Mood: Strong/Resilient
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STLT#221, Light One Candle
The first time I remember knowing who Peter, Paul, and Mary were, I was about 8 and was watching my brother and his first wife singing the song “Lemon Tree.” Karen had long chestnut brown hair and a rich alto voice, and while I often associated her with another alto brunette named Karen – Karen… Continue reading
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STLT#210, Wade in the Water
I’m feeling at a bit of a loss this morning. On one hand, this is an important code song from the Underground Railroad, a warning to follow the river and keep an eye out for the friendly folk. As Walter Rhett at Black History 360 writes, “People think the song is about Moses and Exodus,… Continue reading
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STLT#200, A Mighty Fortress
Happy Two Hundredth Hymn-by-Hymn Post Day! Only 290 more to go. Gulp. That seems daunting, but then, holy cow, how are we 200 in already? Time does fly, friends, even through hard, dark days. Thanks to my regular, rather frequent, and occasional readers. And if you’re just discovering this today, welcome to my daily spiritual… Continue reading
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STLT#189 and190, Light of Ages and of Nations
I’ve kind of been dreading this one, knowing the complexities inherent in both the lyrics and the tunes (and by the way, this is the first of only two times when you’ll see me cover two numbers at once – they are the same lyrics to different tunes, so it seems appropriate). But, if this practice… Continue reading
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STLT#187, It Sounds Along the Ages
What is it? What is it that sounds along the ages, that breathes from Buddha’s tree, that speaks new truth, that resounds from the eternal chime? Is it truth? Justice? Love? Spirit? Is it, as I first thought, Yes? Is it, in fact whatever it is we seek from the wisdom of humanity? What is… Continue reading
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STLT#176, Daya Kar Daan Bhakti Ka
I suspect most of us have flipped past this a thousand times. I suspect the combination of Hindi language, no translation, and fear of the unfamiliar keeps us away. And it’s too bad. Because not only is this a beautiful lyric, but it’s a beautiful and catchy melody. Take a listen: Isn’t that great? It’s… Continue reading
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STLT#170, We Are a Gentle, Angry People
The downside of this spiritual practice is that it demands attention even on days when attention is hard to give. And more often than not, it is demanding the exact kind of attention I want to hide from on that particular day. This song, written by Holly Near in the wake of the Harvey Milk… Continue reading
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STLT#168, One More Step
A few short thoughts today. First, composer Joyce Poley is one of the sweetest people I have ever met and very much wrote this before we had an awareness of ableist language. But despite how sweet she is, she wrote one of the most annoying earworms we have. Sadly, it mostly gets played as an oom-pa-pa… Continue reading
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STLT#167, Nothing but Peace Is Enough
Today we get to the first of several pieces by Jim Scott, a prolific UU songwriter and performer. It’s interesting to me that while some of his songs are full on hymns (Gather the Spirit, The Oneness of Everything, etc.) we also get some short pieces that are the choruses of longer songs. That’s the… Continue reading
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STLT#162, Gonna Lay Down My Sword and Shield
Ear worm in three.. two… one…. As an American growing up in the 1970s, I learned this in elementary school, and I associated it with Vietnam War protests. This might even have been the first African American spiritual I learned, and I didn’t even know at the time it was one. In fact, I don’t… Continue reading
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links
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