Listen — Heather Houston

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

Shruti box in B♭ (B♭ and F open), or singing bowl in D.

You’re 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

Wind – Heather Houston

Wind By Heather Houston

This beautiful chant swept through me one magical Spring day in my little garden paradise. The melody captivated my spirit, and before I knew it I was in the house recording what I heard and eight different harmony parts emerged. It’s a super rough cut, but I’m delighted to share. My voice, in the raw, completely spontaneous, no edits, no re-dos… just the spirit of the wind singing through me…

You are welcome to sing and share, please do not record.

Lyrics:
Wind purify me
Help me to see
the way to my freedom

© Heather Houston
all rights reserved

Bring Me Little Water Sylvie – Lead Belly

Bring Me Little Water Sylvie
by Lead Belly

When performing this song, Lead Belly would often tell his audiences that the song was about his uncle Bob Ledbetter, who worked out on the fields plowing the soil. When he got thirsty, he would call for his wife, Sylvie, to bring him some water.

This song is in the public domain.

Lyrics:
Bring me little water Sylvie
Bring me little water now
Bring me little water Sylvie
Every little once in a while

Bring it in a bucket Sylvie
Bring it in a bucket now
Bring it in a bucket every once in a while

Silvie come a running
Bucket in my hand
I will bring a little water
Fast as I can

Bring me little water Sylvie
Bring me little water now
Bring me little water Sylvie
Every little once in a while

Can’t you see me coming
Can’t you see me now
I will bring a little water
Every once in a while

Sing Through My Voice – Abbi Spinner McBride

Sing Through My Voice
by Abbi Spinner McBride
Originally titled Let the Way be Open
Made popular by Beautiful Chorus

Recorded with permission

https://www.beautifulchorus.com

Lyrics:
Sing through my voice
Play through my hands
Let the way be open

This song is in the public domain

Brave Magic – Heather Houston

Inspired by a retreat led by Cheryl Strayed and Elizabeth Gilbert at 1440 Multiversity entitled “Brave Magic.” I had the absolute honor of leading a song circle of 75 people and this chant came through for them.

You are welcome to sing and share this song. Recording is not permitted.

Lyrics:
I am opening to the mystery
Allowing creativity to flow
And there is brave magic in my heart
And I will keep tending to that spark

© Heather Houston
All rights reserved

Chant to Oshun – Traditional Yoruba Chant

Chant to Oshun – Traditional Yoruba chant
Taught to me by Alba Lirio

Recorded with permission

In devotion to the Yoruba Goddess of the fresh waters, an expression of sweetness, sensuality, femininity, beauty, love, and overflowing joy. A favorite in our Sisters in Harmony circles.

Lyrics:
Ay ye ye, ay ye ye Ma Mai Oshun x2
Ay ye ye Ma Mai Oshun, Ay ye ye Oshun mare x2

This song is in the public domain

La Mar Estaba Serena — A Folk Tune

I learned this sweet tune from a woman in our choir, Erika Dominguez. The origin is unknown; it’s a common folk song in the Spanish-speaking Americas. Singing it in a round is a bit tricky, as the last line creates some dissonance. It’s also quite lovely to just sing it as is, in unison together. Enjoy!

Lyrics:
La mar estaba serena
Serena estaba la mar (repeat)

Translation:
The sea was calm/serene
Calm/serene was the sea

Note: This little jingle is sung by small children in many Spanish speaking countries to play with vowel sounds, similar to the English song, “I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas.” They start out with “La mar estaba serena…serena estaba la mar” with the correct vowels. Then they repeat the stanza 5 times, each time substituting all of the vowels with either “a”, “e”, “i” “o” or “u.” So, by the 5th repetition everyone is singing “Lu mur ustubu surunu…,” etc. Then, after all the vowels are gone through, the correct pronunciation is sung as the grand finale. It is quite hilarious, and usually the kids are rolling all over the place by the end, enjoying the silly sounds.

 

The World We Want to See — Heather Houston

A song for these COVID times… We are transforming before our own eyes… Let’s stay awake, do the deep work, have the hard conversations, activate, dream, imagine, vision, and create the world we want to live in.

Lyrics:
We are creating the world we wanna see
We are creating the world we wanna see
We are creating the world we wanna be
We’re calling ourselves to believe
We’re calling ourselves to be free

© Heather Houston 6/2020
All rights reserved

Mama Gaia – Heather Houston

A tribute to our beautiful Mother Earth. This one flowed through on a warm Spring day in 2020 with the energy of gratitude in my heart! Sung in a round. It’s quite challenging vocally, so make sure that you and your participants are good and warmed up, and invite them to breathe deeply.

Lyrics:
Oh Mama Gaia
Oh Mama Gaia
Oh Mama Gaia
We sing our praise to you!

Sacred Fire – Heather Houston

“Women we’re calling you… home to the sacred fire.
Healing our hearts, planting our seeds,
Weaving our prayers, amplifying our dreams.”

Women, we know how powerful it is to gather in circle with our sisters. Let’s keep calling ourselves home, each other home. It is here, in this sacred container that we find the courage to heal and transform our lives.

© Heather Houston 2019
All rights reserved