Recorded in Athens OH, 2012-2018. Co-produced with Rusty Smith.
HERALDS OF THE DAWN (words 6/09; music 4/10, Athens OH)
Sure, there’s much to be afraid of, reasons not to dare go on
When so very much is crumbling and the life we’ve known is gone.
“We are born into impermanence and sorely put upon,
And yet still the light’s returning,” sing the heralds of the dawn
Yes our burdens make us weary, as we age we bend down low
And the news becomes more dreary, far too often teardrops flow;
Yet somehow the children notice drops of dew out on the lawn
“Rays of love are all around us,” sing the heralds of the dawn
“When your back is bent and broken, when your engine just won’t start,
When your tires are all deflated and you’ve got a broken heart
Be assured, beloved sibling, that you are nobody’s pawn,
There’s a better day a-rising,” sing the heralds of the dawn
If it’s true all men are brothers and all women sisters too,
Then I’m sure you are my family and there’s nothing we can’t do
“Go to sleep and dream a good dream, when you wake up with a yawn
You will find new life beginning,” sing the heralds of the dawn
Sure, there’s much to be afraid of, reasons not to dare go on
When so very much is crumbling and the life we’ve known is gone.
“We are born into impermanence and sorely put upon,
And yet still the light’s returning,
And yet still the light’s returning,” sing the heralds of the dawn
VISION SONG (written in the spring of ’92, Athens OH)
There was urgency then, an immediate need
To settle all questions once and for all
Touch and go, clutch and tear, in their hunger to feed
They would rip at the root of the blue and green ball
And I saw them as if on the moon looking back
At their fevered desire for a piece of the pie,
They were treating the world like a man on the rack
There was choking and gasping all over the sky,
Oil wells and projectiles and technical fixes,
In search of false progress they bled her veins dry;
When she cried out for mercy they brought cement mixers
And joked that we all will eventually fry
And she flashed like a light bulb not quite in its socket,
Now off and now on as if close to exploding
The more she would suffer the more they would mock it,
Their gnarled red hands drunk with fear and foreboding
Then appeared in my vision a rainbow of hands
Stroking gently the skin of the fragile and nervous
And slowly and calmly they met the demands,
All colors emerging in time for one purpose
And so we come, and so we go,
And so the storm crashes and blows
And the hands of the furies in time did recede
Just as those of the patient assembled as one,
And the mother of all did eventually see
All her children arrive in the glow of the sun
I was left wondering whether this rainbow of hands
Is certain to be or just one person’s choice
Either way there’s no urgency now for I know
Of the power eternal that lifts every voice
And so we come, and so we go,
And so the storm crashes and blows
And so the winds whirl to and fro
And so our hands light up like rainbows
BREATH OF THE SOLAR WIND (written in the spring of ’96, Juneau AK)
Almost lost the connection,
It was tenuous there for a while
I was hanging on spider thread, caught like a drop of dew
And I almost lost my direction,
Compass thrown off by the shifting poles
I was grasping at shadows, not reaching anything true
Finding the strength to admit this,
Moreover releasing the lure of the job’s insecurity blanket,
Just like an old snakeskin
Has brought me a treasure so priceless,
The dance of uncertainty pulling me on
To the edge of the wave on the breath of the solar wind
All I ask of the force that gives me life tonight
Is let these songs be like spokes on the medicine wheel,
And draw the love in every heart into this circle of light
So all might feel the breath of the solar wind
Sometimes you need the protection
Of wrapping your life in retirement plans
And going along with conventional policy,
And sometimes you reach a new intersection
And you don’t know why, you can’t say why
But you choose a new path to see where your heart will lead,
See where your heart will lead,
See where your heart will lead,
See where your heart
All I ask of the force that gives me life tonight
Is let these notes be the song of the medicine wheel,
And draw the love in every heart into this circle of light
To help me play the breath of the solar wind
So all might feel the breath of the solar wind
Help me sing with the song of the solar wind
So that all might know the breath of the solar wind
La, la la La, la la La,
Hey-yeah…
La, la la La, la la La
ALMOST AWAKE (written 10/90, Athens OH)
See the fruit of competition
Compiled in old newspapers on the floor
Endless patterned repetitions persist in keeping score
See the puzzle in the patchwork of light
All around the picture frame,
There’s a presence in the air tonight
That doesn’t have a name, but all the same
See the fossil fuel addictions
That bake the atmosphere while prices soar
How they threaten our existence and all we’ve struggled for
See how civilization’s coin decays,
But something’s shining in its wake:
A recognition in the mutual gaze
That everything’s at stake, almost awake
Climbing the tree of knowledge, everything at stake
Climbing the tree of knowledge, almost awake
See the root of love’s fruition
In our choices more and more
Reverberate with intuition, the ever-present door
Feel new framework on the airwaves tonight
Reconnecting with the gardens we’ve crossed
There’s a presence in this patchwork of light
That understands the cost of gardens lost
Climbing the tree of knowledge, everything at stake
Climbing the tree of knowledge, almost awake
Climbing the tree of knowledge, sacred hoop at stake
Climbing the tree of knowledge, almost awake, almost awake
STARTING TO UNDERSTAND (written 1/1/09, Athens OH)
Eyes on the road, watching for dangers,
Even while stormy winds wail
Feet on the ground, smiling at strangers
However lonesome the trail
Hands to the plow, sowing good harvest
Even while shock tremors roll
Shoulders to the wheel, onward and upward
However costly the toll
Whatever it takes, whomever it chooses,
It’s time to align with love’s plan
The more one holds on the more likely one loses,
I’m starting to understand
Nose to the wind, sensing new options
Even while polar caps melt
Minds over matter, chunks of coal become diamonds
Whatever cards we’ve been dealt
Whatever it takes, whomever it chooses,
It’s time to align with love’s plan
The more one holds on the more likely one loses,
I’m starting to understand
Whatever it takes, whoever’s enduring,
It’s time to align with love’s plan
To fill up our sails, get free from our moorings,
I’m starting to understand
Eyes on the prize, noticing signals
Even while thunderclaps roar
Hearts beating strong, singing our songs out,
What else can each breath be for?
WAVES OF LOVE (words: 6/96, Echo Cove AK; music: 8/98, Albany OH)
The waves of love, which now approach
And wash across our beaches,
Are signs of life for eyes that see
The lessons such love teaches
The hands of love, once washed within
The waters of redemption,
Can find the notes for ears to hear
This grace with no exception
There’s a place within your heart
Where Neptune’s face is clear as glass
And when you find this peaceful spot
The waves of love will come to pass
The songs of love, now bursting forth,
That reach across horizons
Are symptoms of the waves of love
That herald sunbeams rising
The dance of love, alive within
A heart that knows its purpose,
Can manifest a life that’s blessed
And true from soul to surface
There’s a place within your heart
Where Neptune’s face is clear as glass
And when you find this peaceful spot
The waves of love will come to pass
When you find this peaceful spot
The waves of love will surely come to pass
The waves of love, which now approach
And wash across our beaches,
Are signs of life for eyes that see
ALL BEFORE YOU (written 1/1/91, Athens OH)
Grand inventory clearance sales,
Wheels of fortune, holy grails,
Plush interior designs,
Passing signs in fleeting times,
All falls away before you
Yesterday’s priorities,
Prices dealt in jeopardy,
Half-baked planning, compromise,
Rain check, consolation prize,
All falls away before you
Profit margins, payment flow,
200 bucks for passing go,
Crutches, canes and plaster casts,
Precious art preserved in glass,
All falls away before you
Macho postures, tides of war,
Teardrops stinging open sores,
Anguish in the midnight hour,
Righteous fury, plastic power,
All falls away before you
Apparently the only thing
That beats inside a wedding ring
Is that which calls the birds to sing,
The time frame’s simply icing,
All falls away before you (3x)
Before you, all before you
BLOODSTREAM (written 1/1/05, Athens OH)
Here we stand perched on the verge of something new
Might be the big one’s heading straight for me and you
So hard to see for sure what’s coming into sight tonight,
Could it be just a trick of the light?
So where were you when the wave began to break?
Heading off to higher ground with everything at stake?
Were we all distracted by some five-star puppet show,
Mesmerized by the status quo?
Veils will fall like sheets of rain,
The planet’s bloodstream flows again
Floods and fogs and frosts and snows,
Around the world her bloodstream flows
Though her currents might be strong,
She can carry us along
It’s not too late to hear that choice,
To stop and listen to her voice
And maybe darkness gives the light a chance to shine,
Just maybe winter makes spring possible…
Is there any chance her voice and ours might intertwine?
Isn’t that worth taking at all?
(Chorus) >
When veils are falling down like rain,
The planet’s bloodstream flows again
Floods and fogs and frosts and snows,
Around the world her bloodstream flows
Though her current’s swift and strong,
She can carry us along
It’s not too late to live that choice,
To stop and listen to her voice
It’s not too late to live that choice, to stop and listen
WALK LIGHTLY (written 7/91, Athens OH)
Walk lightly, walk lightly on the land.
The freeway is built on shifting sand
Falling faster through the cracks
The more we take without giving back
When you make your stand, walk lightly
On the land the people drift, they live and die and just get by
And ride a rollercoaster of emotion
They leap and dive in fantasy, play games with so-called history
And dump what can’t be faced out in the ocean
But after a while, a knock comes on the door, every last one
And sooner or later the evidence amounts to what we’re here for
(Chorus)
Oh the sands erase construction, and waves roll over fashion,
And winds whip up the moment of arrival,
And flames reach for the sky, synchronized with light on high,
Beckoning the keys to our survival
And if you are there when the knock comes on the door
You can witness the one
And sooner or later the truth amounts to a candle burning at the core,
Walk lightly
When you make your stand it is a gift, a sacred trust, a lasting lift,
A promise once embedded deep in childhood
If we renounce amazing grace the sands will put us in our place
Unless we listen to the lessons of the wildwood
And after a while when the knock comes on the door, you’ll be the one
And sooner or later there’s confidence in a way to walk forevermore
(Chorus)
Walk lightly on the land
Walk lightly, lightly on the land (3x)
Walk lightly
POSTMODERN WATERFALL (written 9/89, Athens OH)
Within the capacity for feeling empty,
Within the realm of running scared,
Within the subdivisions reeling and abandoned
We all go: this much is shared
You can walk the beaches from the Keys to Barrow,
The road back home can lead so far
But then pressures and foreclosures can easily roll over and play dead
In deference to what you really are
But watch the turmoil closely, pay attention to the thunder,
When you feel like ripping open let your heart direct the call
Is this life a wealth of wonder or just one colossal blunder?
Is there a freeway to serenity behind the postmodern waterfall?
I’m stuck inside this birthday tuxedo
We’re trapped within each other’s gaze
Let’s grasp the moment laughingly, confound the experts,
Amazing grace out of this graceless maze
(Chorus)
PHOTOSYNTHESIS (words: 2/90; music: 1/91, Athens OH)
When we die we’re gonna all be plants
Hooray! We’ll all be plants
After we’re gone we’ll do the green plant dance,
All us plants gonna sing and dance
Up through the ground will our molecules rise,
Munching on light ‘til we reach the skies
Bushes and trees with our chlorophyll eye-eye-eyes
Keeping our great-grandchildren high and dry
Hooray! We’ll all be plants
Put me away in my simple casket.
I don’t care, I’m gonna be a plant
Gonna be a flower in a pretty girl’s basket,
Worm’s gonna turn and we’ll all be plants
(Chorus) > Hooray!
Haven’t had such fun since before we fell,
Stretch to sunshine, we’ll all be plants
Roots, leaves, petals growing clear as a bell,
Every cell gets a second chance
(Chorus 2x)
Hooray!
Hooray! We’re gonna all be plants!
Hooray!
WHEN WE ARE READY (written 7/92, Athens OH)
What kind of consummated image do you contemplate
When you are trying to make your way out on the interstate?
How can you concentrate energy with any sense of direction?
How can you focus indeterminately with any hope of resurrection?
What makes the image more important than the underlying theme?
Can it make you feel angry, enough to throw your head back and scream?
How can you take that screaming energy through pools of true reflection
And weave a vibrant living tapestry with no fear of rejection?
When we are ready to hear it, when we are ready to feel it
Answers are provided and confusions reconcile
When we are ready to clear it, when we are ready to heal it
All becomes apparent in the heartbeat of a child
Where are the answers to the questions that refuse to go away?
Where are solutions to the problems we are facing every day?
And where’s the source of healing energy?
From where will come our protection?
What is the secret of the waves on the sea?
Can we consolidate the connection?
(Chorus)
They say we’re living in the future now,
But I think we’ve always been there
But if we don’t learn to help each other out,
I guess we’ll never get anywhere
Feels like we’re living in the future now,
We may as well have always been there
But if we don’t learn to help each other out,
I guess we’ll never get anywhere, but
(Chorus) > Clarification rising…
SPEECHLESS AT THE SIGHT (written 3/93, Anchor Point AK)
It’s easy for words to stumble,
It’s enough that words be sung,
But it means more when words are humble;
It’s not so much in the lung
But in the heart of their forgiveness
That the right words make amends,
Turning fools and total strangers
Into pure and cherished friends
Many words have passed between us
On the path towards this place,
Words attached to all that crumbles,
Words eternal in their grace
Were it not for these few words,
How hard it would be to express
The redemption once experienced
Through faith in love’s caress
And as they fall away in the
Togetherness that’s growing
Words that once stood in the way
Are now revealed within the knowing
That the words that will be spoken
Shall be tokens of the light
So that all might speak in wonder
And be speechless at the sight
HAPPEN IN A HEARTBEAT (written 9/09, Athens OH)
If we could write a song to change the world
It would happen in a heartbeat at the point where open hearts meet
And show up like a flower in the springtime
Emerging in the sunshine all around the world
And if we could take that song around the world,
It would happen in a new way with the dawning of a new day
All the colors of the rainbow reconnecting
With listeners reflecting on a song that changed the world
If we could change our tune, why not the whole world?
The song might make a difference; the tune might bridge the distance–
Who knows, but isn’t music worth the trying,
And surely gratifying to all the children of the world?
If we could live in peace around the world,
It would happen in a heartbeat right where open hearts meet
And reveal itself like flowers in the springtime,
Emerging in the sunshine all around the world
If we could write a song to change the world
It would happen in a heartbeat wherever open hearts meet
Emerging like a flower in the springtime
Right into the sunshine all around the world
All songs: Words and Music by Steve Zarate
© Water Medicine Music
Registered in the Library of Congress