As we continue to navigate our way in these confounding times, I find it helpful to make requests like: “Show me what is mine to do. Truly mine, not anyone else’s. Please continue revealing to me my own unique path. How can I share my gifts? How can I best be of service to my community?”
Lyrics:
Show me what is mine to do
© Heather Houston
July 2020
A traditional Yoruba chant to the Goddess of the sea, the Mother of all, often portrayed as a mermaid. I like to invite my singers to call out the qualities of the ocean before we sing it, then invite them feel the flow of the water in their bodies as they move and sing. It is also meant to observe the qualities of female and male that merge and melt within us.
This chant can be sung in a round.
Possible Translation:
Goddess of the sea
Female and male merge or melt. (They are one.)
A traditional chant in the public domain.
Lyrics:
Yemaya oh, ako, ako yo yemaya
Yemaya oh, ako, ako yo yemaya
Keep Movin’ Forward My Darlin’ by Valerie Byrne
Written for Greta Thunberg, Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez and all of the women in the world who are moving forward with purpose and passion! Keep movin’ forward loves! We see you, we support you, we appreciate you!! Thank you for writing this powerful song Valerie! We love it!
Lyrics:
Keep movin’ forward my darlin’
Keep movin’ on my love
You know you are the beloved one
To answer to your calling
© Valerie Byrne
All rights reserved
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 far and wide. I learned it off of a “WombSong” CD. Enjoy!
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
This song is in the public domain
Arrangement by Heather Houston
I’ve known and sung this beautiful chant in women’s circles for many years. It’s an invitation to feel one with the Earth, a reminder of our sacred connection to, and responsibility for, the more than human world. The composer is unknown, and the song is in the public domain.
Arrangement by Heather Houston
Lyrics:
Earth my body,
Water my blood,
Air my breath
and fire my spirit
