Yes Lyrics
All music and lyrics by Barbara McAfee unless otherwise noted.
© Big Bug Music
© Big Bug Music
Yes
May you breathe easy May your heart be light May you open your life to each joy, each delight May you walk with assurance that your way is blessed May you dwell in the spirit of YES....YES Chorus May you know your beauty through your loved ones' eyes May you face every change with a taste for surprise May you welcome each stranger as a treasured guest May you dwell in the spirit of YES....YES Chorus May we hold all who suffer with loving care May our being together ease the loads that we bear May we take up the habit of happiness May we dwell in the spirit of YES...YES Chorus What If? How would I live if I knew I was good? Unbound, set free from the habits of “should?” If something deep inside my soul Was completely trustworthy, totally whole? How would my days unwind If I overrode that chatter in my mind? Stopped tearing myself down for major redesign and just.... Lived my life? Live my life. Live my life. What if I was no better, no worse Than any other human being - It might break the curse Of comparing, contrasting ‘til I make myself sick Just might forego the carrot, Give up the stick... What if I knew every break could mend If I cut myself the same slack I’d offer a friend? What if there was no fortress to defend and I Just lived my life? Live my life Live my life What if all that crap I wish would leave Was the source of compost for my rarest seeds? What if all that striving to be my best Was just self-hatred in a fancy dress? What if I found magic in the ordinary? Lightened up the load that I carry? So you won’t read on my tombstone on my dying day: “Got it all done. Died anyway.”* I lived my life. Lived my life (before I died) I lived my life. * This line comes from comedienne Loretta LaRoche. Such As These She cleans an airport bathroom singing gospel tunes Makes a fine cathedral from that hollow room “His eye is on the sparrow” - she’s singing true Singing Sister, I hope he keeps his eye you...... All day long he’s standing guard Each time I pass, he’s got a kind word He’s a guardian angel in a tough disguise When I tell him so, I see joy in his eyes.... And life is made lovely by such as these By such as these..... We’re passed along from grace to grace: Every willing hand, every kindly face. It’s through the toil of strangers we take our ease.... Life is made lovely by such as these.... Sax on the sidewalk on a rainy night Not a tooth in his head, but he sounds so right I drop him a twenty and some words of praise Seems far too little for the gifts he gave.... And life is made lovely by such as these By such as these..... We’re passed along from grace to grace: Every willing hand, every kindly face. It’s through the toil of strangers we take our ease.... Life is made lovely by such as these.... And may life be made lovely ...... for such as these. Perfect Day September 2, 2009 - Mallard Island A brilliant watermelon dawn Watched while half in dreaming A piping mug of coffee held In hands still cool from morning’s dewfall A perfect day, a perfect day Words unspooling from the pen Bright thoughts kaleidoscoping jewels The breathless plunge, the sturdy stroke The sun’s hot shimmer warming chill skin A perfect day, a perfect day Ripe tomatoes in a bowl Sweet basil crushed between the fingers Laughter dancing on the breeze A sunset sojourn at the piano..... Silent paddle, gentle wind The pearl moon casts a path of silver Lingering on the silent shore Grateful tears for having lived this Perfect day, perfect day. Do-Be-Do Based on a poem by Lao Tzu Always we hope someone else has the answer Some other place will be better than this And if we wait around long enough It will all work out... This is it No one else has the answer There is no better place than where we are And even if we don’t quite understand how, Everything is just the way it should be.... Do be do be do be do be do Do be do be do be do At the center of your being you have the answer You know who you are You know what you want No need to go outside for better seeing Rather abide at the center of you The more you leave it The less you learn Search your heart and you will see The way to do is to be Do be do be do be do be do Do be do be do be do Little One (Pema) The first time you drew breath, Child, You sang your song out loud and strong. The first time you opened up your eyes, You saw beauty all around. From the angels’ hands into your papa’s From your mama’s womb into the world You are welcome here You are welcome here Baby Girl. The first time you smiled, Child, Our hearts filled with delight. And every time you’ll cry, Dear Girl, We’re here to tell you things will come ‘round right From the sweet times through the heartache From the sand grains come the pearls We are with you And we will hold you Little Girl. Oh, the marvels you’ll see Oh, the times you will know You’ll carry our love along with you Anywhere and everywhere you go..... The first year of your life is passed You’ve traveled far since first you came You’ve bloomed just like a lotus flower Girl, you’ve grown into your name Feel the loving hearts around you Your adventure’s just begun Here’s our promise and our blessing Little One. From this moment through your whole life long May you sing your song loud and strong And may your eyes stay keen and bright to see the beauty all around Always loving hearts around you Heaven knows who you’ll become Here’s our promise and our blessing….Little One. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon When you're weary Feeling small When tears are in your eyes I will dry them all I'm on your side When times get rough And friends just can't be found Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down When you're down and out When you're on the street When evening falls so hard I will comfort you I'll take your part When darkness comes And pain is all around Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down Sail on Silver Girl, Sail on by Your time has come to shine All your dreams are on their way See how they shine If you need a friend I'm sailing right behind Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind |
Unexpected Love
I want to write you a love song, Baby Though the world doesn’t really need one more And everything I think to say to you has been said before I’ll take a risk, that’s what lovers do Just open my heart to you And sing what comes through This is quite an unexpected love song You are such a fine surprise In all those years of being friends We never realized That we’d love so exquisitely How magic our dance would be When we set it free Haven’t talked at all about tomorrow Been too enchanted by today And isn’t life made of moments anyway? There’s such spacious simplicity; Things are just as they ought to be Between you and me So here, my darlin’, is your love song I’ve just aimed to say what is true But words can’t ever capture the gift that’s you I am grateful and I am blessed What a mystery, who would have guessed? Let my kisses express the rest To you.... Autumn of Life By Jean Leicester and Barbara McAfee Autumn of life, radiant colors Season of orange and gold Colors that dare me to dream a new life Where courage does not have to roar (2x) Moving and changing, roots reaching deep Keeping the unknown alive Living my life like an unfinished song Where only the next line is clear (2x) Life with less push, more flow Treasuring all that I know Riding this wild new mind Learning to take my sweet time.... Older and wiser, bursting with life Setting my spirit free Guiding my steps from this moment on The wisdom of children and fools (2x) Life with less push, more flow Treasuring all that I know Riding this wild new mind Learning to take this sweet time, That’s mine, My autumn time..... Autumn of life, radiant colors Season of orange and gold..... Holy Cold Holy cold, etchings of frost on the window It’s twelve below nothing outside Holy cold, stronger than life’s tiny ember A word in the mouth of December, a siren’s song Chorus: Oh, the lure of oblivion pressing so close to my flesh The thrill of chill gives me goosebumps.... Holy cold, pulling me out into midnight The moon vivid blue on the snow Holy cold, styrofoam squeak of my boot steps Peppermint air fills each deep breath with icy fire....Chorus Holy cold, paying a call on high summer Seconds from hot to half-numb Chilled to the bone Holy cold, lurking in bright northern waters Even though I’m their daughter They’d pull me down.....Chorus Holy cold, how can it feel hot as fire With Antarctic songs on the waves? Holy cow! A holler comes bursting out sudden What else can you do when that baptism comes?...Chorus The thrill of the chill The enticement of ice I’m lost to the frost My nose is half froze The thrill of the chill gives me goosebumps..... Grove My roots were set in stony ground I sent them deep and there I found. Water from a secret spring That kept my heart from withering Followed on those tangled years When I thought my joy was bought with tears Caught in a web of cruel design The hands that tied the knots were mine Would that I could travel From this day to those years of shadow Put my hand on my shoulder...... I was voiceless for so long It brings such sweetness to my song My native joy so long suppressed Flowing now in blessedness I see you in your suffering Seek for ways that I may bring Kindness that will ease the day A ray of sun to pierce the grey. Would that I could travel From this place to your land of shadow Put my hand on your shoulder....... Our roots entwine beneath the ground Our branches with bright leaves are crowned In this grove, our sacred home We’re blooming together in the temperate zone. A Woman's Voice Based on a poem by Ana Akhmatova A woman's voice like the wind, rushes -- Nocturnal it seems, moist and black, And as it flies, whatever it brushes Changes and will not change back. Its diamond shine comes to bathe and bless, Things are draped in a silver light, It rustles its suggestive dress, Woven of fantasy, silken and bright. And the power that propels the enchanted Voice displays such hidden might, It's as if the grave were not ahead, But mysterious stairs beginning their flight. Women Rise! An anthem composed for The Women’s Leadership Revival Tour with Margaret Wheatley which visited 13 North American cities Chorus: When women wake, mountains move. When women wake, mountains move. When women rise, the world rises with us. So women wake, women wake Women rise, women rise, women rise.... In a million small gestures, we weave it all together Much of what we do goes unseen and unsung But from our daily labors, our downright stubborn loving A new world is begun....Chorus We’re not going to wait ‘til we’re perfect The women we are will just have to suffice We likely won’t ask for permission to change things We may not even be nice....Chorus Is there something that grabs your attention? A face or a story that won’t let you go? Each gesture you make in repairing this world Will matter more than you’ll ever know...Chorus Along Our Way Let us celebrate our living; let the Spirit be our guide Let us walk through this world together side by side. May we honor all our families and the ones who came before May the years teach us to love each other more Chorus: There’s a new sun rising in our eyes And I know that we’re both in for a big surprise There’s more to this love than we could ever see today We’ll find much more love along our way. Let’s stretch the edge of imagination; let’s dive to the heart of the mystery May the roads of our lives now join in beauty May we make our home a refuge; may we make our hearts a shrine May we weave a brand new story yours and mine...Chorus Good life, man and woman Sweet river, many blessings Sweet love, hearts dancing Wild hopes, long vision |