Barbara McAfee
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There Are Songs Lyrics


There Are  Songs
There are songs in the soil, in the rivers and the trees
And the ears of your heart can hear them
And some come alive in the meeting of the eyes
When you take the time to see them
 
I will listen to the deeper story
I will see how Life’s gonna move… in me (2x)
 
There are songs in my bones won’t leave me alone
Calling for creation
And tunes that ride on the whispering wind
Seeking incarnation - Chorus
 
There are songs in the clouds that shout out loud
In the dark voice of the thunder
And some that flash in the cool blue fire
That splits the sky asunder - Chorus
 
There are songs that ride on the dancing tides
That swirl through all the oceans
And some that sleep in the bitter seed
That grief will set in motion - Chorus

Oh, For Crying Out Loud
Oh, for crying out loud
Oh, for letting tears fall like salty rain
To open your mouth, let loose a low moan
Oh, for crying out loud
 
We weep tears in silence if we have tears at all
Clamp down, clam up, stay strong, don’t dare fall
But here in this temple, there’s a soft place to land
We’ll honor your weeping and hold fast – hold fast your hand…..Chorus
 
In the church of loud crying we set down our shame
And let loose our anguish, the soul’s ancient pain
With unsilenced voices and arms flung out wide
When we open to grief, we find joy – joy right beside….Chorus
Soften, open
Let the storms roll on through
You’re human, you know what to do….
 
Oh, we’re crying out loud
We’re letting tears fall like salty rain
We’re opening our mouths, letting our low moans
Oh, we’re crying – this swaying, wailing, singing crowd….
Oh, we’re crying out loud.

I’m In Need of Music
By Elizabeth Bishop
I’m in need of music that would flow
Over my fretful, feeling fingertips
Over my bitter-tainted, trembling lips
With melody, deep, clear, and liquid-slow.
Oh, for the healing swaying, old and low,
Of some song sung to rest the tired dead,
A song to fall like water on my head
And over quivering limbs, dream flushed to glow!
 
There is a magic made by melody
A spell of rest, and quiet breath, and cool
Heart, that sings through fading colors deep
To the subaqueous stillness of the sea
And floats forever in a moon-green pool,
Held in the arms of rhythm and of sleep.

That Singing
By Galway Kinnell "Flower of Five Blossoms"
Everyone knows
everything sings and dies.
But it could be, too, everything dies and sings,
and a life is the interlude
when, still humming, we can look up, gawk about, imagine
whatever,
say it,
topple back into singing.
Oh first our voice be done, and then, before and
afterwards and all
around it, that singing.

Grown Ass Woman
No longer young, not yet old
Well-acquainted with the promptings of my soul
Free from the need for approval
Beautifully shameless to be….
 
Chorus: A grown ass woman
Grown ass woman
Grown ass woman
Such a fine thing to be.
 
I only say sorry when I make a big gaffe
And use my lady belly every time that I laugh
Strong enough to show when I’m shaky
Fierce enough to stand for the good….Chorus
 
Looking at pictures of younger me
I’m struck by my beauty and still
I felt such a failure and never could see
I’d be so happy here over the hill - as a...Chorus
 
Wise from the lessons of living
For more than a half-century
Got so many gifts for the giving
To others who are yearning to be a…..Chorus


Man Alive
What a sight to behold
A shining one, bright and bold
Who stands here before me?
You’re unencumbered in some way
I’ve rarely seen before today
Come, tell me your story….
 
Chorus:  Man alive!
You survived all that jive we put men through…
Man alive!
See me cry tears of joy at the sight of you….
 
Toxic masculinity
Tell you that you got to be
So cold, so frozen
Movin’ like the walking dead
Livin’ up in your head
Don’t move, don’t feel, don’t be real… Chorus
 
When you were a little child
They stole your joy, tamed your wild
Your heart grew so narrow
Caught up in a web of fear
You found your way from there to here
Left behind so much sorrow….  Chorus
My Joe
Some people wake up ready to roll
Their feet hit the floor and off they go.
Others of us, well, we wake up kind of slow….
And here is something we’d like you to know...
 
Chorus: Please no talkin’ till I’ve had my joe
Please no talkin’ till I’ve had my joe
There might be some words at the bottom of the cup,
So, go ahead and fill it on up.
In the meantime, please shut up!
 
I love morning – please don’t get me wrong –
Marinating in my dreams, drenching in birdsong
But the road to conversation, well, it gets kind of long….
Until I’ve had that bitter brew, dark and strong….so…Chorus
 
Oh, friend who faces morning full of chatter and cheer
Please don’t be offended when I cover up my ears
I’m not turning a cold shoulder, I’m not aiming to be mean,
But our first interaction must be fueled by caffeine…so...Chorus

​Firefly
Chorus: Flash and a glow
There you go, firefly
Catch a glimmer from the corner of my eye
Sweet summer dark filled with your spark
Flash and a glow
There you go, firefly.
 
A tunnel of grass taller than my head
Sighing, swaying in the midnight breeze
A passing cloud covers the full moon’s light
Did the stars all fall down to dance among the trees? Chorus
 
A thousand crickets trilling in the field
Little frogs calling from the pond
A symphony of sound and light so divine
I remember that I’m living in one great song….Chorus
 
It’s well past the hour to go to bed
My eyes are heavy with the need for sleep
But I will stay and linger a moment more
To revel in the waking dream so sweet and deep...Chorus

Caterpillar Stew
By Bruce O'Brien and Barbara McAfee
When I started out I was just a little egg.
Then I grew some fine new legs.
I crawled on the milkweed, ate my fill.
I love being a caterpillar and I always will.
And then soon…very soon…
Way too soon…a cocoon.
 
Oh me oh my, I don’t know what to do.
Seems I’m becoming caterpillar stew.
My legs have disappeared, my wiggle’s gone away.
What am becoming? Will I always be this way?
This way..  this way.
Who can say..   who can say?
 
It itches and it tickles as things rearrange.
I don’t know what I am yet, but I know I’ve been changed.
This place is so small, I can’t move at all
I wonder what will happen if I push against this wall.
It gives way…I see day.
Twist about… now I’m out!
 
I rest in the sun and wait to dry
A puff of wind – these are wings! I can fly!
I drift in the garden and feast in the flowers
Drinking in beauty for hours and hours.
Then I find..my own kind….
Butterflies! Butterflies!
 
Well, this has been fun, but it’s time to go
Back to the milkweed to share what I know.
My little crawlin’ friends, I have news for you.
You’ll end up just like me, but first - caterpillar stew!
Yes, it’s true. You’ll be goo.
You’ll come through – caterpillar stew.

Your Grief for What You've Lost
Lyrics by Rumi (trans. Coleman Barks)
Your grief for what you've lost 
holds a mirror up to where you are so bravely working.


Living Dying Man
for Jamie Showkeir
Living dying man
You’re through with making plans
Tomorrow is a place you will not see
We hate to see you go
But even so, we know
Mortality is clarifying
Death is much less terrifying
When you look it straight in the eye
Time to live
Time to die
 
You’re living dying well
And oh, the truths you tell
When any hope you had has finally set you free
You’ve made it very clear:
Heaven is right here
Reality is fortifying
Death is much less mortifying
When you look it straight in the eye
Time to live
Time to die
 
Living dying friend
You’re coming to the end
There’s nothing left to do but love and let you go
We are just like you:
We’re living dying, too
And all the lessons that we learn
Will be there when it is our turn
To live into our dying as we do
Thanks to you
(Thanks to you)
 
First verse…..

Thank You
From a quote by Meister Eckhart
If the only prayer you ever said was thank you, thank you
That would be prayer enough for the rest of of your life
Thank you.
 

 

 



 



 
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