A Kid Pan Alley song written by Paul Reisler, Natalia Zukerman and Howell’s 4th grade, Pocahontas Elementary. Performed by Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsyth, Natalia Zukerman, and Paul Reisler. Arranged by Don Hart.  Produced by Ryan Benyo and Paul Reisler.

There’s a place we go to remember
A wound in the earth that needs healing
A wall that holds the memories
And all our feelings
58,000 soldiers gave their lives 
58,000 names carved in stone
May they always be remembered
May they always be known

Stone doesn’t disappear
But it slowly changes shape
As the light fades away
Our memories don’t dim
They keep shining in our hearts
In our minds they are always with us
They’re such a gift…to us

There’s a place we go to remember
A wound in the earth that needs healing
A wall that holds the memories
And all our feelings
58,000 soldiers gave their lives 
58,000 names carved in stone
May they always be remembered
May they always be known

In the silence of the stone
We hear all their whispering souls
Guiding us along
On our lonely path
Through the forest and the snow
Though the healing may be slow
We’ll come back to what we know

There’s a place we go to remember
A wound in the earth that needs healing
A wall that holds the memories
And all our feelings
58,000 soldiers gave their lives 
58,000 names carved in stone
May they always be remembered
May they always be known
There’s a place we go to remember
a place we go to remember
There’s a place we go to remember
 
© 2022 Kid Pan Alley Music (ASCAP)/Zoidsongs (ASCAP)

Place We Go To Remember (feat. Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsyth, Natalia Zukerman)

From the album Kid Pan Alley Nashville featuring Jimmy Hall and Nashville Chamber Orchestra.  Written during a Kid Pan Alley workshop by By Jason Blume, Paul Reisler and Maxine Jones’ 7th grade, East Literature Magnet School.

kid pan alley nashville

17 True to Me

A song in memory of our friends David Richards and Nol Putnam.

When We’re Gone
By Scarlet Keys and Paul Reisler
In memory of David Richards and Nol Putnam

Mother left a necklace
Though it’s tarnished and it’s worn
It’s my rainbow in the storm
It’s the bridge I walk across 
when I’m lost
Just because
Just because

Chorus:
What do we leave when we leave it all behind?
What’s left when there’s nothing left at all
What carries on when the last verse 
has faded from our song
when we’re gone
when we’re gone  

The way she saw the world
Left her breathless at a sunset 
It’s a love I won’t forget
Oh, that beautiful brave rebel 
with a cause   
Just because
Just because

Chorus

though it’s just a hand me down
from my life’s lost and found
It’s my northern star
My favorite thing by far
And I hold it to my heart
Just because

Chorus

© 2023 Zoidsongs (ASCAP)/ Little Jay Bird Music (ASCAP)

When We're Gone Rough

A Kid Pan Alley song by Paul Reislerl, Heather Mae and the chorus at T.C. Williams High School.

Shining the light on my darkest fears
Search for what I lost
In each and every tear
Deep in the shadows
Exploring my mind
Looking for answers
So hard to find
My past, present, future 
all entwined

climbing the ladder with the lamp in my hand
going to the place that I don’t understand
up to the attic to escape the storm
facing the tempest longing to be reborn

Shining the light on my darkest fears
Search for what I lost
In each and every tear
Deep in the shadows
Exploring my mind
Looking for answers
So hard to find
My past, present, future 
all entwined

there’s a jumble of thoughts  tangled in my mind
the beat of my heart keeps my footsteps in time
forget all the heartache, forget all the pain
fighting my fearsas they’re surging through my veins

Shining the light on my darkest fears
Search for what I lost
In each and every tear
Deep in the shadows
Exploring my mind
Looking for answers
So hard to find
My past, present, future 
all entwined

Now the light is rising. Now the light is rising
Now the light is rising.  Breaking the storm

Shining the light on my darkest fears
Search for what I lost
In each and every tear
Deep in the shadows
Exploring my mind
Looking for answers
So hard to find
My past, present, future 
all entwined

shining the light on my darkest fears (rpt and fade)
© Kid Pan Alley Music (ASCAP)/Zoidsongs (ASCAP)

The Light Is Rising

A Kid Pan Alley song by Paul Reisler, Heather Mae, and the chorus at T.C. Williams High School

The beat of my heart
Breathing in time
I steady my breath
I clear my mind
Far too tired to fall asleep 
I walk into nature
Into the deep

The amber orange and red 
The tears that nature shed
Alone but not lonely
I wander these woods
No destination
No place in my mind
I follow the music
Leave my troubles behind

The beat of my heart
Breathing in time
I steady my breath
I clear my mind
Far too tired to fall asleep 
I walk into nature
Into the deep

The woods, the trail, the bend
The summer fades to end
I keep on walking
I know I’m not lost
I slow my steps 
And look to the sky
Not sure where I’m going
But I’m ready to say goodbye

The beat of my heart
Breathing in time
I steady my breath
I clear my mind
Far too tired to fall asleep 
I walk into nature
Into the deep

A glimpse of what I know
Now it’s time to let it go

The beat of my heart
Breathing in time
I steady my breath
I clear my mind
Far too tired to fall asleep 
I walk into nature
Into the deep

The beat of my heart. Breathing in time (3x)

© Kid Pan Alley Music (ASCAP)/Zoidsongs (ASCAP)

Beat Of My Heart

A Kid Pan Alley song by Paul Reisler, Natalia Zukerman and the 4th grade at Pocahontas Elementary.  Performed in a live concert in July, 2023 by the 60-piece Bourgeois Concert Band, conducted by Col. John Bourgeois, former Director of the US Marine Band.  The children read a book about Maya Lin and the Vietnam Wall Memorial which inspired this song.   There is also a string quartet version featuring Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth: https://soundcloud.com/kid-pan-alley/place-we-go-to-remember?si=63a4152f9f2e44bc8dbf283fc44335a5&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

A Place We Go To Remember - Bpourgeois Concert Band 2023

Written by Paul Reisler and Angela Kaset. Recorded by  Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions

If I were free
I would answer any question
With a brush stroke upon canvas
And my words would all fall out in poetry
I would sing to you a sunset
Draw your face inside a symphony

If I were free 
I would flee this world of sidewalks
Run barefoot up the mountain
Stand naked as a lover, breathlessly
I would lose my way by moonlight
And wake to find you sleeping next to me
If I were free

If I were free
If I were free
Free to fly
Free to fall
Safe within the mystery
Of it all

If I were free
I would kiss you like a snowflake
Rain on you in roses
Fearlessly stand back and let you be
For God above and all the world to see
If I were free

© 2000 P. Reisler/Zoidsongs (ASCAP)
A. Kaset/Red Dove/Purple Sun (SESAC)

If I Were Free

Paul Reisler, Kathy Hussey and Mrs. Eidson's 4th Grade, Elkin Elementary.  I don't know where this came from.  There were very few children of color in this rural North Carolina school. They wanted to write about racism.  They nailed it:  "Skin, it's just the suit you're in."

I wanna know who you are 
Don't wanna judge you by your car
Do you speak the truth
Can you sing like Ray
I wanna hear what you have to say

Skin, It can be pretty thin
Skin. It's just the suit you're in
Skin, Skin

I wanna know what's in your heart
Don't matter if your skin is light or dark
Don't care where you live or what you wear
What really counts is that you care

chorus

I have a dream like Dr King
What he stood for made us think
All God's children are just the same
With different faces and different names

chorus

Skin (feat. Lea Morris)

Kid Pan Alley

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