Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem, PA
November 14, 2015

I’m at a loss, for words, for feelings 
Grasping time and space 
But can’t remember where 
And what I’m supposed to be 
Because we flew right past the twenty-ninth 
And I slept through New Year’s Eve 
Now where am I? And we are you? 
And where is “we”? 
Between these rocks and stars and seas, 
Between my savior and his blood, 
Where do we fall? Where does “we” fall? 
Where falls love? 
Is it scattered? Is it shattered? 
Is it here? 

I have wept so many times 
For those broken and falling 
Reaching, grasping, empty-handed 
When they won’t believe the love I feel 
But never cities, never nations 
Not the state of humankind 
But the burden of humanity is heavy and it’s real 
Between two cities feigning peace, 
Between the soldiers and their guns, 
How many walls? How many fall when all is done? 
When will it be done? What can be done? 

One wise father preaches friendship 
Like that’s gonna fix this mess 
But maybe friendship’s all we have 
We can’t afford anything less 
We’ll leave behind what we have seen 
It’s so easy for us to go 
But there are those who’ll never leave 
And there are those who’ll never know 
Between the newscasts and the stories, 
Seas below and planes above 
We’ll spread the good news that, somewhere, there is love 
There is love

There is Love

Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem, PA
November 14, 2015

She Used to Be Mine (Sara Bareilles)

Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem, PA
November 14, 2015

“I had hoped to see you sooner, but I never thought we’d see each other here”
“So tragic; he was way too young,” “No man should lose his only son” “Thanksgiving just won’t be the same this year”
I wish that you were smirking in the corner hearing what they have to say
And I wish that your absence weren’t the reason they’re all here today

It’s colder in your father’s eyes than it is outside, and I know I need to breathe but I keep holding it
Thinking maybe you’ll come through the door and it’ll all be like before, that maybe it’s a dream and we’ll wake up from it
You’ll be smoking on my patio, worrying our mothers, and I’ll like to think that, quietly, we understand each other 
Yeah, usually our crew is festive, but today I’m wearing black on black on black

It’s a strange, strange reunion you’ve called for, cuz
So many lives you led, so many lives you changed
How strikingly wrong that you’re the one who has been shortchanged

I’ve heard Great Uncle Al sometimes lies down on his cemetery plot just to make sure he’ll fit
He’s a little off his rocker, but we all are, and it’s high time we admitted it
Now this shouldn’t have been Al, but it sure as hell shouldn’t have been you
Sure as hell or somewhere darker, nobody had prepared themselves for you 

It’s a strange, strange reunion you’ve called for, cuz
I think the biggest one I’ve seen, for good reason
And we didn’t bury you in Allegheny County, but we raised you up in Cleveland

You tested every limit (you learned it from your dad), and yours was one of the freest spirits that this family had
You flew nests and you hopped fences, and you were coming to a sense of where you’d been and who you’d be and where you’d go
and when you fell, it was by no fault of your own 

It’s a strange, strange reunion you’ve called for, cuz
Reminding us all just who and how to love
And how no matter how many times we say it, it can never be enough

Strange Reunions

Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem, PA
November 14, 2015

She said, “I think I’ll go to Brooklyn” with a ticket in her hand
But the world drove her to Cleveland by way of Bethlehem
And she sobbed in hotel rooms and on buses and on couches on the way
A sense of obligation, a weighty family name,
A drive to share the moments after everything had changed
But even as a chorus it feels empty to say,
“I love you from where I still am”

She said, “I think I’ll go to Boston,” but the world had other plans
It drove her back to Bethlehem, bus tickets all be damned
And the love and the need and the fear and the grief gripped her heart
A fierce and tested loyalty, that same great family name,
A black hole where a stellar light has always been the same
In a world where we’ve never lived without you, we say,
“I love you from where I still am”

From a world where beautiful, young people die
And grown people can’t find a safe place to cry
A world without a man who shook my hand and loved me into who I am
Me and thousands more
Who are proud and aching and sore,
And say, “I love you from where I still am”

From Where I Still Am

There is Love, Rachel Marie's second album, perfectly balances all of the playfulness and energy of her first album with a new sophistication and maturity. The title track, centered on peacebuilding, was written in Israel and in Palestine, and its proceeds will benefit Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center, a Moravian mission in Ramallah, Palestine where Muslims and Christians work together to teach and care for the intellectually disabled. Proceeds from "I Called to Say Goodbye," a raw and honest piece surrounding one response to the attempted suicide of a young member of the LGBTQ community, will benefit The Trevor Project; and proceeds from "The Bell Tolls" will benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Self-producing this project has allowed for a clear display of Rachel Marie's passion and compassion alike, benefiting worthy causes and being full of close friends, from mandolin, cello, harmonica, bass, and violin, to the chipmunk on the inside cover. This album is organic and it is beautiful for it, and a full and clear voice speaking graceful truths throughout certainly doesn't hurt.

It Is

The social awareness of folk meets the introspection of the singer-songwriter tradition with a moderate dose of snark.

Rachel Marie

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