Houston - Key of B flat

Heather is passionate about freeing voices, uplifting hearts, and transforming lives through the power of singing. She is not only a successful recording artist, but spreads her magic through her Yala Lati women’s choir, her 20 plus years of international song circle leading, and her on-line coaching and training programs. Heather is in the recording studio working on two new albums of original material.

Popular tracks by Heather Houston